Science for Everyone

The next time you find yourself at the bottom of a cliff, make sure to look up.

Debris flows, sometimes referred to as mudslides, mudflows, lahars, or debris avalanches, are common types of fast-moving landslides. They usually start on steep hillsides as a result of shallow landslides, or from runoff and erosion that liquefy and accelerate to speeds in excess of 35 mi/h. The consistency of debris flows ranges from thin, watery to thick, rocky mud that can carry large items...

Glacier Bay and its inlets are a popular destination for cruise ships and passenger boats; about 540,000 people visited Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve (GBNPP) in 2017. A typical tour of the Bay traverses the entire length up to the glacier calving viewpoints in the Johns Hopkins and Tarr Inlets. A 2018 article “Landslides and Giant Waves” by the National Park Service (NPS) states, “The...

Release Date: OCTOBER 15, 2018 USGS scientists have been pursuing a way to assess debris-flow hazards before a fire occurs.

Release Date: JUNE 25, 2018 USGS scientists have been developing a system to quickly identify areas where landslides may have been triggered by a significant earthquake.

Release Date: JUNE 18, 2018 We usually hear about landslides and avalanches that are caused by large amounts of rainfall, the shaking from earthquakes, or a volcanic eruption, but we may be hearing more about avalanches caused by the (seemingly innocuous) melting of ice in the coming years.

Release Date: JUNE 11, 2018 Sluggishly-moving earthflows can help us learn what controls the starting and stopping of landslides.

Release Date: MAY 15, 2018 The deadliest individual landslides in the U.S. recently were in places where there had previously been a landslide. Why do landslides happen in the same place instead of on nearby slopes that appear to be just as likely, if not more likely, to slide?

Release Date: MAY 25, 2016 The West Salt Creek Rock Avalanche, Colorado, May 25, 2014