Townsend remembers the exact time as 1:22 p.m. That’s when she lost her daughter, Michelle Wallet, and her granddaughters, Hannah, Raven and Paloma. Michelle Wallet and her daughters are memorialized on a bench overlooking a Ventura beach. They died in the La Conchita landslide 13 years ago Wednesday.

What kind of landslide was La Conchita?

In La Conchita, there was a landslide and earthflow in the spring of 1995 (see figure 1). People were evacuated and the houses nearest the slide were completely destroyed. This is a typical type of landslide.

Where is Jimmie wallet today?

There’s a ranch house in Carpinteria, California, five miles north of La Conchita on the 101. Jimmy Wallet lives here with Isaiah and Brie, Annie and Griffin.

Can you build in La Conchita?

There have been 72 real estate sales in La Conchita since the March 1995 landslide, Ventura County officials said. … Building restrictions put in place for safety after La Conchita’s 1995 landslide prevented the community’s modest homes from being replaced with coastal mansions.

What was the main cause of La Conchita landslide in 2005?

The landslide occurred after a 15-day period of unprecedented records of rainfall in Southern California. It is likely that the new rainfall did not enter the deposits left behind after the 1995 landslide, but slid off it taking surface debris and few new materials with it.

What caused the La Conchita landslide 1995?

The 1995 landslide apparently occurred as a result of an extraordinarily wet year. Mean seasonal rainfall at Ojai (20 km [12 mi] northeast of La Conchita) from October 1 through March 3 (the day before the landslide occurred) is 390 mm (15.37 in) (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 1994a, 1995a).

When was the La Conchita landslide?

On January 10, 2005, a landslide struck the community of La Conchita in Ventura County, California, destroying or seriously damaging 36 houses and killing 10 people. This was not the first destructive landslide to damage this community, nor is it likely to be the last.

How did the underlying geology contribute to the Gros Ventre landslide of 1925?

How did the underlying geology contribute to the Gros Ventre Landslide of 1925? Rains saturated the sandstone and clay that make up the slope. … the gradual movement of wet soil or other material down a slope, especially where frozen subsoil acts as a barrier to the percolation of water.

What is sliding in geography?

A slide happens when a section of soil or rock suddenly gives way and moves down a slope. The material moves as a single mass along a slippery zone.

What is a landslide scarp?

Main scarp: A steep surface on the undisturbed ground at the upper edge of the landslide, caused by movement of the displaced material away from the undisturbed ground. It is the visible part of the surface of rupture.

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Which Hawaiian island is being monitored for a potential massive landslide?

Today, geologists are studying whether seismic and tectonic forces are creating the potential for a similar disaster on the southeast shore of the big island of Hawaii, near Kilauea volcano.

What is Richfield island?

Rincon Island (Spanish: Rincón, meaning “Corner”) is a small 2.3-acre artificial island located off Mussel Shoals (also called “Little Rincon”) in Ventura County, California on public land leased from the California State Lands Commission (CSLC).

Do people still live in La Conchita?

In 2003, only three children lived in town; today, there are more than 30, said Mike Bell, chairman of the La Conchita Community Organization, formed after the 2005 landslide to address safety concerns. Multiple generations of families call the town home.

What mass wasting event happened at Portuguese Bend California and why?

The Portuguese Bend slide, which was first triggered in 1956, is one of several in a two-square-mile area on the south side of the city. The city placed a moratorium on all building in the area in 1976 after the Abalone Cove landslide, which damaged or destroyed 45 homes.

Why are landslides more common on steep slopes?

A landslide occurs because the force of gravity becomes greater than either friction or the internal strength of the rock, soil, or sediment. … Pushing the rock is easier if the surface slopes downhill or is slippery. The same is true for landslides—steeper slopes have less friction, making landslides more common.

Where did the La Conchita landslide happen?

The landslide, which occurred about 130 km northwest of Los Angeles, California, mobilized over 40,000 cubic yards of wet debris into a large scale debris flow (commonly referred to in the media as a mudslide) that flowed into a residential community at the foot of the slope, killing 10 persons and damaging or …

What are some clues that a proposed home site may be susceptible to landslide activity?

