57 Mass Movement: Landslides

Mass movement can be devastating and costly. Landslides and avalanches may not be something we really think about unless we live in an area prone to them, but mass wasting can occur just about anywhere. Some caused by climate change, see story below about the event in Greenland.

Latest news in California, 2024:

https://www.nbcnews.com/science/environment/california-city-hit-landslides-slipping-may-not-stoppable-rcna169527

The largest landslide in orth America (2024):

 

 

Landslide in Greenland caused 650 feet wave! 

https://www.nbcnews.com/science/environment/650-foot-tsunami-greenland-rcna170322

 

Earthflow in Italy in 2010:

 

Mass wasting can be very fast or slow. What do you make of the photo below?

 

Trees on a slope. The trees are bent at the base. It appears the trees initially grew and then the ground shifted.

Do you notice anything strange about the trees? Would you want to live in an area like this?

Landslide in WA, Oso, March 22, 2014

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2014/03/26/us/houses-in-the-path-of-the-washington-mudslide.html?_r=0

 

Before landslide

 

After landslide

Bingham Canyon (copper mining operation), April 10, 2013

On the evening of 10 April 2013 (MDT) a massive landslide occurred at the Bingham Canyon copper mine near Salt Lake City, Utah, USA. The northeastern wall of the 970-m-deep pit collapsed in two distinct episodes that were each sudden, lasting ~90 seconds, but separated in time by ~1.5 hours. In total, ~65 million cubic meters of material was deposited, making the cumulative event likely the largest non-volcanic landslide to have occurred in North America in modern times. Fortunately, there were no fatalities or injuries. Because of extensive geotechnical surveillance, mine operators were aware of the instability and had previously evacuated the area.

Kennecott Copper Mine recovering faster than predicted - The Salt Lake Tribune

 

    Resettlement Option discussion (2018) ;  https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6100022/

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Geology 101 for Lehman College (CUNY) Copyright © by Yuri Gorokhovich and Lumen Learning is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.

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