Summary
The Applachian Plateau Physiographic Province of the United States has severe landslide problems that are attributed primarily to steep topography and thick colluvial soils. Two basic modes of colluvial soil accumulation on hillsides are identified: 1) on rock benches; and 2) in swales.
The large colluvial masses, unless disturbed by construction activity, were assumed to be stable and to have developed under periglacial conditions. However, processes of colluvial slope development and a recent landslide, activated by abnormally high precipitation at McMechen, indicate that such colluvial masses form continuously and do not require periglacial conditions to explain their existence.
Résumé
La région physiographique de Plateau des Appalaches aux Etats-Unis a des serieux problèmes de glissements de terrain, dus principalement à une topographie escarpée et à de profonds sols colluviaux. On trouve deux sortes principales d’accumulation colluviale sur les collines: (1) sur les bancs d’alluvion rocheux, (2) dans les creux.
Ces grandes masses colluviales, à moins d’être dérangées par une activité de construction, étaient supposées d’être stables et formées dans des conditions périglaciaires. Cependant, des processus de formation de pente colluviale et un récent glissement de terrain, accéléré par des précipitations anormalement hautes à McMechen, indiquent que de telles masses colluviales se forment de façon continue et ne requièrent pas de conditions périglaciaires pour leur développement.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
ACKENHEIL A. C. /1954/: A soil mechanics and engineering geology analysis of landslides in the area of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Unpub. Ph.D. thesis, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Penn.
BAKER F.F.—CHIERUZZI R. /1959/: Regional concept of landslide occurrence. Highw. Res. Board Bull., 216, 1–16.
CARSON M.A.—KIRKBY M.J. /1972/: Hillslope form and process. Cambridge University Press, London, 475 p.
D’APPOLONIA E.—ALPERSTEIN R.—D’APPOLONIA D.J. /1967/: Behaviour of a colluvial slope. Proc. Am. Soc. Civ. Eng., J. Soil Mech. Found. Div., 93 /SM4/, 447–473.
DEERE D.U.—PATTON F.D. /1971/: Slope stability in residual soils. Proc. 4th Panam. Conf. of Soil Mechanics and Foundation Engineering, Am. Soc. Civ. Eng., New York, N.Y., 1, 87–170.
DENNY C.S. /1956/: Surficial geology and geomorphology of Potter County, Pennsylvania. U.S. Geol. Surv. Prof. Paper 288, 72 p.
FISCHER S.P.—FANAFF A.S.—PICKING L.W. /1968/: Landslides of southeastern Ohio. Ohio Jour. Sci., 68, 65–80.
FLINT N.K.—HAMEL J.V. /1971/: Engineering geology at two sites on Interstate 279 and Interstate 79 northwest of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. In: R.D. Thompson—editor, Environmental geology in the Pittsburgh area, Geol Soc. Am., Annu. Meet., November 1971, Guidebook for Field Trip No. 6, 36–45.
GOLDTHWAIT R.P.—DREIMANIS A.—FORSYTH J.L.— KARROW P.F.—WHITE G.W. /1965/: Pleistocene deposits of the Erie Lobe. In: H.E. Wright and D.C. Frey— editors, The Quaternary of the United States, Princeton Univ. Press, Princeton, N.J., 85–97.
GRAY, R.F.—FERGUSON H.F.—HAMEL J.V. /1977/: Slope stability in the Applachian Plateau of Pennsylvania and West Virginia. In: B. Voight—editor, Developments in geotechnical engineering. Vol. 14, Rockslides and avalanches, Am. Elsevier Pub., New York, N.Y., /in press/.
HAMEL J.V.—FLINT N.K. /1972/: Failure of colluvial slope. Proc. Am. Soc. Civ. Eng., J. Soil Mech. Found. Div. 98 /SM2/, 167–180.
HOOPER, J.R. /1969/: Slope movements of residual clays in southeastern Ohio. Proc. Symp. on Landslides, Ohio Univ., Athens, O., February 1969, 33–57.
PELTIER L.C. /1950/: The geographic cycle in periglacial regions as it is related to climatic geomorphology. Ann. Assoc. Amer. Geogr., 40, 214–36.
PHILBRICK S.S. /1961/: Old landslides in the upper Ohio valley. Paper presented at Geol. Soc. Am. Ann. Meet.
SHARPE C.F.S.—DOSCH E.F. /1942/: Relation of soil-creep to earthflow in the Appalachian plateaus. J. Geomorphol., 5: 312–324.
SKEMPTON A.W. /1964/: Long-term stability of clay slopes. Geotechnique, 14, 77–101.
SKEMPTON A.W.—DE LORY F.A. /1957/: Stability of natural slopes in London Clay, Proc. 4th Internat. Conf. on Soil Mechanics and Foundation Engineering, London, 2, 378–381.
TERZAGHI K.—PECK R.B. /1967/: Soil mechanics in engineering practice. Wiley, New York, N.Y., 566 p.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
GAI Consultants, Inc., 570 Beatty Road, Monroeville, Pennsylvania 15146
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Gray, R.E., Gardner, G.D. Processes of colluvial slope development at MC Mechen, west Virginia. Bulletin of the International Association of Engineering Geology 16, 29–32 (1977). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02591439
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02591439