Skip Links

USGS - science for a changing world

Professional Paper 1671

Debris Flows -- Geologic Process and Hazard, Illustrated by a Surge Sequence at Jiangjia Ravine, Yunnan, China

By Kevin M. Scott and Wang Yuyi

Thumbnail of and link to report PDF (12.7 MB)Abstract

Debris flows are slurries of sediment and water that are both an important geologic process and a major hazard. They present large risks to those living in mountainous areas, as well as downstream from volcanoes in the case of the flows known as lahars that may travel 100-200 kilometers (62-124 miles). The accompanying video records a series of debris flow surges at Jiangjia Ravine, in Yunnan Province in southern China. This rugged and remote site is famous for the annual occurrence of debris flows triggered each summer by monsoonal rains. The video illustrates the unique characteristics of debris flows, how they behave, and why they cause large losses of life and property in China and many other parts of the world. This report is a summary for those wishing more information than is presented in the video, and for the specialist we include dynamical data on the flows and textural data on their deposits.

First posted February 2, 2007

  • This report is available only on the Web

For additional information, contact:
CVO, Volcano Science Center,
Cascades Volcano Observatory
U.S. Geological Survey
1300 SE Cardinal Court, Building 10, Suite 100
Vancouver, WA 98683-9589
http://vulcan.wr.usgs.gov/

Part or all of this report is presented in Portable Document Format (PDF). For best results viewing and printing PDF documents, it is recommended that you download the documents to your computer and open them with Adobe Reader. PDF documents opened from your browser may not display or print as intended. Download the latest version of Adobe Reader, free of charge.


Suggested citation:

Scott, Kevin M., Yuyi, Wang, 2004, Debris flows: geologic process and hazard; illustrated by a surge sequence at Jiangjia Ravine, Yunnan, China: U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1671, 26 pp., https://pubs.usgs.gov/pp/1671.


Contents

Abstract

Introduction–why study debris flows?

What can we learn from the video?

Acknowledgments

References cited, and for further study


Accessibility FOIA Privacy Policies and Notices

Take Pride in America logo USA.gov logo U.S. Department of the Interior | U.S. Geological Survey
URL: http://pubsdata.usgs.gov/pubs/pp/1671/index.html
Page Contact Information: GS Pubs Web Contact
Page Last Modified: Thursday, 01-Dec-2016 16:26:57 EST