A prehistoric catastrophic rock avalanche at
The deposits of a rock avalanche have been identified near Holsteinsborg, West Greenland, where they cover about 2 km2 and involve at least 2.8 X 106 m3 of rock debris which has been transported up to 7 km from its source. The possible transport mechanisms responsible for this deposit are discussed...
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| Format: | Text |
| Language: | English |
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1979
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| Online Access: | http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.586.5226 http://2dgf.dk/xpdf/bull28-03-04-73-79.pdf |
| Summary: | The deposits of a rock avalanche have been identified near Holsteinsborg, West Greenland, where they cover about 2 km2 and involve at least 2.8 X 106 m3 of rock debris which has been transported up to 7 km from its source. The possible transport mechanisms responsible for this deposit are discussed by analogy with recent rock avalanches described in the literature. This suggests that the avalanche was a high velocity flow cum slide with a dispersed load of rock debris, snow and ice which was generated by a rock fall from the side of the mountain of Avqutikitsoq. The date of the avalanche is estimated from the somewhat uncertain lichenometrical evidence to be 16th or 17th century. |
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