Water Stewardship Information Sources
| Citation | Schwab, J. 1998. Landslides on the Queen Charlotte Islands: Processes, rates and climatic events. In: Hogan, D.L., P.J. Tschaplinski, and S. Chatwin (Editors). B.C. Min. For., Res. Br., Victoria, B.C. Land Manage. Handb. No. 41. |
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| Organization | FLNRO |
| URL | https://www.for.gov.bc.ca/hfd/pubs/docs/Lmh/Lmh41.htm |
| Abstract/Description or Keywords | Mass wasting constitutes the dominant geomorphic process on the steep mountain slopes of the Queen Charlotte Ranges and Skidegate Plateau. The term “mass wasting” encompasses a variety of processes by which masses of soil rock and debris are transported downslope primarily by gravity. The principal processes active on the Charlottes are described by Alley and Thomson (1978) and Wilford and Schwab (1982). Based on the classification of Varnes (1978), the processes are debris slides, debris avalanches, debris flows, debris torrents, bedrock slumps and slides, and slump earthflows. The terms mass wasting, mass movement, landslide, failure, and hillslope failure are often used interchangeably in discussions and reports lumping similar types of processes. In this presentation, hillslope failure or slope failure is used to describe the debris slide–avalanche-flow–torrent processes. The classification of Varnes is used when specific process are discussed. The impact of logging on slope stability is a major concern of the forest industry on the Queen Charlotte Islands and the mountainous terrain of coastal British Columbia. In the mid-1970s, forest managers began to recognize that mass wasting and erosion were a problem in terms of stream habitat destruction and the potential loss of productive forest site. Hence, the first research questions were asked: How big is the problem? What is the cause? How can we solve it? The initial research was aimed mainly at establishing that mass wasting was a problem, rather than at developing solutions or solving problems related to management in landslide-prone terrain. The first research thus looked at obtaining data on the frequency and yield of mass wasting for various landscape types affected by logging activity. This presentation summarizes the initial research. Management solutions are discussed in other presentations. Presented here is a short description of mass wasting processes active on the coast, and of debris slide–avalanche-flow–torrent processes. |
| Information Type | Article |
| Regional Watershed | Coast Region |
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| Project status | complete |
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