This thesis represents a large body of work that seeks to describe, quantify, and simulate the behaviour of large rock slope failures (> 1 Mm3), in the form of landslides and rock avalanches, and their secondary processes, such as landslide-dammed lakes, utilizing remotely sensed data. Remotely sensed data includes aerial photography, high resolution satellite imagery from various platforms (e.g. LANDSAT, ASTER, EO-1, SPOT), and digital topographic elevation models of the Earth's surface (e.g. SRTM-3, ASTER GDEM2, LiDAR). This thesis focused on regions in northwest North America (British Columbia, Yukon Territory, and Alaska), and on regions in the Himalaya and Pamirs Mountain chains (Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Tibet, and India). These study regions are each highly dynamic landscapes, where the occurrence of rock slope failures per area is higher than non-mountainous regions, and these events are aiding to the shape and profile of the landscapes and surfaces found today. This thesis focuses on: 1) the ability to accurately calculate geometrics (e.g. areas, volumes, runouts, debris depths) for large scale landslides and their associated landslide dammed lakes (e.g. areas, volumes, outbursts), utilizing data from remotely sensed sources; 2) the attempt to successfully simulate the observed dynamics for both landslide emplacement and their resulting debris deposits (DAN-W, DAN3D), and possible outburst flood scenarios (FLO2D); and, 3) attempt to quantify the kinetic and specific energy involved in rock avalanches, and how these energetics relate to fragmentation, as well as the lateral spreading and thinning of debris sheets. The river valleys of the northwest Himalayas (Pakistan and India) and the adjacent Pamirs Mountains of Afghanistan and Tajikistan contain in excess of two hundred known rockslide deposits of unknown age that have interrupted surface drainage and previously dammed major rivers in the region in recent and prehistoric time. Some prehistoric rockslide dams in the northwest Himalayas have impounded massive lakes with volumes in excess of 20 Gm3. The region contains: 1) the highest rockslide dam in the world (the 1911 Usoi rockslide, Tajikistan), which impounds the current largest rockslide-dammed lake (Lake Sarez) on Earth (est. volume 17 Gm3); 2) the largest documented outburst flood (6.5 Gm3) associated with a historical rockslide dam outburst (the 1841 Indus Flood, Pakistan); and, 3) the world's most recent rockslide-dammed lake emergency, the 2010 Attabad rockslide dam on the Hunza River, in the Upper Indus basin, including the newly created Lake Gojal. By accurately quantifying the volume of an impoundment, and the downstream valley topography (DEM), floodwave scenarios can be created for various breaching situations, allowing for the delineation of downstream inundation areas, or the creation of hazard and risk scenarios. Two methods are used to attempt to quantify the volumes of landslide-dammed lakes: 1) a contour interpolation method, focusing on the creation of contours to represent lake levels in the DEM data; and, 2) a new technique using digitized shorelines and statistical methods to obtain lake elevations on specific dates. A new technique has also been developed to quantify the larger block fragmentation from rock avalanches in the glacial environment, and a credible grain-size curve for the largest blocks can be obtained, aiding in the creation of a more complete grain-size curve for a particular event. The combination of landslides and their associated landslide dammed lakes are an important geomorphic process to study, as these events have a direct relationship to the hazard and risk faced by local communities living and working in these regions. By understanding the emplacement and deposit dynamics of large landslides and/or the outburst flood scenarios from naturally impounded reservoirs, we can attempt to reduce the direct impacts these events have to local communities.

I apply a forensic, multidisciplinary approach that integrates engineering geology field investigations, engineering geomorphology mapping, long-range terrestrial photogrammetry, and a numerical modelling toolbox to two large rock slope failures to study their causes, initiation, kinematics, and dynamics. I demonstrate the significance of endogenic and exogenic processes, both separately and in concert, in contributing to landscape evolution and conditioning slopes for failure, and use geomorphological and geological observations to validate numerical models. The 1963 Vajont Slide in northeast Italy involved a 270-million-m3 carbonate-dominated mass that slid into the newly created Vajont Reservoir, displacing water that overtopped the Vajont Dam and killed 1910 people. Based on literature, maps and imagery, I propose that the landslide was the last phase of slow, deep-seated slope deformation that began after the valley was deglaciated in the Pleistocene. Field and air photograph observations and stream profiles provide the context of Vajont Slide. The first long-range terrestrial digital photogrammetry models of the landslide aid in characterising the failure scar. Analysis of the failure scar emphasises the complexity of the failure surface due to faults and interference between two tectonic fold generations, influencing failure behaviour. Observations of the pre- and post-failure slope and interpretation of numerical simulations suggest a complex three-dimensional active-passive wedge- sliding mechanism, with two main landslide blocks and five sub-blocks in the west block, separated by secondary shear surfaces. The 1959 Madison Canyon Slide in Montana, USA, was triggered by an M = 7.5 earthquake. A 20-million-m3 rock mass descended from the ridge crest, killing 24 people and blocking Madison River to create Earthquake Lake. Marble at the toe of the slope acted as a buttress for weaker schist and gneiss upslope until the earthquake undermined its integrity and triggered failure. Rock mass characterisation, long-range terrestrial digital photogrammetry, and kinematic analysis indicate that the lateral, rear, and basal release surfaces formed a hexahedral wedge-biplanar failure. Dynamic numerical modelling suggests topographic and damage amplification due to ridge geometry and pre-existing tension cracks. Analysis of the case studies highlights the complexity of large, catastrophic rock slope failures, their causes, and their evolution from incipient failure to disaster.

