Utah’s ground is cracking open — and it’s not earthquakes behind the destruction. These fissures tear across farmland and rural land without warning, swallowing livestock and equipment as they split for miles.
Ground fissures in Utah have been opening in rural areas for years, creating deep cracks in the earth that can stretch for miles. Scientists with the Utah Geological Survey attribute these fissures primarily to groundwater depletion, though the phenomenon has not attracted widespread national attention.The process works similarly to a sponge drying out. Underground aquifers hold water that support…
Utah was just hit by giant hail that smashed cars as a rare tornado touched down—but scientists say an even more alarming threat is silently tearing the ground apart beneath the state. Fissures have opened across rural areas like Cedar Valley and Enoch, cracking for miles as aquifers drain faster than they recharge.
Ground fissures in Utah have opened across rural areas in recent years, creating deep cracks in the earth that can extend for miles. The Utah Geological Survey attributes them largely to groundwater depletion. When aquifers are drained faster than they can recharge, the soil loses structural support and collapses. In some cases, the ground settles unevenly over buried bedrock ridges, causing the s…