Landslide Photo Collections

Searchable USGS Photo and Multimedia Archive with Ordering Information

  • Rock and snow avalanche, Mount Huascaran, Peru. In 1970, an earthquake-induced rock and snow avalanche on Mt. Huascaran, Peru, buried the towns of Yungay and Ranrahirca. The death toll from the Debris Avalanche was 18,000 (total fatalities from the earthquake and the debris flow was 66,000). The avalanche started as a sliding mass of glacial ice and rock about 3,000 feet wide and one mile long. The avalanche swept about 11 miles to the village of Yungay at an average speed of more that 100 miles an hour. The fast-moving mass picked up glacial deposits and by the time it reached Yungay, it is estimated to have consisted of about 80 million cubic yards of water, mud, and rocks. Photo courtesy of Servicio Aerofotografico Nacional de Peru, 13 June 1970.
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  • Slide 5: Rock and snow avalanche, Mount Huascaran, Peru. In 1970, an earthquake-induced rock and snow avalanche on Mt. Huascaran, Peru, buried the towns of Yungay and Ranrahirca. The death toll from the Debris Avalanche was 18,000 (total fatalities from the earthquake and the debris flow was 66,000). The avalanche started as a sliding mass of glacial ice and rock about 3,000 feet wide and one mile long. The avalanche swept about 11 miles to the village of Yungay at an average speed of more that 100 miles an hour. The fast-moving mass picked up glacial deposits and by the time it reached Yungay, it is estimated to have consisted of about 80 million cubic yards of water, mud, and rocks. Photo courtesy of Servicio Aerofotografico Nacional de Peru, 13 June 1970.
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  • Color photo and labels for Mt. Huascaran, Peru, 1970 - Photo by George Pflafker, USGS
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