Landslide Photo Collections

Searchable USGS Photo and Multimedia Archive with Ordering Information

Wildland fires are inevitable in the western United States. Expansion of man-made developments into fire-prone wildlands has created situations where wildfires can destroy lives and property, as can the flooding and debris flows that are common in the aftermath of the fires. Fast-moving, highly destructive debris flows triggered by intense rainfall are one of the most dangerous post-fire hazards. Such debris flows are particularly dangerous because they tend to occur with little warning. Their mass and speed make them particularly destructive: debris flows can strip vegetation, block drainages, damage structures, and endanger human life. For more information on the USGS Landslide Program Wild-fire/Debris Flow Project, please see: http://landslides.usgs.gov/research/wildfire/

  • Camp St. Sophia, in Waterman Canyon above San Bernardino, California, where a debris flow on December 26, 2003 killed 14 people. A wildfire during the previous October burned the hillslopes in the area, and heavy rains in December triggered the deadly debris flows (Photo by Robert Meyer, U.S. Geological Survey).
    socal.gif
  • Photo
    newcaplake.j...
  • Campground in Cable Canyon, southern California, where a debris flow on December 25, 2003, killed two people. A wildfire during the previous October burned hillslopes in the area, and heavy rains triggered the deadly debris flows (Photograph by Sue Cannon, U.S. Geological Survey).
    cablecyndama...
  • Debris-flow deposits produced during a Christmas day 2003 storm in Waterman Canyon, San Bernardino County, California (Photo by Sue Cannon, U.S. Geological Survey).
    watermancynd...
  • October, 2007 image of wildfires in California - Phtograph by National Aeronautics & Space Administration (NASA) - for more NASA images of wildfires in California please see: http://www.nasa.gov/vision/earth/lookingatearth/socal_wildfires_oct07.html
    wildfiremain...
  • Image of burn scars in southern California - Photo from NASA.
    california20...
  • Trees scarred by debris flow in the middle fork of Lytle Creek, in the San Gabriel Mountains of California. Many debris flows and sediment-laden floods issued from watersheds burned by the 2003 Grand Prix and Old Fires near San Bernardino, California. (Photo by Sue Cannon, U.S. Geological Survey).
    100_0779.JPG
  • Photograph of a house buried by a debris flow following the 2003 Old Fire, California. Several debris flows occurrd on this street in Devore, California. (Photo by Joe Gartner, U.S. Geological Survey)
    100_0553.JPG
  • A debris flow in Cable Canyon following the 2003 Old Fire in the San Bernardino Mountains of southern California buried this KOA Campground and killed two people. (Photo by Dave Kinner, U.S. Geological Survey)
    100_0564.JPG
  • A photo debris flow damage on Greenwood Avenue, in Devore, California, that followed the 2003 Grand Prix fire (Photo by Sue Cannon, U.S. Geological Survey).
    100_0539.JPG
  • A photo of debris flow damage in Cable Canyon, California which inundated a KOA campground on Christmas Day, 2003, killing two (Photo by U.S. Geological Survey).
    100_0561.JPG

Share this page: