Abstract
Landslides are especially damaging in Canada and despite their extensive occurrence, the exact location of instability is not homogeneous across the country and depends on several factors. Based on clear evidence it is known that there is a wide range in the scale and diversity of landslide environments, especially as they pertain to landslide problems.
A proposed 1:6 million scale landslide susceptibility map of Canada is presented in this study as a first approximation for those individuals interested in pursuing more detailed investigations. The final map has been constructed based primarily on GIS, by considering digital layers of relevant national information including: slope angle, aspect, precipitation, permafrost, surficial geology, vegetation, distance to rivers, distance to coast (lakes and oceans) and bedrock lithology. These variables have been categorized into several classes depending on their greater or lesser favourability to influence slope instabilities. The values assigned to each class are not equal for the whole country and vary depending on the region considered (Canadian Shield, Hudson Bay Lowlands, or the remaining area).
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Acknowledgments
The authors are very grateful to the Geological Survey of Canada landslide specialists who participated in the process of classifying the various data layers and Andrée Blais-Stevens for critical review. This activity was supported by the Public Safety Geoscience Program of NRCan. This is GSC Contribution #20110109.
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Domínguez-Cuesta, M.J., Bobrowsky, P.T. (2013). Proposed Landslide Susceptibility Map of Canada Based on GIS. In: Margottini, C., Canuti, P., Sassa, K. (eds) Landslide Science and Practice. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-31310-3_51
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-31310-3_51
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