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The Todagin Creek landslide of October 3, 2006, Northwest British Columbia, Canada

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Abstract

The Todagin Creek landslide is located at 57.61° N 129.98° W in Northwest British Columbia. A seismic station 90 km north of the landslide recorded the event at 1643 hours coordinated universal time (UTC; 0943 hours Pacific daylight time (PDT)) on October 3, 2006. The signal verifies the discovery and relative time bounds provided by a hunting party in the valley. The landslide initiated as a translational rock slide on sedimentary rock dipping down slope at 34° and striking parallel to the valley. The landslide transformed into a debris avalanche and had a total volume estimated at 4 Mm3. An elevation drop of 771 m along a planar length of 1,885 m resulted in a travel angle (fahrböschung) of 21.3°. The narrowest part of the landslide through the transport zone is 345 m. The widest part of the divergent toe of the landslide reaches a width of 1,010 m. Landslide debris impounded a lake of approximately 32 ha and destroyed an additional 67 ha of forest. The impoundment took 7 to 10 days to fill, with muddied waters observed downstream on October 13. No clear linkage exists with precipitation and temperature records preceding the landslide, but strong diurnal temperature cycles occurred in the days prior to the event. The Todagin Creek area appears to have an affinity for large landslides with the deposits of three other landslides >5 Mm3 observed in the valley.

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Acknowledgements

This manuscript relied on the assistance and observations of various people: John Cassidy (Geological Survey of Canada) undertook the interpretation of the seismic records; Keith Hodson (Telkwa, BC) told us the story of his observations in the valley; Claus Rygaard (BC Ministry of Forests and Range) informed us of his key observation on the creek. Jim Reed (Pacific Western Helicopters) provided local knowledge and helicopter services. Heather Narynski (BC Ministry of Transportation and Highways) let us use her photographs of the landslide taken in the fall of 2006. Ake Nauta and Warren Grafton provided field assistance.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. B.C. Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations, Bag 6000, Smithers, BC, Canada, VOJ 2NO

    Matthew E. Sakals

  2. P.O. Box 2525, Smithers, BC, Canada, VOJ 2NO

    James W. Schwab

  3. B.C. Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations, 1011 4th Ave., Prince George, BC, Canada, V2L 3H9

    Marten Geertsema & Vanessa N. Foord

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  1. Matthew E. Sakals
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  2. Marten Geertsema
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  3. James W. Schwab
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Correspondence to Matthew E. Sakals.

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Sakals, M.E., Geertsema, M., Schwab, J.W. et al. The Todagin Creek landslide of October 3, 2006, Northwest British Columbia, Canada. Landslides 9, 107–115 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10346-011-0273-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10346-011-0273-9

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