Dodging nature’s tantrums
Visualization tools for ‘gravity-events’ What do snow avalanches, mudslides and glacial outburst floods have in common? I guess they’re all…
2023 | Richard Carstensen | 50-second video; pdf downloads
Landforms at the angle of repose
Colluvium is material moved by gravity. Mass wasting is a generic term for all manner of gravity-driven processes and deposits. Colluvial or talus fans have much in common with alluvial fans, and may grade imperceptibly into them. Colluvium rests at the angle of repose; it’s steeper than alluvial fans and material is more angular than water-transported rock.
Here are two kinds of habitats on colluvial slopes, keyed to frequency of disturbance.
Size of colluvial deposits depends upon the jointing pattern of source rock in cliffs above, intensity of freeze-thaw action, and, of course, time. Southeast colluvium has been accumulating for about 12,000 years, an eyeblink compared to the life span of talus cones in unglaciated mountains of the desert southwest, for example.
In this section
Bishop 1985 Nettle(Behrends) avalanche
Oblique aerials after the last big one In a binder of slides and negatives that Brita Bishop lent me, I…
1985 | Dan Bishop | 7 pages
Escape to ‘beautiful face’
Outdoors with teachers Yadaa.at Kalé means beautifully adorned face, of slopes rising northeast from the highschool named for them (JDH).…
Mass wasting finale
In class—our penultimate Wednesday—we reviewed Bay&Valley day, and then transitioned to the concluding Saturday field trip focusing on ‘serious-stuff-coming-downhill.’ For…
2022 | Richard Carstensen | Landforms class archives
Rockslide snagswamp
Unraveling the origins of a fascinating pond Til’héeni, dog salmon stream (Salmon Creek) is a new addition to featured Áak’w…
2019 | Richard Carstensen | 4-minute slideshow
Spring avalanches
Snowslides and critters Last year around this time I posted video and thoughts about the relationship of critters to avalanches—both…
Downhill disturbance
Avalanche and wildlife It’s hard to think long about mountain goats—especially here on the precipitous coast—without wondering how they deal…
2022 | Richard Carstensen | 3 minute slideshow
2022 avalanches
Snowslide cartography When weather clears and risk-level drops, I’ve been trying to keep up with this winter’s avalanches by flying…
Avalanche mapping
Releases in Nettleslide (Behrends path) & Last Chance Goatwatching in winter leads inevitably to fascination with avalanches. Yesterday, Feb 12,…
2022 | Richard Carstensen |
Roads of ‘Northeast Chich’
Slideshows: Xunaa Káawu Each summer, I try to get over to Hoonah to help my wife Cathy with her research…
2021: 2019 | Richard Carstensen | Slideshows, 8- & 4 minutes
Teachers’ outings, 2021
Year-3: Estuaries & steep places Two kinds of landforms & habitats have consumed my attention this winter and spring—estuaries and…
2021 | Richard Carstensen | 60 page journal & course manual
108 days on mountain goat winter range
Motion-detector camera at 1,200 feet On December 12th, 2020, Steve Merli and I placed a game-cam in mountain goat winter…
2021 | Richard Carstensen | 12-minute slideshow
Dzisk’w liu kaadi: little owl snowslide
Avalanches in Goatlandia Yesterday (20210304), avalanches were triggered above the Thane Road runout on Snowslide Creek. Several folks posted impressive…
2021 | Richard Carstensen | 80-second slideshow
Nature near the schools: Landforms
Powerpoint & script for Discovery Nature Studies I didn’t come to geology by natural inclination. I was gently nudged by…
1990 | Richard Carstensen | powerpoint & script
Special trees in Nettle Slide
New angles on Tʼóokʼ dleit ḵaadí, nettle snowslide (Behrends Slide) Late September, 2020 It’s probably time we stopped calling this…
2020 | Richard Carstensen | 90 second slideshow
Blackwell City Walk: info packet
Another great idea from Mike 2019: Cathy Connor and I (Richard Carstensen) have inherited a tradition spearheaded by our friend…
2019: updated 2024 | Mike Blackwell, Richard Carstensen & Cathy Connor | info packet and navigational geopdfs
Mid-May on Shaa Tlaax
Goats, geology & zonation on Shaa Tlaax, moldy top (Mt Juneau) Video-journal of the flora, fauna, and geomorphology that hikers…
2019 | Richard Carstensen | 4 minutes
Kaxdigoowu Héen (Montana Creek): presentation for SEAL Trust
Slideshow in two parts Kaxdigoowu Héen, going back clearwater has been one of my favorite places since I first explored…
2019 | Richard Carstensen & John Hudson | slide show in 2 parts: 38 & 22 minutes
Staff hike in Dzantik’i Héeni basin
On a sleety December 11th, 2018, Discovery Southeast staff (and Clay Good, board) hiked together in the lower valley of…
2018 | Richard Carstensen | 7 minutes
Behrends avalanche
Three days after an avalanche came down Behrends Slide, near Juneau, Alaska, I went up for some raven’s-eye perspectives. The…
2017 | Richard Carstensen | 2.5 minutes