An Engineering Rock Classification to Evaluate Seismic Rock-Fall Susceptibility and its Application to the Wasatch Front

Abstract

The authors examine the characteristics of rock slopes that make them susceptible to failures caused by earthquakes. They discuss these characteristics, namely the fracture and joint properties that define the structural behavior of a rock mass at the surface, and then present an empirical engineering classification or ranking system that rates the relative seismic susceptibility of rock masses. They next apply the engineering classification in a case study of seismically-triggered rock falls in the Mammoth Lakes area. The engineering classification is correlated with the concentration of seismically-triggered rock falls, and the resulting statistical model can be used to predict the probability of a rock fall for a given magnitude earthquake. Finally, they apply the classification and probability analysis to similar slopes in the Wasatch Range near Salt Lake City and evaluate the relative susceptibility of slopes in this area to seismically-induced failure.