Expose Rockfall Avalanche
Rockfall Avalanche Technical Terms
Rockfall Avalanche: The process, associated sediments (rockfall avalanche deposit) or resultant landform characterized by an extremely rapid, large type of rock-fragment flow (a type of landslide) that starts as a rockfall but turns into a flow and characteristically deposits rock-dominated debris long distances from the failure face (such as 10 – 20 times the fall height); occurs only when huge rockfalls and rockslides involving millions of metric tons of material attain extremely rapid speeds; most common in a rugged mountainous area; ex. the 1903 Franks, Alberta, Canada avalanche. Sometimes loosely referred to as a long run-out landslide. Compare – rock fragment flow, flow, landslide. SW