The Santa Cruz Valley National Heritage Area (Figure) covers a wide swath of historic and productive porphyry copper mining in southern Arizona, and mining has long been an important of the history of this region. Our newest Open-File Report, Preliminary evaluation of mineral resources of the Santa Cruz Valley National Heritage Area, Arizona, provides a brief assessment of the mineral resources of the roughly 3,600 square miles (9,378 square kilometers; 2,304,000 acres) of those portions of Pima and Santa Cruz Counties encompassed by the Santa Cruz Valley National Heritage Area. Mineral assessment is largely confined to metallic minerals - copper, gold, silver, lead, zinc and molybdenum extracted from the 20 metallic mineral districts within the heritage area which includes hundreds of mines. Aggregate resources, the building blocks of human society, are also an important component of the mineral resources of the Santa Cruz Valley area.

Landslides hazards are common in mountainous areas of the Southwest and include fast-moving debris flows, large slow moving landslides, and other ground- failure related hazards. In Arizona, historical landslides number in the hundreds and have caused tens of millions of dollars of damage to infrastructure and property. Evidence of past landslides exist in all 15 Arizona counties and in, or adjacent to, large metropolitan centers, such as Flagstaff, Phoenix, Tucson, Prescott, and elsewhere

When purchasing a house or property, a largely ignored aspect is the ground that the house sits on and the environment surrounding the property. Before choosing an area in which to buy a home, many people inquire about traffic-noise levels, crime rates, quality of schools, and whether the house is under the flight path of a major airport. It is logically better to obtain this kind of information before one buys or builds a home, rather than be surprised the first night by jets taking off from a nearby airport. Similarly, gaining knowledge about geologic conditions in an area will assist prospective homeowners, home builders, developers, and real estate agents to make informed decisions regarding potential problems.

Potential Environmental Hazards on Inactive / Abandoned Mine Lands, Coronado National Forest, Southeast Arizona

Mineral Appraisal of Coronado National Forest, Part 13, Atascosa-Pajarito-San Luis-Tumacacori Mountains Unit, Pima & Santa Crux Counties, Arizona MLA 24-94 (1994)

Mineral Appraisal of Coronado National Forest, Part 15, Executive Summary MLA 23-94 (1994)

Mineral Appraisal of Coronado National Forest, Part 12, Santa Rita Mountains Unit Pima and Santa Cruz Counties, Arizona MLA 11-94 (1994) 225-p.

Mineral Appraisal of Coronado National Forest, Part 14, Industrial Minerals MLA 10-94 (1994). The U.S. Bureau of Mines conducted mineral appraisals of the 13 management units in the Coronado National Forest, which comprises approximately 1.85 million acres in five counties of southeastern Arizona and one county in southwestern New Mexico. Most industrial minerals found in the Forest are commodities of low unit value. Their development is highly dependent on accessibility and location relative to potential markets. Current production is limited to one marble/limesone quarry and a few sand and gravel quarries; production there is expected to continue. Subeconomic resources of silica flux contain appreciable byproduct metals, and may become economic if further investigation establishes higher tonnage and/or grade, or if the price of gold and/or silver increases. Two areas are possible targets for development of high-brightness marble products. Development of 137,000 st indicated resource of low-grade gypsum is unlikely under reasonably foreseeable economic conditions. Gypsum deposits outside the Forest are more likely targets for development. There is little likelihood for development of f!uorspar occurrences in the Forest, due to their low volume and quality, and to decreased demand for fluorspar from the steel industry. Occurrences of common rock, and sand and gravel could be utilized as needed.

Mineral Appraisal of Coronado National Forest - Part 8. Huachuca Mountains Unit, Cochise and Santa Cruz Counties, Arizona MLA 1-94 (1994)

Manganese Deposits of Eastern Arizona I.C. 7990 (1961)