• Springs, seeps or saturated ground in areas that are not usually wet.
• New cracks or unusual bulges in the ground, street or sidewalks.
• Soil moving away from foundations, or the tilting or cracking of concrete floors and foundations.
• Sunken or down-dropped road beds.

What was the type of mass wasting event at Yosemite National Park?

Rockfalls are a natural and dynamic geologic process involving the detachment and rapid downard movement of rock. Due to its steep, glacier-carved cliffs, Yosemite Valley experiences many rockfalls each year. Historical records indicate that more than 1,000 rockfalls have occurred in the park during the past 150 years.

Which of the following are common triggers of landslides select four?

Landslides can be initiated in slopes already on the verge of movement by rainfall, snowmelt, changes in water level, stream erosion, changes in ground water, earthquakes, volcanic activity, disturbance by human activities, or any combination of these factors.

What is meant by mass wasting?

Mass wasting is the movement of rock and soil down slope under the influence of gravity. … Rock falls, slumps, and debris flows are all examples of mass wasting. Often lubricated by rainfall or agitated by seismic activity, these events may occur very rapidly and move as a flow.

What was the largest known terrestrial landslide?

Earth’s Largest Terrestrial Landslide (The Markagunt Gravity Slide of Southwest Utah): Insights from the Catastrophic Collapse of a Volcanic Field – NASA/ADS.

What causes a rotational slip?

Causes of slumping include earthquake shocks, thorough wetting, freezing and thawing, undercutting, and loading of a slope. … A rotational slump occurs when a slump block, composed of sediment or rock, slides along a concave-upward slip surface with rotation about an axis parallel to the slope.

What is a cliff collapse?

Cliff Collapse: steep cliffs made of hard, resistant rock, fall down when there is a loss of supporting rock underneath caused by wave attack.

What causes coastal landslides?

Natural Conditions. Waves, tides, and sea level. Several marine processes affect the risk of landslides along a coastal bluff. … Storms that create wind, waves, and flooding can cause more extreme erosion at the base of a bluff, increase the bluff slope, and make a landslide more likely.

What happened in the 1925 Gros Ventre Slide in Wyoming?

On June 23, 1925, one of the largest fast-moving landslides in generations occurred near the town of Kelly, Wyoming. In just three minutes, huge amounts of rock and debris cascaded down the north slope of Sheep Mountain, changing the area forever.

How did the debris from the Gros Ventre landslide of 1925 lead to another disaster in the same region in 1927?

How did the debris from the Gros Ventre Landslide of 1925 lead to another disaster in the same region in 1927? The debris blocked the river, creating a lake that later burst.

What factors led to the massive landslide at Gros Ventre Wyoming?

A combination of three factors caused the rock slide: 1) heavy rains and rapidly melting snow saturated the Tensleep Sandstone causing the underlying shale of the Amsden Formation to lose its shear strength, 2) the Gros Ventre River cut through the sandstone creating an oversteepened slope, and 3) soil on top of the …

Does debris flow have water?

In truth, they differ in that landslides are made up of a coherent block of material that slides over surfaces. Debris flows, by contrast, are made up of “loose” particles that move independently within the flow. Similarly, mud flows are composed of mud and water, whereas debris flows are made up larger particles.

Why do mudslides happen after fires?

The threat of wildfires can be felt long after the flames have been extinguished. As forests and hillsides are charred, damage to trees, plants and the soil can create the potential for flooding and mudslides during a rainstorm. … Intense heat from slow-moving fires can also make soil repel water.

What is the effect of rotational slide?

In a rotational slide the axis of rotation is roughly parallel to the contours of the slope. The movement near the head of the slide is largely downward, exposing a steep head scarp, and movement within the displaced mass takes place along internal slip planes, each tending to tilt backward.

How does Hawaiian Volcano growth cause tsunami?

Possibly the largest tsunamis ever experienced were triggered by massive landslides off the flanks of Hawaiian volcanoes. And these unstable areas will fail again in the future and trigger a massive tsunami that may devastate coastlines around the Pacific Ocean.