Storurdi: a late holocene rock‐slope failure (sturzstrom) in the jotunheimen, southern norway

Abstract.

An extensive accumulation of rock debris at the mouth of Urdadalen in the Jotunheimen, southern Norway, is interpreted as the deposit of a rock‐slope failure (sturzstrom). This is the first large‐scale rock‐slope failure to be recognised in the Jotunheimen but is unlikely to be the only one. The debris descended to the valley floor, passed across the valley axis and moved 40 m up the opposite side of the valley. Some debris passed over the lip of Urdadalen and now forms a boulder tongue that extends for c. 800 m into Utledalen. A maximum velocity of 80 m s⁻¹ for debris movement from crest of hillside to toe of boulder tongue has been estimated, and a minimum velocity of 28 m s⁻¹ was required for the debris to run up the opposite side of Urdadalen. The degree of boulder hardness/weathering as determined by Schmidt hammer suggests the sturzstrom occurred in the Late Holocene (1.825 ± 0.76 cal. ka bp), during a period of climatic deterioration. The localised geomorphological impact of the failure event has been to dam the valley and create a small lake, to cause valley widening, to produce a north‐facing hillside embayment at 1200–1400 m above sea level with the potential to collect and retain snow that might, in future, lead to niche glacier development and cirque initiation, and to provide a large volume of rock debris for entrainment and onward transport in future glacial cycles.

Key words:

• rock‐slope failure
• sturzstrom
• Schmidt hammer
• Holocene
• Jotunheimen