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New maps, protocol reveal landslides using laser based imaging
News Release: April 20, 2009
Using a laser based terrain mapping system called lidar (light detection and ranging) and a new mapping protocol created spcifically for lidar-based imagery, DOGAMI geologists are working with local governments across Oregon to create a new generation of landslide inventory maps that are more accurate and comprehensive than any in the past. The protocol and first of the maps being produced for Clatsop, Marion, Clackamas, Washington, and Multnomah counties have been released.
- Special Paper 42 (SP-42), Protocol for Inventory Mapping of Landslide Deposits from Light Detection and Ranging (Lidar) Imagery, by William J. Burns and Ian P. Madin | by CD
- Interpretive Map Series 26 (IMS-26), Landslide Inventory Map of the Northwest Quarter of the Oregon City quadrangle, Clackamas County, Oregon, by William J. Burns and Ian P. Madin | buy CD
- Interpretive Map Series 27 (IMS-27), Landslide Inventory Map of the Southwest Quarter of the Beaverton quadrangle, Washington County, Oregon, by William J. Burns | buy CD
- To learn more about the protocol, contact Bill Burns
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Landslide Hazards in Oregon fact sheet (1266 KB PDF)
Learn more about debris flow warnings
Homeowner's Guide to Landslides, produced by Portland State University (PDF)
Have you seen a landslide? Tell us!
Interactive Oregon Landslides Map (SLIDO)
Lidar and Geohazards Map of the Portland Metro Area (Pilot Study)
- includes mapped landslide and debris flow deposits in the Oregon City area mapped at 1:15,000 scale.
IMS-22, GIS overview map of potential rapidly moving landslide hazards in western Oregon, by R. J. Hofmeister, D.J. Miller, K. A. Mills, J. C. Hinkle and A. E. Beier, 2002.
Full publication includes short explanatory text and GIS files for landslides hazards in Benton, Clackamas, Clatsop, Columbia, Coos, Curry, Douglas, Hood River, Jackson, Josephine, Lane, Lincoln, Linn, Marion, Multnomah, Polk, Tillamook, Washington, and Yamhill counties.
We hear a lot about landslides in Oregon, especially in the rainy season and most especially in western Oregon where steep slopes and wet, water saturated soils mix together to make the earth move.
What can you do about landslides before and during an intense storm? Click here for some helpful tips (PDF).
Geologists define landslides as the downslope movement of rock, soil, or related debris. Geologists use the term “mass movement” to describe a great variety of different landslides, such as rock fall, creep, slump, mudflow, earth flow, debris flow, and debris avalanche, but in most mass movement events, water plays a pivotal role by assisting in the loosening and lubricating of rock and soil surfaces to help begin the earth moving. Different types of landslides are composed of different materials, such as rock, sand, clay, and water and the proportions of these materials will dictate how fast a landslide moves and how much area it will cover.
To learn more about landslides in Oregon, read our Landslide Fact Sheet.
To learn more about debris flows, a dangerous type of fast moving, destructive landslide, click here.
Although landslides are propelled by gravity, they can be triggered by other natural geologic events or human activity. Volcanic eruptions and earthquakes can initiate earth movement on a grand scale. A variety of debris flows called “lahars”—a mixture of volcanic ash and water— are specific to volcanic activity and are often the major hazard experienced in a volcanic episode. Although earthquakes can initiate debris flows, the major causes of landslides in the northwest are continuous rains that saturate soils.
In December of 2007, a powerful debris flow roared down a steep drainiage near the town of Clatskanie, destroying home and businesses and closing Highway 30. Oregon Department of Geology landslide specialist Bill Burns visited the site and put together this presentation:
Woodson Debris Flow - December 2007
PDF of PowerPoint presentation (1.7 MB)
Landslides can also be the direct consequence of human activity. Seemingly insignificant modifications of surface flow and drainage may induce landslides. In an urban setting, improper drainage is most often the factor when a landslide occurs.
Many unstable, landslide prone areas can be recognized. Tip-offs include scarps, tilted and bent (“gun-stocked”) trees, wetlands and standing water, irregular and hummocky ground topography, and oversteepened slopes with a thick soil cover. The technology of spotting landslides by use of aerial photography and new laser based terrain mapping called lidar (Light Detection and Ranging) is helping the Oregon Department of Geology develop much more accurate and detailed maps of areas with existing landslides and we are now able to create landslide susceptibility maps, that is, maps that that show where we think different types of landslides may occur in the future.You can learn more about mapping landslides with lidar here.
In 1998, following the deadly landslides that occurred during the storms of 1996, a task force formed by the State Legislature to look at the problem of landslides in Oregon, presented its results. You can read the report here from the Joint Interim Task Force On Landslides and Public Safety.
For additional background, you can read the Report to the Seventy-first Legislative Assembly on the Implementation of 1999 Senate Bill 12 Relating to Public Safety and Rapidly Moving Landslides
In 2006 and 2007, the Oregon Department of Geology hosted two conferences in Portland to discuss the status of landslide mitigation and preparation in the state:
Landslide Symposium 2007
Landslide Forum 2006
The U.S. Geological Survey has also put together information on landslides that you can view and/or download:
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