Surface fissures have been observed in many desert basins in the western United States. These surface-collapse features are usually discovered after a normally dry surface has been covered with water, either by runoff from intense rainfall, by flooding, or by irrigation.

The Gas Research Institute, U.S. Department of Energy, and the State of Texas cooperated in joint-venture research to evaluate the infield reserve growth potential of mature gas fields containing conventional reservoirs.

The Atlas of Major Central and Eastern Gulf Coast Gas Reservoirs is the second in a series compiling geologic and engineering data on natural gas reservoirs in the major gas-producing regions of the United States.