Organize

Learn

Connect

Instructors now have an easy way to collect students’ online quizzes with the Norton Gradebook without flooding their inboxes with e-mails.

Students can track their online quiz scores by setting up their own Student Gradebook.

Chapter 16: Unsafe Ground: Landslides and Other Mass Movements

Geotours

Download Geotours.

Getting Started :

If you haven’t done it already, download Google Earth™ and install it on your computer.
If you haven’t done it already, download the Geotours.kmz file and save a copy to your desktop. (The Geotours.kmz file contains the Geotours for all chapters, so you only need to download this once!)
By downloading Geotours.kmz you acknowledge that it was created solely to accompany Steve Marshak's Earth: Portrait of a Planet and Essentials of Geology and is limited to use with only Steve Marshak's Earth: Portrait of a Planet and Essentials of Geology and may not be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by any means for any other purpose without the written permission of the publisher.
Double-click the Geotours.kmz file and Google Earth™ will open automatically.
In the left-hand sidebar you will see a Places menu, and in the Temporary Places folder you will see an EARTH_3e.kmz file. Double-click the file and you will see a list of Geotours for each chapter.
Then open the Geotour folder you want to explore! If you’d like to read more about the features of Geotours see Using Geotours, or go to our Helpful Resources section.

STOPS ON GEOTOUR 16: Examples of Landslides

Slumping Hawaii

See also "What a Geologist Sees" Geofeatures: Pali Scarp, Kipuka of Former Chain of Craters Road, East Rift Zone (active area), and Lava Entering Ocean

1964 Slumps, Anchorage, Alaska

See also Worksheet Problems 1-2

Roadside Landslide, Pacific Coast Highway, California

See also Worksheet Problem 3

Portuguese Bend Landslide, California

See also Worksheet Problem 4

La Conchita Mudslide, California

See also Worksheet Problem 5

Mt. Saint Helens Lahars, Washington

See also "What a Geologist Sees" Geofeatures: Log Mat, Resurgent Dome, and Lahar; Overlay: Volcanic Features Map
Mt. St. Helens Tour

Gros Ventre Slide, Wyoming

See also Worksheet Problem 6

Debris Fall, Yungay, Peru
Rockfalls, Canyonlands National Park, Utah

GEOTOUR 16 WORKSHEET

Landslides cause distinctive scars on the Earth's surface, such as head scarps, hummocky ground, and/or disrupted vegetation. Examples of these features occur worldwide.

1964 Slumps, Anchorage, Alaska
1. Double-click on Image G16.3–.4, and you will be looking down on the 4th Street slump. Orient the image so north is at the top. Assume that the direction of motion of the slump is perpendicular to the head scarp. In what direction did this slump move?

2. Double-click on the placemark for Problem 2. Note that the placemark lies offshore, on a tidal flat of sediment. You can see submerged tidal channels cut into the sediment.

(a) Based on what you learned in Chapter 7, what type of sediment accumulates on a tidal flat?

(b) This is the type of material that underlies the adjacent land areas. Given the nature of this material, how does it make the coastal area susceptible to slumping in this area?

Roadside Landslide, Pacific Coast Highway, California
3. The placemarks labeled Problem 3 (near Image G16.5) all highlight similar manmade features along the coastal highway. These features contribute to making the adjacent slope susceptible to failure. Explain what these features are and how they promote slope instability.

Portuguese Bend Landslide, California
4. In the area around the placemark labeled Problem 4, there is abundant evidence of slumping. How might water have helped facilitate this mass movement? (Note: include water from rain, the ocean, lawn sprinklers, leaky swimming pools, septic systems, etc.)

La Conchita Mudslide, California
5. When you double-click on the placemark for Problem 5, you will be looking ENE, at the steep, seaward-sloping face of a terrace. The placemark is positioned on the most recent, active mudslide, which is the infamous La Conchita mudslide.

(a) In addition to the La Conchita mudslide, how many other mudslides, are present on the slope?

(b) The La Conchita mudslide carried away a portion of the road that cuts diagonally up the slope. Did the other slides move before or after the construction of the road?

(d) How far to the west of the slope’s base (in m) is the danger zone in which houses face the possibility of disruption by a mudslide? (Hint: Look straight down on the La Conchita slide and zoom down to an elevation of 300 m. Measure the distance from the base of the main slope to the western edge of the most recent slide.)

Gros Ventre Slide, Wyoming
6. Double-click on the placemark labeled Problem 6, which will bring you to a view of the Gros Ventre Slide and the adjacent Slide Lake.

(a) What feature lies directly beneath the placemark?

(b) Based on the position of the lake, in what direction does the water of the Gros Ventre River flow at this locality?

First Name:
Last Name:
Your Email Address:
Your Professor's Email Address:

Print this Page « Return to Chapter 16 Study Plan

StudySpace: Chemistry 2e.