S E Barnes

Well I reached out to the Arizona Geological Survey on Facebook, and it just so happens they'd recently done an analysis of the scoria in my exact area and they sent me the results! How cool is that??

Here's what they told me:

"We happen to just get back whole rock geochemistry data for the area's scoria. Trace element summary is below. In short, though, I don’t think there are any known hazards from building with basalt. Trace elements are locked up in volcanic glass or the crystal structure of stable minerals. Relevant samples are MC1, MC2, and MC3. Ignore SCO, its from a different part of the state and a different rock type. Values are in parts per million (ppm)"

I've attached the table of results

Hey all,

I'm in northern Arizona at 5700 feet, 10-15 inches of rain a year, very fast draining cinder based soil, only trees around are junipers, my land is pretty much flat. The community well 2 miles away that I haul water from is 1300 ft deep, so it's reasonable to believe the water level is similar at my place.

I'd like to plant some trees for shade and privacy and am looking at things like some willow hybrids that are sold as being very drought tolerant, fast growing and able to survive without extra watering (or very limited amounts) once established.

I'm willing to water them for the first few years in order to give them the best possible chance at survival but would hope not to have to, or only very rarely give them supplemental water after 2 or 3 years.

Am I kidding myself that this is possible? When they say the trees are drought tolerant once established, is that assuming a much shallower water table that the roots can potentially reach after a couple of years? Am I setting myself up for disappointment??

Cool! How many inches of rain a year do you get? Does it get extra water beyond that?

Thanks for your thoughts. Will definitely get the stuff tested and see. And yes, dust masks will be a good idea regardless

I'm considering building an earthbag house on my land in AZ and filling the bags with scoria/cinders since I'm in a volcanic area with a mine a few miles away.

I came across this page (https://www.mychemicalfreehouse.net/2019/11/non-toxic-natural-alternative-wa.html) the other day which got me thinking. In the green box halfway down the page and in the comments, she claims that cinders and other volcanic materials other than pumice are toxic due to heavy metals they contain.

I've googled a bunch and found very little to corroborate this. A study from Mount Etna in Italy found higher cases of thyroid cancer in the area but I'm guessing that's more to do with the ash and gases from actual eruptions since it's still active (the full text was paywalled so only read the abstract).

The ground on my property is in large part cinders so I'm screwed anyway lol but I might reconsider surrounding myself with more of the stuff if there was any truth to it.

Anyone have any input?

Hey, if you see this I would love some more details/links about the legalities making it impossible to live full time in an existing house in the countryside of Catalunya. I have similar plans and my understanding was that if there is already a house there that has been previously used as habitation, it shouldn't be too much of a problem. Thanks!