The gas well pad near the terminus of the West Salt Creek rock avalanche (flow direction right to left) Hazards, Publications January 23, 2017 Top-Ten paper at GSA On May 25, 2014 the longest landslide in Colorado’s historical record occurred in west-central Colorado, six miles (10 km) southeast of the small town of Collbran in Mesa County, taking the lives of three local men. The landslide was 2.8 miles (4.5 km) long, covering almost a square mile (2.6 km2) of the West Salt…
Trimble Ref-Tek 151-30 Broadband Seismometer in subsurface housing Hazards September 3, 2016 CGS seismometer array The CGS recently installed the first of five new seismic recording stations that will collect information on seismic events around the state and the region. The CGS seismic network acts in conjunction with those maintained by the University of Colorado and Colorado State University, the Incorporated Research Institutions for…
Figure 03. Highly contorted sedimentary strata in the evaporitic terrain between Gypsum and Glenwood Springs Hazards May 5, 2015 Evaporite Karst Subsidence [ED: Originally written by Jonathan White, Senior Engineering Geologist (emeritus staff) for a 2001 volume of our paper RockTalk bulletin, this short introduction reveals some special geological areas of the state worthy of notice for a variety of reasons.] Many areas of Colorado are underlain…
Hazards March 4, 2015 Land subsidence, a growing problem Deltares, an independent institute for applied research in the field of water and subsurface, hosted fifteen international subsidence experts to discuss subsidence problems worldwide at the annual meeting of UNESCO Land Subsidence working group. The video below features Gilles Erkens, subsidence expert…
Hazards March 13, 2013 The Science of Sinkholes This video, from the U.S. Geological Survey, explores the geological factors behind sinkholes and the related science. Narrated by Randall Orndorff, the Director of the USGS Eastern Geology and Paleoclimate Science Center.
Earthquake damage: to interior adobe walls of residence Geology, Hazards August 23, 2011 Case Study: The Trinidad, Colorado Earthquakes [ED: Originally published in 2011 by Vincent Matthews, former State Geologist at the CGS.] Around midnight on August 22, 2011, Colorado experienced its largest earthquake in half a century. The earthquake was quickly relegated to obscurity by the 5.8 earthquake that occurred about 12 hours…
Hazards June 16, 2011 Mine Subsidence Hazards in Colorado This video, produced by the CGS in 2011, examines the significant geo-hazards related to the long history of underground coal mining in Colorado.
Hazards February 10, 2011 Hazardous Soils in Colorado This educational video, produced in 2011, explores the various problems that arise from hazardous soil conditions — expansive, collapsible/compressible, hydrocompactive, dispersive, swelling/expansible — across the state. These geologic hazards combined cause more infrastructure damage in Colorado than any others. The video also covers the types of damage, methods for prevention…