An overview of recent large catastrophic landslides in northern British Columbia, Canada

Abstract

At least thirty-eight, large, catastrophic landslides, each either larger than 0.5 M m 3 or longer than 1 km, have occurred in northern British Columbia in the last three decades. The landslides include low-gradient flowslides in cohesive sediments, long-runout rock slides (rock avalanches), and complex rock slide-flows. The flowslides have occurred in a variety of sediments, including glaciolacustrine silt, clay-rich till, and clay-rich colluvium. The rock failures have happened in weak shale overlain by sandstone and volcanic rocks. The frequency of large landslides in northern British Columbia appears to be increasing, suggesting a link to climate change.