BLACK RAPIDS

 

Event description

 

South-central Alaska and the Alaska Range were severely shaken on the morning of 3 November 2003 by a M 7.9 earthquake. The shaking triggered a large rock and ice avalanches on the Black Rapids Glacier. This rock fall originated from the south walls of the glacier, crossed a medial moraine (~30 m high), and continued across the entire glacier valley (> 2 km). The rock blanket covers an estimated 13 km2 of the glacier�s ablation area. A very crude estimate suggests that the total volume exceeds 10 Mio m3.

 

Damage

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Data source

 

- Truffer, M., Craw, P., Trabant, D., March, R.: Effects of the M7.9 Denali Fault Earthquake on glaciers in the Alaska Range. U.S. Geological Survey.
- http://ak.water.usgs.gov/glaciology/m7.9_quake/

 

Remarks