Plugs Or Flood-Makers? the Unstable Landslide
Geomorphology 248 (2015) 237–251 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Geomorphology journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/geomorph Plugs or flood-makers? The unstable landslide dams of eastern Oregon E.B. Safran a,⁎, J.E. O'Connor b,L.L.Elyc, P.K. House d,G.Grante,K.Harrityf,1,K.Croallf,1,E.Jonesf,1 a Environmental Studies Program, Lewis & Clark College, MSC 55, 0615 SW Palatine Hill Road, Portland, OR 97219, USA b U.S. Geological Survey, Geology, Minerals, Energy, and Geophysics Science Center, 2130 SW 5th Avenue, Portland, OR 97201, USA c Department of Geological Sciences, Central Washington University, Ellensburg, WA 98926, USA d U.S. Geological Survey, Geology, Minerals, Energy, and Geophysics Science Center, 2255 N. Gemini Drive, Flagstaff, AZ 86001, USA e U.S. Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station, 3200 SW Jefferson Way, Corvallis, OR 97331, USA f Lewis & Clark College, 0615 SW Palatine Hill Road, Portland, OR 97219, USA article info abstract Article history: Landslides into valley bottoms can affect longitudinal profiles of rivers, thereby influencing landscape evolution Received 25 November 2014 through base-level changes. Large landslides can hinder river incision by temporarily damming rivers, but cata- Received in revised form 26 June 2015 strophic failure of landslide dams may generate large floods that could promote incision. Dam stability therefore Accepted 26 June 2015 strongly modulates the effects of landslide dams and might be expected to vary among geologic settings. Here, Available online 8 July 2015 we investigate the morphometry, stability, and effects on adjacent channel profiles of 17 former and current landslide dams in eastern Oregon.
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