Giant Desiccation Cracks of Red Lake, Mohave County, Arizona

Plio-Pleistocene-Holocene playa of Arizona, such as Red Lake playa 30-miles north of Kingman, are fertile ground for giant desiccation cracks (GDC). The cracks form as wetted playa clays dry out and shrink. The result polygonal cracks are identical to mudcracks but are several scales of magnitude larger. GDC formation in Arizona is driven in part by drought. Another site with networks of GDCs is the Willcox playa of southeastern Arizona. See Ray Harris's excellent paper on GDCs in Arizona: http://repository.azgs.az.gov/uri_gin/azgs/dlio/1059