The threat of hidden geologic hazards south of Queen Creek has cooled some land sales there and prompted buyers and real estate agents to research fissures.

Earth fissures that sprung open in an area straddling Hunt Highway after monsoon rains in early August have led some to think twice about buying there. In e-mails and phone calls to the Tribune, agents and sellers said buyers were reneging on offers after learning of the cracks. Many sought specific information on the fissures’ lengths and locations, hoping to reassure prospective purchasers.

But the most recent maps of fissures in the area are more than 10 years old and only concentrate on a zone extending a half-mile north and south of Hunt Highway between Higley and Thompson roads in an unincorporated area called Chandler Heights, said Ray Harris, a research geologist for the Arizona Geological Survey.

Harris mapped the area in 1994 and lately has been fielding many phone calls from people concerned about real estate.

"We’ve been getting calls from literally all over the country," he said. "I’ve been on the phone a lot the last week, calming people down."

Harris said the known fissure zone straddles Hunt Highway in Chandler Heights, so people buying in Queen Creek proper or far outside the zone probably needn’t worry.

But, he adds, much of the land in the area being sold for residential purposes was previously agricultural.

"In an agricultural field, nobody cares if it cracks," he said. "So who knows what’s out there. But so far all the fissures known about are within a half-mile on each side of the highway."

To be certain about a property’s proximity to fissures, buyers and real estate agents need to physically inspect the area and study maps and aerial photos, Harris said. The geological survey is working to develop an updated, digital map of known fissures that people could access on the Internet. It could be available by the end of the year.

Meanwhile, south East Valley real estate agencies are working to educate their agents about the huge land cracks caused by subsidence that occurs when groundwater is pumped out of aquifers.

Rick Boulter, director of education for Keller Williams Legacy One Realty, said he emailed the company’s 300-plus agents with information on fissures this week and plans to insert the topic in continuing education courses.

But agents often have to rely on sellers to disclose things such as geologic hazards, he said.

"As agents, we’re not geologists or anything like that," Boulter said. "We’ve never been held to the standard of being trained inspectors, but we want our agents to know enough about what’s happening that they could ask some memory-jogging questions (of sellers)."

Buyers and real estate agents may have more to rely on in the future than just the seller’s memory — the Arizona Department of Real Estate is continuing an investigation into fissures in the south East Valley.

One of its priorities is developing reliable and updated information on fissure locations, said Mary Utley, spokeswoman for the department.

Learn more

What: Public meeting on south East Valley fissures

When: 6 p.m. today

Where: Southeast Regional Library, 775 N. Greenfield Road, Gilbert

Information: Call (602) 506-1776 or (480) 539-5100. Hosted by Maricopa County Supervisor Fulton Brock, R-District 2 of Chandler, the meeting will give attendees the opportunity to view maps and listen to and ask questions of a panel of county and state officials.