Abstract
On 9th October 1963 the Vajont Valley was strongly modified due to a world known landslide , which claimed the lives of almost 2000 people. At that time a huge amount of material collapsed into an artificial reservoir generating a water wave, which overtopped the dam destroying seven villages in the Piave River Valley. The landslide accumulation filled the valley blocking its drainage that is now guaranteed by a by-pass built soon after a previous smaller landslide occurred on 4th November 1960. However, the whole valley has been affected by a series of landslides, which buried ancient glacial and fluvial landforms sealing and preserving them. The chapter is therefore not only focusing on the Vajont Landslide , but also on other gravitational, glacial and fluvial landforms, which are crucial for the reconstruction of the post-glacial geomorphological evolution.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Carloni GC, Mazzanti R (1964) Rilevamento geologico della frana del Vaiont. Giorn Geol 32:105–138
Chowdhury R (1978) Analysis of the Vaiont slide: new approach. Rock Mech 11:29–38
Genevois R, Ghirotti M (2005) The 1963 Vaiont landslide. Giornale di Geologia Applicata 1:41–52
Genevois R, Prestininzi A (eds) (2013) Proceedings of the “International Conference on Vajont—1963–2013. Thoughts and analyses after 50 years since the catastrophic landslide. Italian Journal of Engineering Geology and Environment—Book Series 6, 651 pp
Genevois R, Tecca, PR (2013) The Vajont Landslide: state-of-the-art. In: Genevois R, Prestininzi A (eds) Proceedings of the “International Conference on Vajont—1963–2013. Thoughts and analyses after 50 years since the catastrophic landslide. Italian Journal of Engineering geology and Environment—Book Series 6:15–39
Ghirotti M (2012) The 1963 Vaiont landslide, Italy. In: Clague JJ, Stead D (eds) Landslides types, mechanisms and modeling. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, pp 359–372
Hendron AJ, Patton FD (1985) The Vaiont slide: A geotechnical analysis based on new geologic observations of the failure surface. US Army Corps of Engineers Waterways Experiment Station, Technical Report GL-85-5, 2 volumes
Kilburn CRJ, Petley DN (2003) Forecasting giant, catastrophic slope collapse: lessons from Vajont, northern Italy. In: Pasuto A, Kilburn CRJ (eds) Studies on large volume landslides. Geomorphology 54:21–32
Mantovani F, Vita-Finzi C (2003) Neotectonics of the Vajont dam site. In: Pasuto A, Kilburn CRJ (eds) Studies on large volume landslides. Geomorphology 54:33–37
Müller L (1964) The rock slide in the Vaiont valley. Rock Mech Eng Geol 2:148–212
Müller L (1987) The Vaiont slide. Eng Geol 24:513–523
Nonveiller E (1987) The Vaiont reservoir slope failure. In: Leonards GA (ed) Dam failures. Eng Geol 24(1–4):493–512
Selli R, Trevisan L (1964) Caratteri e interpretazione della Frana del Vajont. Giorn Geol 32(1):8–104
Semenza E (1965) Sintesi degli studi geologici sulla frana del Vaiont dal 1959 al 1964. Mem Museo Trid Sc Nat 16:1–52
Semenza E (2010) The Story of Vaiont told by the geologist who discovered the landslide. Published posthumously. K-flash, Ferrara, 208Â pp
Semenza E, Ghirotti M (2000) History of 1963 Vaiont Slide. The importance of the geological factors to recognise the ancient landslide. Bull Eng Geol Environ 59:87–97
Acknowledgements
Special thanks to Emiliano Oddone and Fabrizio Tagliavini for their valuable activity in field surveying, and for useful discussion and essential contribution in defining the geomorphological evolution of the valley.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2017 Springer International Publishing AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Pasuto, A. (2017). The Vajont Valley (Eastern Alps): A Complex Landscape Deeply Marked by Landsliding. In: Soldati, M., Marchetti, M. (eds) Landscapes and Landforms of Italy. World Geomorphological Landscapes. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-26194-2_11
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-26194-2_11
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-26192-8
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-26194-2
eBook Packages: Earth and Environmental ScienceEarth and Environmental Science (R0)