Debris flows and landslides resulting from the June 27, 1995, storm on the North Fork of the Moormons River, Shenandoah National Park, Virginia
Morgan BA and Wieczorek GF. 1996. Debris flows and landslides resulting from the June 27, 1995, storm on the North Fork of the Moormons River, Shenandoah National Park, Virginia. U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Open-File Report. 96-503. U.S. Geological Survey. Reston, VA
During the evening of June 27, 1995, an intense rainstorm triggered nearly 100 landslides in an area of about 5 square miles within the drainage basin of the North Fork of the Moormans River in Shenandoah National Park, Virginia. Most of these landslides began as soil slips or debris slides and then transformed down-slope into debris flows that destroyed forests, stream flora and fauna, roads and trails. Debris flows coalesced within the drainage basin of the Moormans River and proceeded downstream out of the park and into Sugar Hollow Reservoir, part of the water supply for Charlottesville, Virginia. The reservoir acted as a debris-flow containment basin for deposits ranging from silt to boulders and including organic debris such as tree trunks and limbs. Containment of the debris by the reservoir saved eight or more private, downstream residences from nearly certain destruction. This report provides an inventory map (scale 1:24,000) of landslides and debris flows within the affected area, a description of the debris flows, the historical precedent for this type of event and potential hazards that remain as a consequence of the storm.
- Type
- Published Report
- Authors
- Morgan, Benjamin; Wieczorek, Gerald
- Date of Issue
- 1996-08
- Publisher
- U.S. Geological Survey
- Units
- HIST , SHEN
- Keywords
- Debris Flow, Drainage Basin, ehistory, History, Landslide, Moormons River, Rainfall, Storm