Reconnaissance of the Grandview peak rock slide, Salt Lake County, Utah: A possible earthquake-induced landslide? (OFR-518)

By: F. X. Ashland and G. N. McDonald

Earthquake-induced landslides, with the exception of liquefaction-induced lateral spreads, have not been recognized in the Salt Lake City metropolitan area. Based on the inferences of previous researchers that some prehistoric, catastrophic rock slides in the Wasatch Front may have been triggered by earthquakes, we evaluated the feasibility of determining the timing of the Grandview Peak rock slide in upper City Creek Canyon northeast of Salt Lake City and correlating it with a documented surface-faulting earthquake. Recognition of the seismic origin of the landslide would provide a model for characterizing the earthquake-induced catastrophic rock slide hazard elsewhere in the Wasatch Range and provide guidance for future earthquake-induced landslide studies. Our reconnaissance revealed similarities to the Madison Slide triggered by the 1959 Hebgen Lake earthquake, suggesting the rock slide may be a candidate for an earthquake-induced landslide.

Other Information:
Published: 2008
Pages: 13 p.
Location: Salt Lake County
Media Type: Paper Publication