West Salt Creek Landslide

Image of the recent West Salt Creek Landslide that occurred on May 25th at 5:44 PM local time near Collbran, Colorado. Aerial view is to the south. The dimensions of the landslide: 2.7 miles long, 3000 feet wide (narrowing to 625 feet at the toe), and estimated to be 100 feet deep in areas. There was an earlier landslide event at 7:18 AM that caused disruption of an irrigation ditch. Three men went to investigate the ditch but unfortunately the main landslide event took their lives. A magnitude 2.8 earthquake was generated from the landslide that lasted 2 minutes and 20 seconds. Based on that seismograph wave train interval, it is estimated the landslide traveled with a velocity between 75 and 140 MPH. An estimated 30 million cubic feet of material was mobilized during the event. This landslide occurred in an area where older landslides have been mapped by both Colorado Geological Survey and USGS. Instruments and cameras have been installed to monitor future movements of the landslide. Acquisition of high-resolution imagery and digital elevation models are in progress. Photo by Jon White, Colorado Geological Survey.