SummaryRecent light detection and ranging (lidar) imagery has allowed us to identify and map a large number of previously unrecognized landslides, or slides, in heavily forested terrain in the western Columbia Gorge, Skamania County, Washington, and it has revealed that the few previously recognized areas of instability are actually composites of multiple smaller landslides. The high resolution of

The magnitude (M) 7.0 Haiti earthquake of January 12, 2010, triggered landslides throughout much of Haiti on the island of Hispaniola in the Caribbean Sea. The epicenter of the quake was located at 18.44°N., 72.57°W. at a depth of 13 kilometers (km) approximately 25 km southwest of the capital, Port-au-Prince. Although estimates vary widely, the most reliable surveys of casualties indicate that th

Historical movement of the Montaguto earth flow in southern Italy has periodically destroyed residences and farmland, and damaged the Italian National Road SS90 and the Benevento-Foggia National Railway. This paper provides maps from an investigation into the evolution of the Montaguto earth flow from 1954 to 2010. We used aerial photos, topographic maps, LiDAR data, satellite images, and field ob

This report presents a preliminary map of landslide deposits in the Mesa Verde National Park area (see map sheet) at a compilation scale of 1:50,000. Landslide is a general term for landforms produced by a wide variety of gravity-driven mass movements, including various types of flows, slides, topples and falls, and combinations thereof produced by the slow to rapid downslope transport of surficia

The devastating landslides that accompanied the great 1964 Alaska earthquake showed that seismically triggered landslides are one of the greatest geologic hazards in Anchorage. Maps quantifying seismic landslide hazards are therefore important for planning, zoning, and emergency-response preparation. The accompanying maps portray seismic landslide hazards for the following conditions: (1) deep, tr

Debris flows pose substantial threats to life, property, infrastructure, and water resources. Post-wildfire debris flows may be of catastrophic proportions compared to debris flows occurring in unburned areas. During 2006, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the Northern Colorado Water Conservancy District, initiated a pre-wildfire study to determine the potential for post-wildf

The 1982-83 and 1997-98 El Ni?os brought very high precipitation to California?s central coast; this precipitation resulted in raised groundwater levels, coastal flooding, and destabilized slopes throughout the region. Large landslides in the coastal mountains of Big Sur in Monterey and San Luis Obispo Counties blocked sections of California State Route 1, closing the road for months at a time. La

This report documents the spatial distribution of 3,800 landslides caused by 1997-98 El Ni?o winter rainfall in the vicinity of Crow Creek in Alameda and Contra Costa Counties, California. The report also documents 558 historical (pre-1997-98) landslides. Landslides were mapped from 1:12,000-scale aerial photographs and classified as either debris flows or slides. Slides include rotational and tra

The risk of landslides during intense or prolonged rainfall is high in steeply sloping areas such as the municipality of Ponce, where 56 percent of the 301-square-kilometer municipality has slopes 10 degrees or greater. These are areas where the possibility of landsliding increases when triggering conditions such as heavy rainfall or excavation and construction occur. Using a 30-meter digital e

Heavy rainfall from the storm of December 14?16, 1999, triggered thousands of shallow landslides on steep slopes of the Sierra de Avila north of Caracas, Venezuela, and caused flooding and massive debris flows in the channels of major drainages that severely damaged coastal communities along the Caribbean Sea. Within this region we characterized geologic conditions where landslides initiated on hi

This map describes the possible hazard from earthquake-induced landslides for the cities of Oakland and Piedmont, CA. The hazard depicted by this map was modeled for a scenario corresponding to an M=7.1 earthquake on the Hayward, CA fault. This scenario magnitude is associated with complete rupture of the northern and southern segments of the Hayward fault, an event that has an estimated retur

This map describes the possible hazard from earthquake-induced landslides for the city of Berkeley, CA. The hazard depicted by this map was modeled for a scenario corresponding to an M=7.1 earthquake on the Hayward, CA fault. This scenario magnitude is associated with complete rupture of the northern and southern segments of the Hayward fault, an event that has an estimated return period o