The Rubble Creek landslide, southwestern British Columbia

Abstract

A 19th century slide, involving an estimated 25 × 106 m3 of rock, devastated Rubble Creek Valley, 80 km north of Vancouver, B.C. Breaking away from a headwall composed of late glacial dacitic lava, the slide travelled as much as 4.6 km with a maximum drop of 1060 m, thus moving on an average slope of 8.5°. Velocities, estimated from the superelevation of the slide as it moved around curves in the valley, exceed 20 m/s (72 km/h) and sliding was probably completed within 10 min. Tree-ring data indicate that the slide occurred in the fall or winter of 1855–1856. The trigger mechanism has not been identified, but the presence of an exceedingly steep original slope of the lava front, attributed to ponding against latest Pleistocene ice occupying the valley below, was clearly a contributing factor. Both the precipitous headwall and a second ice-dammed lava front are considered to be potential sources for new slides. Some evidence suggests that previous slides have occurred here since the last glaciation, about 11 000 years ago. A court ruling barring residential development in the area devastated in 1855–1856 on the grounds of future hazard to life seems justified.

Volcanology of the 2350 B.P. Eruption of Mount Meager Volcanic Complex, British Columbia, Canada: implications for Hazards from Eruptions in Topographically Complex Terrain

“…There is no evidence that it is linked to the eruption, but it likely blocked the Lillooet River. Similar rock avalanches have blocked streams in similar terrain to the south at Mount Cayley (Clague and Souther 1982;Evans and Brooks 1991;Cruden and Lu 1992) and near Mount Garibaldi (Moore and Mathews 1978).…”

A Review of Studies Dealing with Tree Rings and Rockfall Activity: The Role of Dendrogeomorphology in Natural Hazard Research

“…THE BEGINNINGS Surprisingly, and despite the potential of dendrogeomorphological methods, rockfall activity has only rarely been studied through the analysis of tree-ring sequences. The work of Moore and Mathews (1978) seems to represent the first (published) attempt to use dendrogeomorphological methods to date the impacts of rocks on trees. This study resulted in the reconstruction of the historical 'Rubble Creek' rockfall avalanche in southwestern British Columbia (Canada).…”

“…In the studies presented by Moore and Mathews (1978) and Butler et al (1986), the process was described as a downslope displacement of rock particles in a ''rapid flow-like movement'', while different debris transfer processes (e.g., frost-coated clast flows, niveo-aeolian sedimentation, debris flows, snow avalanches) were identified responsible for the remobilization of small rockfall clasts (Ø 2,36 cm) on the slopes of the Gaspe´Peninsula.…”

Tree-ring analysis in natural hazards research – an overview

“…First studies of rock-tree interactions focused on the identification and dating of large rock avalanches (e.g., Moore and Mathews, 1978;Butler et al, 1986) rather than on the reconstruction of the much more frequent release of individual rocks and boulders during rockfall events. Lafortune et al (1997) were probably the first to focus on rockfall events, but with the aim of reconstructing sedimentation rates and forest edge dynamics.…”