Landslide Photo Collections

Searchable USGS Photo and Multimedia Archive with Ordering Information

A 2.7-km-long glacier mass detached from its bed, accelerated to 65 m/s in under 6 km, and then traveled further, 13 km downstream partway, as an extremely rapid glacier debris flow. It caused 125 deaths, and created a landslide dam.

  • When the Kolka Glacier collapsed in September 2002, ice, mud, and rocks partially filled the Karmadon Depression, destroying much of the village of Karmadon. The debris swept in through the Genaldon River Valley (lower left) and backed up at the entrance to a narrow gorge (top center). The debris acted as a dam, creating lakes upstream. This aerial photograph (looking north) was taken only 16 days after the disaster. Photo from NASA (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Kolka_debris.jpg).
    kolka_debris...
  • Ice from the Kolka Glacier filled the bottom of the Genaldon River Valley and spread across a portion of the Karmadon Depression before slamming into the Gates of Karmadon and coming to a halt in a pile of dirty ice 130 meters (390 feet) high. This perspective view shows the topography of the region. NASA image by Robert Simmon based on SRTM and Landsat-7 data provided by the Global Land Cover Facility.
    kolka2002.jp...
  • View of the Karmadon valley on the morning of 21 September 2002, the day after the natural catastrophe. Completely buried under the mass of ice, stone and water lies the village of Nizhnii Karmadon. Photo by the Russian Ministry of Extreme Events, MEE.
    kolkaglacier...
  • A mass of ice and debris buried the village of Karmadon and filled the surrounding basin after it slid from the Kolka Glacier. Lakes are forming on the edges of the ice mass as it melts. There is a threat of their sudden outburst, which would affect villages further down the Genaldon River valley. Photo was taken by Sergei Chernomorets on Oct. 6, 2002.
    kolkaburiedv...
  • Traces of the “waves” left by the glacial debris flow on the slopes of the Genaldon valley. Some reach a height of 140 m. Photo by N.I. Osokin.
    kolkaglacier...
  • The crew of the International Space Station observed and documented the result of the catastrophic glacier collapse and landslide that occurred on the northern slope of Mount Kazbek, which is one of the highest mountains in the Caucasus range. This image centers on the peak of Mount Kazbek, and clearly shows the surrounding glaciers and peaks. On Sept. 20, 2002, the collapse of a hanging glacier from the slope of Mount Dzhimarai-Khokh onto the Kolka Glacier triggered an avalanche of ice and debris that went over the Maili glacier terminus then slid more than 24 kilometers (15 miles). It buried small villages in the Russian Republic of North Ossetia, killing dozens of people. Where the ice stopped, the glacial debris flow dammed rivers further below. Several lakes formed and one of them flooded a village. There lakes may at some point, burst and form debris flows.
    kolkaspacest...

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