By Madeleine Barac Young 8B 4th April 2023

Geomorphic Hazards
What is a geomorphic hazard?

A geomorphic hazard is a natural disaster that originates from the lithosphere, such as volcanic eruptions, tsunamis, mass
movement aka landslides and avalanches and earthquakes.

What is my chosen geomorphic hazard?

I chose an avalanche because I believe that avalanches are a very interesting natural disaster, and they are not a usual pick
for school projects.

What is the geomorphic process that causes an avalanche?

An avalanche is cause by a typically large amount of ice, rock, snow, and soil sliding down the side of a mountain. This is
caused by three common aspects: steep slopes, weak snow covers, and triggers. These triggers can range from weather such
as wind or sudden warm temperature changes to skiers and snow vehicles making vibrations in the snow.

What are the impacts of an avalanche?

PHYSICAL - Avalanches can destroy and relocate boulders, uproot trees and eliminate any obstructions in the way. Once
the avalanche has settled the snow and ice becomes incredibly solid and hard, like concrete, and nearly impossible to dig out
of. Getting caught in an avalanche can result in death by suffocation and hypothermia. Sometimes the trauma alone is
enough to kill.

SOCIAL - Social impacts of an avalanche include cut off communication and damaged utilities, as the strength and speed of
the snow can strike down mobile phone towers and power lines. This can also affect electricity and heat in homes and ski
lodges causing extremely cold temperatures and no light. Occasionally the avalanche is powerful enough to split or demolish
pipelines causing leakages and spillages of oil or gas. Leaks affect skiers as then runs are cut off preventing people to spread
out across the mountain ensuring that the runs aren’t too crowded.

ECONMIC - Depending on the severity of an avalanche ski resorts are forced to close until the weather conditions are
suitable and there are no signs of a second wave to the avalanche. Avalanches can flow onto roads resulting in a traffic jam
or blockage to certain resources such as food and a place to sleep. The majority of ski resorts depend on tourists being able to
drive up the mountain for an income and avalanches prevent this and create a money shortage which could potentially effect
the business in future situations.

How can humans prevent devastating impacts from avalanches in the future?

Humans can prevent the devastation avalanches cause by having evacuation plans in place and building protective structures
such as avalanche nets. Ways to prevent avalanches before they become a problem is by avoiding slopes with a drop larger
than 25 degrees, skiing on the side the wind is blowing to and avoid slopes and gullies without trees. In some cases it is
considered useful to use explosives to loosen small snow piles to stop large build-ups that can potentially lead to avalanches.