Historic Landslide Dams along the Upper Indus River, Northern Pakistan

Abstract

A significant number of landslides have occurred along the upper Indus River which resulted in temporary landslide dams. All of these debris dams eventually breach, often causing catastrophic flooding downstream. Remote sensing data can aid in the recognition of many of these features in otherwise inaccessible areas. Regional level landslide inventory maps have recently been prepared, which also show the locations of historic landslide dams. The research reported in this paper was a reconnaissance-level study, aimed at identifying those slides and rock avalanches that are or were more than 500-m long, crossing at least five adjacent contours. Representative examples of the various types of landslides were evaluated using topographic expression, aided by field reconnaissance and literature review. Many of the landslide features described in the study area exceed an entrained debris volume of