Table Of ContentFurther titles in this series:
1. G. SANGLER AT
THE PENETROMETER AND SOIL EXPLORATION
2. Q. ZARUBA AND V. MENCL
LANDSLIDES AND THEIR CONTROL
3. E.E. WAHLSTROM
TUNNELING IN ROCK
4A. R. SILVESTER
COASTAL ENGINEERING, I
Generation, Propagation and Influence of Waves
4B. R. SILVESTER
COASTAL ENGINEERING, II
Sedimentation, Estuaries, Tides, Effluents and Modelling
5. R.N. YONG AND B.P. WARKENTIN
SOIL PROPERTIES AND BEHAVIOUR
6. E.E. WAHLSTROM
DAMS, DAM FOUNDATIONS, AND RESERVOIR SITES
7. W.F. CHEN
LIMIT ANALYSIS AND SOIL PLASTICITY
8. L.N. PERSEN
ROCK DYNAMICS AND GEOPHYSICAL EXPLORATION
Introduction to Stress Waves in Rocks
9. M.D. GIDIGASU
LATERITE SOIL ENGINEERING
10. Q. ZARUBA AND V. MENCL
ENGINEERING GEOLOGY
11. H.K. GUPTA AND B.K. RASTOGI
DAMS AND EARTHQUAKES
12. F.H. CHEN
FOUNDATIONS ON EXPANSIVE SOILS
13. L. HOBST AND J. ZAJIC
ANCHORING IN ROCK
14A.B. VOIGHT (Editor)
ROCKSLIDES AND AVALANCHES, 1
Natural Phenomena
Developments in Geotechnical Engineering 14B
ROCKSLIDES AND AVALANCHES, 2
Engineering Sites
by
BARRY VOIGHT (Editor)
,
College of Earth and Mineral Sciences
, , ,
The Pennsylvania State University University Park Pennsylvania U.S.A.
ELSEVIER SCIENTIFIC PUBLISHING COMPANY
Amsterdam — Oxford — New York 1979
ELSEVIER SCIENTIFIC PUBLISHING COMPANY
335 Jan van Galenstraat
P.O. Box 211, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Distributors for the United States and Canada:
ELSEVIER NORTH-HOLLAND INC.
52, Vanderbilt Avenue
New York, N.Y. 10017
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data (Revised)
Main entry under title:
Rockslides and avalanches.
(Developments in geochemical engineering ; lUA-lUB)
Includes bibliographies and indexes.
CONTENTS: 1. Natural phenomena.— 2. Engineering
sites.
1. Mass-wasting. 2. Avalanches. 3. Soil
mechanics. I. Voight, Barry. II. Series.
QE598.2.R6 551.3 77-17810
ISBN 0-1^-1*1507-6 (v. l)
ISBN 0-444-41507-6 (Vol. 14a)
ISBN 0-444-41508-4 (Vol. 14b)
ISBN 0-444-41662-5 (Series)
© Elsevier Scientific Publishing Company, 1979
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a
retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechan
ical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission
of the publisher, Elsevier Scientific Publishing Company, P.O. Box 330, Amsterdam,
The Netherlands
Printed in The Netherlands
"In the United States, the catastrophic descent of the slopes of the deepest cut on the
Panama Canal issued a warning that we were overstepping the limits of our ability to
predict the consequences of our actions ..."
Karl Terzaghi
1936
PREFACE
Rockslides and Avalanches attempts to provide a foundation for studies
of mass movement phenomena in the Western Hemisphere. The project
began in 1973 during excursion preparations for the 3rd International Con
gress on Rock Mechanics, when it had become apparent that sufficient
modern work had been accomplished at most important North and South
American landslide localities to make possible the preparation of a compre
hensive standard reference on the subject.
The work is divided into two volumes. The first emphasizes natural phe
nomena, and the second deals with mass movements as related to engineering
projects. Unlike Albert Heim's classic summary of Alpine slide phenomena,
Bergsturz und Menschenleben, our volumes are multiple-authored, con
taining 48 contributions from 70 authors. The overall effort is dedicated
equally to four outstanding men, namely Albert Heim, Josef Stini, Karl Ter-
zaghi, and Laurits Bjerrum. Introductory chapters in each of two volumes
outline many of their important contributions. The dedication chapters for
Stini, Terzaghi, and Bjerrum are given in Volume 2, because to a great extent
the works of these men were carried out in conjunction with full-scale
engineering projects, where precise field measurements could often be made.
For them, the distinction between theory and practice had little meaning.
The chapter on Heim is given in Volume 1 in accordance with the volume
theme, viz. studies of natural phenomena. In retrospect, it may be appropri
ate to mention that one of these gentlemen had at one time recommended to
me that an attempt be made
"to collect details of slides and slips occurring on plane or partly plane surfaces. . .
A collection of available data — evaluated critically — would be of great value even
if it. . . should not be possible to end up with final solutions to the problem."
To a great extent this goal seems realized by completion of this work, cer
tainly to a much fuller extent than any single person could manage by indi
vidual effort.
To list all those who have contributed to this work, directly or indirectly,
is a difficult task; but the attempt must be made. Many are by preference
VIII PREFACE
anonymous, and for these and others who may be momentarily forgotten as
this list is compiled, I express my deep appreciation.
The authors have obviously devoted considerable effort to chapter prepa
ration; without exception they have shown extraordinary patience and cour
tesy to my editorial attempts, and they have my sincere gratitude. Next, for
wise counsel and/or helpfulness in various matters, I am indebted to Kenneth
S. Lane, L. "Spike" Underwood, W.R. Judd, G.B. Wallace, C. Fairhurst, G.F.
Sowers, Richard E. Gray, Dewayne Misterek, R. Goodman, D.C. Banks, J.R.
Lutton, W.G. Pariseau, F. J0rstad, D.T. Griggs, J.C. Sharp, B. L^danyi, CO.
Brawner, H.W. Nasmith, R.W. Tabor, R. Stroud, J.F. Shroder, Jr., R.L.
Slingerland, G. Eisbacher, R. Parizek and S. Thorarinsson.
Publication of the work was for a time scheduled by the Geological Soci
ety of America and numerous chapters were improved as a result of com
ments by the Society editorial staff and reviewers. Special mention is due in
this regard to Bennie Troxel, D.J. Varnes, A. Wellck, C. Barteides, D. Merri-
field and I. Woodall.
All chapters have been subjected to technical review and all have been
thereby improved. A reviewer's work too often remains unpraised, but as
editor I have been impressed by the importance of their efforts. An impor
tant share of any credit for this project is theirs: J.F. Abel, Jr., J.T. Andrews,
E.T. Cleaves, R. Colton, E. Dobrovolny, J.J. Emery, M.C. Everitt, R.S.
Farrow, R.W. Fleming, R.M. Goodman, W.R. Hansen, R. Hardy, E.L. Hamil
ton, B.C. Hearne, F. Heuze, L.B. James, A.M. Johnson, R.B. Johnson, T.C.
Kenney, Β. Ladanyi, F.T. Lee, P.J. Lorens, B. Mears, Jr., D.M. Morton, H.H.
Neel, W.R. Normark, L.C. Pakiser, W.G. Pariseau, R.I. Perla, S.S. Philbrick,
G. Plafker, W.G. Pierce, P.A. Schaerer, R. Schölten, R. Shreve, H.W. Shu,
R.L. Shuster, R.L. Slingerland, D.L. Turcotte, D.J. Varnes, E.M. Winkler.
My personal indebtedness to the following must also be recorded: R.C. Gut-
schick and E.M. Winkler, who first introduced me to research in slope mech
anics at the University of Notre Dame; Archie MacAlpin, Leroy Graves, Ray
Plummer, Steponas Kolupaila, Harry Saxe, Bill Fairley, and M.J. Murphy,
also of Notre Dame; Fred Donath, Marshall Kay, Walter Bucher, and Rhodes
Fairbridge at Columbia University; my Penn State colleagues, especially Rob
Schölten, Gene Williams, the late Jon Weber, Dick Parizek, L.A. Wright, Rob
Texter, D.P. Gold, and Barton Jenks; Guntram Innerhofer, of Tschagguns;
O. Schmidegg, Innsbruck; Jacques Dozy, Delft; Andrej Werynski, Warsaw;
Bengt Broms, Stockholm; Anders Rapp, Uppsala; Claire, Agnes, Rose and
George Voight, Mary Raak, Arthur Cheesman and Frank Joseph of Yonkers;
Tony Kamp, Miami; Nellie and George, Croton Dam and Shickshinny; fel
low naturalists Chip Taylor, New York City, and J.P. Voight, Togwotee,
Wyoming; Barbara and Elmer; and Lisa, Barb and Mary Anne.
Enormous assistance in preparation of this work was provided by Barb
Dauria, Judy Bailey, and Dotty Duck of the Geosciences Department, and
by Emilie McWilliams and coworkers of the Earth and Mineral Sciences
Library at Penn State.
PREFACE IX
I thank the Albany Institute of History and Art, N.Y., for permission to
include Thomas Cole's lithograph, "Distant view of the slides that destroyed
the Willey family, White Mountains", as the frontispiece of Volume 1. Funds
which permitted reproductions in color were generously supplied by Charles
Hosier of the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences at Penn State.
Finally, I express my appreciation to F. van Eysinga and H. Frank of
Elsevier Scientific Publishing Company, for pleasant collaboration, considera
tion in several matters and for a job well done.
BARRY VOIGHT
State College, Pennsylvania
LIST OF CONTRIBUTORS
D.C. BANKS U.S. Army Engineer Waterways Experiment Station, P.O.
Box 631, Vicksburg, Mississippi, U.S.A.
CO. BRAWNER Golder-Brawner & Associates, 224 West 8th Ave., Vancouver,
British Columbia, Canada
B.R. CARTER Law Engineering Testing Company, Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.A.
G.W. CLOUGH Department of Civil Engineering, Stanford University, Stan
ford, California, U.S.A.
D.F. COATES Director-General CANMET, Department of Energy, Mines
and Resources, 555 Booth St., Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
A.M.M. COSTA COUTO Secretaria de Obras e Servicos Publicos do Estado do Rio de
e FONSECA Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
A.J. DA COSTA NUNES Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro and
Tecnosolo, S/A, Rua Pedro Alves 13, 15, Santo Cristo, Rio
de Janeiro, Brazil
H.K. DUPREE Geology Section, Upper Missouri River Division, U.S. Bureau
of Reclamation, Billings, Montana, U.S.A.
L. ESPINOSA Sociedad Mexicana de Mecanica de Rocas, A.C., Londres
44-2° piso, Coyoacan, Mexico, D.F., Mexico
V.R. EYZAGUIRRE Cerro de Pasco Corporation, Lima, Peru
H.F. FERGUSON Foundation and Materials Branch, Pittsburgh District U.S.
Army Corps of Engineers, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.A.
R.E. GRAY General Analytics, Inc., 570 Beatty Red., Monroeville, Penn
sylvania, U.S.A.
J.V. HAMEL Hamel Geotechnical Consultants, 1992 Butler Drive, Monroe
ville, Pennsylvania, U.S.A.
R.E. HUNT Tecnosolo, S/A, Rua Pedro Alves, 13, 15, Santo Cristo, Rio
de Janeiro, Brazil
B.A. KENNEDY Golder Associates, Inc., 10628 N.E. 38th Place, Kirkland
(Seattle), Washington, U.S.A.
F.T. LEE U.S. Geological Survey, Federal Center, Denver, Colorado,
U.S.A.
B. LESTER College of Earth and Mineral Sciences, Pennsylvania State
University, University Park, Pennsylvania, U.S.A.
J.K. LOU British Columbia Hydro and Power Authority, 700 Pender
St., Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
R.J. LUTTON U.S. Army Engineer Waterways Experiment Station, P.O.
Box 631, Vicksburg, Mississippi, U.S.A.
B.C.McLEOD Geotechnical and Materials Testing Branch, British Columbia
Department of Highways, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
LIST OF CONTRIBUTORS! XI
R.H. MERRILL Denver Mining Research Center, Bureau of Mines, U.S. De
partment of the Interior, Denver, Colorado, U.S.A.
N.R. MORGENSTERN Department of Civil Engineering, University of Alberta,
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
L. MÜLLER Paracelsusstrasse 2, Salzburg, Austria
L.T. MURDOCK Dames & Moores Consulting Engineers, 445 S'. Figueroa St.,
Los Angeles, California, U.S.A.
W. MYSTKOWSKI Colorado Division of Highways, Denver, Colorado, U.S.A.
,
W.G. PARISEAU Department of Mining, Metallurgy and Fuels, University of
,
Utah Sa/t Lafee C/iy, Utah, U.S.A.
D.R. PARKES Planning Branch, British Columbia Department of Highways,
Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
R.B. PECK 1101 Warm Sands Drive, S.E. Albuquerque, New Mexico,
U.S.A. and Professor Emeritus, University of Illinois, Urbana,
Illinois, U.S.A.
D.R. PITEAU D.R. Piteau and Associates, Ltd., Kapilano 100, West Van
couver, British Columbia, Canada
G. PLAFKER U.S. Geological Survey, Menlo Park, California, U.S.A.
R. SÄNCHEZ-TREJO Sociedad Mexicana de Mecanica de Rocas, A.C., Londres
44-2 piso, Coyoacän, Mexico, D.F., Mexico
°
B.L. SEEGMILLER Seegmiller Associates, 447 East 200 South, Salt Lake City,
Utah, U.S.A.
R.L. SLINGERLAND College of Earth and Mineral Sciences, Pennsylvania State
University, University Park, Pennsylvania, U.S.A.
G.F. SOWERS Chairman of the Board, Law Engineering Testing Company,
P.O. Box 98008, Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.A. and Regents
Professor of Civil Engineering, Georgia Institute of Techno
logy, Atlanta,Georgia, U.S.A.
P.F. STACEY Golder-Brawner & Associates, 224 West 8th Ave., Vancouver,
British Columbia, Canada
R.M. STATEHAM Denver Mining Research Center, Bureau of Mines, U.S.
Department of the Interior, Denver, Colorado, U.S.A.
W.E. STROHM, Jr. U.S. Army Engineer Waterways Experiment Station, P.O.
Box 631, Vicksburg, Mississippi, U.S.A.
R. SWEIGARD College of Earth and Mineral Sciences, Pennsylvania State
University, University Park, Pennsylvania, U.S.A.
G.J. TAUCHER Geology Section, Upper Missouri River Division, U.S. Bureau
of Reclamation, Billings, Montana, U.S.A.
R.D. TERZAGHI 3 Robinson Circle, Winchester, Massachusetts, U.S.A.
S. THOMSON Department of Civil Engineering, University of Alberta,
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
B. VOIGHT College of Earth and Mineral Sciences, Pennsylvania State
University, University Park, Pennsylvania, U.S.A.
L.J. WEST Dames & Moore Consulting Engineers, 445 S. Figueroa St.,
Los Angeles, California, U.S.A.
Y.S. YU Department of Energy, Mines, and Resources, 555 Booth St.,
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
SELECTED SI CONVERSION FACTORS
English unit SI unit Conversion fac
tor F (FX English
unit = SI unit)
inch (in) metre (m) 0.02540
foot (ft) metre (m) 0.3048
square inch (in2) square metre (m2) 6.452 Χ 10"4
square foot (ft2) square metre (m2) 0.09290
cubic inch (in3) cubic metre (m3) 1.639 Χ 10"5
cubic foot (ft3) cubic metre (m3) 0.02832
pound mass (lb) kilogramme (kg) 0.4536
minute (min) second (s) 60
degree (plane angle — °, deg) radian (rad) 1.745 Χ 10"2
pound/cubic inch (lb/in3) kilogrammes/cubic metre (kg/m3) 2.768 Χ 104
pound/cubic foot (lb/ft3) kilogrammes/cubic metre (kg/m3) 16.02
pound force (lbf) newton (N) 4.448
pound force/square inch (lbf/in2) newton/square metre (N/m2) 6895
pound force/square inch (lbf/in2) bar (bar) 0.06895
foot pound (f) (ft-lbf) joule (J) 1.356
