CGRG Bibliography of Canadian Geomorphology
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Author : Evans, S.G.; Hungr, O.; and Enegren, A.
Date : 1994
Title : The Avalanche Lake rock avalanche, MacKenzie Mountains, Northwest Territories, Canada: description, dating and dynamics
Publication : Canadian Geotechnical Journal
Issue : 31(5):
Page(s) : 49-765



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Abstract

At Avalanche Lake, located in the Backbone Ranges of the Mackenzie Mountains, about 200(10+3) of massive Devonian carbonate rock slid down remarkably planar bedding surfaces dipping at 30o and created a spectacular runup on the opposite valley side onto a topographic feature called the Shelf. Subjected to controversy, some workers argued that the avalanche could not have happened without the presence glacier ice partially filling the valley. But evidence presented indicated that the rock avalanche occurred in an ice-free environment. Radiocarbon ages obtained from the entrained wood in the debris, converted to calendar years, indicate that the landslide took place in this millenium, with a 95% probability of it having occurred no earlier than 1440 A.D. No glacier ice then existed in the valley. Based on this evidence, the behaviour of the rock avalanche is reconstructed. It is characterized by dramatic mobility in which the rock avalanche split into two parts. The maximum vertical drop in the path is 1220 m, and the maximum runup is 640 m

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Bibliography of Canadian Geomorphology