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The Zymoetz River landslide, British Columbia, Canada: description and dynamic analysis of a rock slide–debris flow

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Abstract

The Zymoetz River landslide is a recent example of an extremely mobile type of landslide known as a rock slide–debris flow. It began as a failure of 900,000 m3 of bedrock, which mobilized an additional 500,000 m3 of surficial material in its path, transforming into a large debris flow that traveled over 4 km from its source. Seasonal snow and meltwater in the proximal part of the path were important factors. A recently developed dynamic model that accounts for material entrainment, DAN3D, was used to back-analyze this event. The two distinct phases of motion were modeled using different basal rheologies: a frictional model in the proximal path and a Voellmy model in the distal path, following the initiation of significant entrainment. Very good agreement between the observed and simulated results was achieved, suggesting that entrainment capabilities are essential for the successful simulation of this type of landslide.

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Funding for this work was provided by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) and Forest Renewal British Columbia. The British Columbia Ministry of Forests provided the digital elevation models that were used in the analysis (with permission of the Province of British Columbia). The authors thank Tim Davies, Maurie McSaveney, and Dick Iverson for their excellent critical reviews, which led to substantial improvements.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Earth and Ocean Sciences, University of British Columbia, 6339 Stores Road, Vancouver, British Columbia, V6T 1Z4, Canada

    Scott McDougall & Oldrich Hungr

  2. Golder Associates, 37702 3rd Avenue, Squamish, British Columbia, V0N 3G0, Canada

    Nichole Boultbee

  3. Department of Earth Sciences, Simon Fraser University, 8888 University Drive, Burnaby, British Columbia, V5A 1S6, Canada

    Doug Stead

  4. Northern Interior Forest Region, British Columbia Ministry of Forests, 3333 Tatlow Road, Smithers, British Columbia, V0J 2N0, Canada

    James W. Schwab

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  1. Scott McDougall
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  2. Nichole Boultbee
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  3. Oldrich Hungr
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  4. Doug Stead
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  5. James W. Schwab
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Correspondence to Scott McDougall.

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McDougall, S., Boultbee, N., Hungr, O. et al. The Zymoetz River landslide, British Columbia, Canada: description and dynamic analysis of a rock slide–debris flow. Landslides 3, 195–204 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10346-006-0042-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10346-006-0042-3

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