I worked as a geotechnical engineer for almost a decade, working on (amongst other things) landslides in mountain passes. It was a fun job!
I like this article. Geoscience isn’t well understood by most people, so I usually get reminded of the Gell-Mann Effect whenever I read a news article about it. But, this one correctly frames landslides as having created these feature in the first place, and that they were always going to fall at some point, rather than treating them as eternal features.
The features we see around us that seem so constant, like mountains, rivers, shorelines, lakes and seas, are all in a state of flux. Geological processes under some of our most populous cities are moving them by measurable amounts every year, and the numbers aren’t microscopic (up and down too, not just the sideways movement many people have heard about). Where once there were sea beds, there are now jagged mountains, and there will sometime be fields and then seas again.
Italy is slowly waking up to the crumbling of the rigid petriarchical system of the past. Cracks are appearing in dolomite icons of the past who were once above reproach and they are falling from grace, one after another.
An article on rock slides and every photo is stunningly gorgeous. That's the Dolomites.
Fun tidbit: The formation mentioned, the Five Towers, is right across the valley from where most of the movie "Cliffhanger" was filmed (the Tofane Group around Cortina d'Ampezzo).
Interesting article, and it brings back a lot of memories.
I've done three alpine hikes: the Tour du Mont Blanc, the Haute Route, and the Dolomites. The Dolomites were my favorite, for both the scenery (though all are spectacular) and for the quality of the mountain inns where we stayed each night. We spent one night at Rifugio Cinque Torri, which is not far from those rock towers in the story.
I took a lot of photos while hiking and while carrying the camera equipment was a bother, I am so glad I did as I can re-visit the trip, photo by photo.
I had a memorable experience when a basketball sized rock fell from a 1000' cliff above me. The rock made an unreal buzzing/humming sound as it flew through the air. My first though was that I should throw my helmet on, followed by realizing how little that would help if the stone actually hit me. It missed by a decent margin, maybe ~100', but that was way too close for comfort. Given the angle I couldn't tell if it was even going to miss until the last second.
Rockfall is no joke. Even well established parks like Yosemite have seen a number of deaths from it.
I've heard 'rocks as big as cars' fully submerged, rolling down flooded creeks. The sound is eerie and unsettling - especially when you know what it is. Really gives an appreciation for the power of water.
"Second, although it's undoubtedly sad that one of the Five Towers came down, there were actually 12 towers to start with – they got shortchanged on the name because only five are visible against the sky from below. So, the fact that the number of towers doesn't match its official name is nothing new."
Immediately made me think of the 12 Apostles. (there were only 9 stacks at the time it was renamed)
It's down to 7 now, but it's expected new stacks will emerge as the coast is eroded. This is not some geological age timeframe. My father was a civil engineer on parts of the Great Ocean Road years ago, even moving one section of the road twice in his career as erosion exceeded their initial predictions.
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[ 3.2 ms ] story [ 23.1 ms ] threadGeological mysteries, pleasant scenery, and calm explanation. Great for listening in the evening.
I like this article. Geoscience isn’t well understood by most people, so I usually get reminded of the Gell-Mann Effect whenever I read a news article about it. But, this one correctly frames landslides as having created these feature in the first place, and that they were always going to fall at some point, rather than treating them as eternal features.
The features we see around us that seem so constant, like mountains, rivers, shorelines, lakes and seas, are all in a state of flux. Geological processes under some of our most populous cities are moving them by measurable amounts every year, and the numbers aren’t microscopic (up and down too, not just the sideways movement many people have heard about). Where once there were sea beds, there are now jagged mountains, and there will sometime be fields and then seas again.
Fun tidbit: The formation mentioned, the Five Towers, is right across the valley from where most of the movie "Cliffhanger" was filmed (the Tofane Group around Cortina d'Ampezzo).
I've done three alpine hikes: the Tour du Mont Blanc, the Haute Route, and the Dolomites. The Dolomites were my favorite, for both the scenery (though all are spectacular) and for the quality of the mountain inns where we stayed each night. We spent one night at Rifugio Cinque Torri, which is not far from those rock towers in the story.
I took a lot of photos while hiking and while carrying the camera equipment was a bother, I am so glad I did as I can re-visit the trip, photo by photo.
All three hikes are highly recommended.
Rockfall is no joke. Even well established parks like Yosemite have seen a number of deaths from it.
Immediately made me think of the 12 Apostles. (there were only 9 stacks at the time it was renamed)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Twelve_Apostles_(Victoria)
It's down to 7 now, but it's expected new stacks will emerge as the coast is eroded. This is not some geological age timeframe. My father was a civil engineer on parts of the Great Ocean Road years ago, even moving one section of the road twice in his career as erosion exceeded their initial predictions.
>Around 300,000-400,000 cubic metres of rock came down.
Just the right time to secure the budget money in the name of the upcoming Olympics.