Ashcroft Thompson River Landslides: Watershed-scale Controls

P. Quinn, I. Hall, M. Porter, K.W. Savigny

In the proceedings of: GeoManitoba 2012: 65th Canadian Geotechnical Conference

Session: M2D - Transportation Geotechnique

ABSTRACT: A 10 km reach of Thompson River south of Ashcroft, British Columbia is affected by a number of large landslides which have been intermittently active for more than 100 years, since the first rail line was constructed through the corridor. Both national railways, CN and CPR, traverse several of the landslides, some of which are known to be moving. A two phase program of study was initiated to better understand and manage the landslide risk, and this paper describes some findings of the Data Gap Analysis in the first phase. Landslide activity is shown to be strongly correlated to peak flood levels, which correlate strongly with peak snow pack in the previous winter. Thus snow pack monitoring can serve as a form of early warning, one potential component of risk management efforts.

RÉSUMÉ: Depuis sa construction il y a plus de 100 ans, un tronçon de chemin de fer de 10 km au sud de Ashcroft, le long des rives de la rivière Thompson, est affecté par de nombreux et importants glissements de terrain. Les deux lignes de transport ferroviaire national, CN et CPR, traversent plusieurs zones de glissement, dont certaines avérées en t gérer les risques ement liée aux niveaux maximum des crues qui sont eux- dans la liste des efforts entrepris pour mitiger les risques.

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