Megalandslide (debris avalanche?) in the north flank of Cacahuatique volcano, Morazan, El Salvador

A mega landslide, a probably debris avalanche type, affecting the north flank of Cacahuatique volcano in Morazán, El Salvador, is described in this paper. An estimated 6000 MCM (Million Cubic Meters) of volcanic materials slide from the northern slopes of Cacahuatique volcano to the Torola River lef...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autor: Protti, Roberto
Tipo de documento: Artículo
Estado:Published version
Fecha de publicación:2011
País:Costa Rica
Institución:UCR
Repositorio:Portal de Revistas UCR
Lenguaje:Español
OAI Identifier:oai:portal.ucr.ac.cr:article/13108
Acceso en línea:https://revistas.ucr.ac.cr/index.php/geologica/article/view/13108
Nivel de acceso:Acceso abierto
Palabra clave:mega landslide
debris avalanche
cacahuatique volcano
mega deslizamiento
flujos de detritos
volcán cacahuatique
Descripción
Sumario:A mega landslide, a probably debris avalanche type, affecting the north flank of Cacahuatique volcano in Morazán, El Salvador, is described in this paper. An estimated 6000 MCM (Million Cubic Meters) of volcanic materials slide from the northern slopes of Cacahuatique volcano to the Torola River left bank. The main landslide is 6 km wide by 5 km long and at least 200 m thick to produce a debris flow probably during late Pliocene to early Pleistocene. Most of the original landslide materials have been eroded by Los Reyes, Gualpuca, Grande and Torola rivers but some relicts still remain in the flow area like Cerro San Lucas (hummocky morphology).Geomorphologic and geological data are described to support the thesis of the mega landslide occurrence.