This volume documents advances in our knowledge of catastrophic landslides, providing a worldwide survey of catastrophic landslide events. It draws on South America to illustrate dramatically the impact of these phenomena on human populations. The occurrence of catastrophic landslides, including site-specific insights, is shown through six events of the past 20 years. Several other chapters focus on the mechanisms involved with catastrophic landsides both in relation to geologic factors in a particular geographic area as well as to specific geologic processes.

This book is a part of ICL new book series “ICL Contribution to Landslide Disaster Risk Reduction” founded in 2019. Peer-reviewed papers submitted to the Fifth World Landslide Forum were published in six volumes of this book series. This book contains the followings: Part I with topics is mainly about landslides and earthquakes; landslide dams and outburst floods; catastrophic large-scale landslides in mountainous regions. Part II with topics is mainly about impact of climate change; loess landslides; mapping, monitoring and modeling of landslides; stabilization and mitigation; application of new technology in landslide studies. Prof. Vít Vilímek is the vice-president of the International Consortium on Landslides (ICL) and a member of the evaluation committee, Editor-in-Chief of the university journal AUC Geographica and Associate Editor-in-Chief of the international journal Geoenvironmental Disasters. He is a Professor of Physical Geography at Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic. Prof. Fawu Wang is the President of the International Consortium on Geo-disaster Reduction (ICGdR) and the Editor-in-Chief of the international journal Geoenvironmental Disasters. He is a Professor at the School of Civil Engineering, Tongji University, China. Dr. Alexander Strom is a chief expert at the Geodynamics Research Center LLC, Moscow, Russia. He is also an Adjunct Professor at Chang’an University, Xi’an, China, Visiting Professor at SKLGP, Chengdu, China, and an alternative representative of the JSC “Hydroproject Institute” in ICL. Prof. Kyoji Sassa is the Founding President and the Secretary-General of the International Consortium on Landslides (ICL). He has been the Editor-in-Chief of International Journal Landslides since its foundation in 2004. Prof. Peter Bobrowsky is the President of the International Consortium on Landslides. He is a Senior Scientist of Geological Survey of Canada, Ottawa, Canada. Prof. Kaoru Takara is the Executive Director of the International Consortium on Landslides. He is a Professor and Dean of Graduate School of Advanced Integrated Studies (GSAIS) in Human Survivability (Shishu-Kan), Kyoto University.

This volume brings together, from a wide range of experience, such information as may be useful in recognizing, avoiding, controlling, designing for, and correcting movement. Current geologic concepts and engineering principles and techniques are introduced, and both the analysis and control of soil and rock-slopes are addressed. New methods of stability analysis and the use of computer techniques in implementing these methods are included. Rock slope engineering and the selecting of shear-strength parameters for slope-stability analyses are covered in separate chapters.

This report begins with an overview of the regional characteristics of the south-eastern Canadian Cordillera, an area that has been identified as the region most prone to damaging landslides. It then reviews the types of damaging landslides found in the area and the processes or mechanisms associated with them. The main section lists & describes damaging landslide events in the area since the late 19th century, compiled from existing case history documents, archival sources, and information from transportation companies & government agencies. The final sections present an analysis of climate records from the area and attempt a regional definition of landslide risk, taking account of such factors as human activity & climate in determining landslide frequency.

Published by the American Geophysical Union as part of the Water Resources Monograph Series, Volume 18. Landslides are a constant in shaping our landscape. Whether by large episodic, or smaller chronic, mass movements, our mountains, hills, valleys, rivers, and streams bear evidence of change from landslides. Combined with anthropogenic factors, especially the development and settlement of unstable terrain, landslides (as natural processes) have become natural disasters. This book charts our understanding of landslide processes, prediction methods, and related land use issues. How and where do landslides initiate? What are the human and economic consequences? What hazard assessment and prediction methods are available, and how well do they work? How does land use, from timber harvesting and road building to urban and industrial development, affect landslide distribution in time and space? And what is the effect of land use and climate change on landslides? This book responds to such questions with: • Synopses of how various land uses and management activities influence landslide behavior • Analyses of earth surface processes that affect landslide frequency and extent • Examples of prediction techniques and methods of landslide hazard assessment, including scales of application • Discussion of landslide types and related costs and damages Those who study landslides, and those who deal with landslides, from onset to after-effects—including researchers, engineers, land managers, educators, students, and policy makers—will find this work a benchmark reference, now and for years to come.