The landslide at Cumberland, Harlan County, Kentucky

A landslide developed on Sanctified Hill, on the east side of Cumberland, Kentucky on December 10, 1972. Since then the slide has rendered 17 dwellings and a church unusable. The slide is in a shallow amphitheater, on plastic sandy clay up to 30 feet thick, lying on top of sandstone and shale (Norton Formation). The bedrock dips 22° south, the same direction as the slope of the hill. The slide is a rotational slump 600 feet long and 500 feet wide at the toe. Movement is in the order of 10 feet downslope. The ground in the area of the slide is wet with natural seepage along the bedrock surface of about 1/2 cubic foot per minute for every 40 feet of bedrock exposure. Leakage from water mains, added to the ground water, is the probable triggering mechanism of the slide. The slide does not pose an immediate further danger unless an abnormally heavy rainfall were to occur. The slide has developed to the point where stabilization is not economically practicable. Relocation of homes appears to be the most suitable solution to the problem.