Debris flow monitoring at Chalk Cliffs, CO (2017)

The USGS and its cooperators have installed debris-flow monitoring equipment in the largest drainage basin at Chalk Cliffs, CO. Data collection at this site supports research on the hydrologic factors that control debris-flow initiation, entrainment, and flow dynamics.

This debris flow took place July 19, 2017. The video includes a single view of an instrumented reach of the channel. A larger zoomed view is included.

Chalk Cliffs, located 8 miles southwest of Buena Vista, CO, is one of the most active debris-flow areas in the state. Typically one or more debris flows occur each year after intense or prolonged rainfall. The debris flows are triggered by surface-water runoff over loose material stored in channels.

https://landslides.usgs.gov/monitoring/chalk_cliffs/