Landslide Photo Collections

Searchable USGS Photo and Multimedia Archive with Ordering Information

Chile, 1960, Rupanco Region earthquake-induced landslides

  • During the Great Chilean Earthquake, several landslides near Tralcán Mountain blocked the outflow of Riñihue Lake. Because the San Pedro River was blocked, the water level of Riñihue Lake started to rise quickly. To avoid the destruction of the city of Valdivia, several military units and hundreds of workers started an effort, called the Riñihuazo, to control the lake. Twenty-seven bulldozers were put into service, but they had severe difficulties moving in the mud near the dams, so dykes had to be constructed with shovels. A proposal by some US military to blow up the dams with missiles from a helicopter was rejected. The work was not restricted to the lake; drainages from other parts of the Seven Lakes were also dammed to minimize the flow into Riñihue Lake. These dams were removed later, with the exception of Calafquén Lake, which still retains its dam. Photograph from Wikipedia Commons: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ri%C3%B1ihuazo
    1960chilerup...

Share this page: