Pusch Ridge - Whose Fault?

It was the Pirate?s Fault.

About 25 to 5 million years ago (more or less), as Arizona?s surface was stretched apart, some blocks of the earth?s crust dropped down 10 to 13 thousand feet while others lifted up.

In our area the Pirate Fault, which forms the steep northwest boundary of Pusch Ridge, is a result of this vertical movement. The steep faces of the ridge, shown in this photo, mark this fault. Until about 2 million years ago, the valley under our feet was filling up with sediments eroding from the rising Santa Catalina Mountains.

This accumulation of sediments from erosion was followed by a housing boom. :-) So....we live on about 10,000 feet of sediment.