The National Academies Press

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1. Snow Avalanche Problems
Pages 5-8

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From page 5... ... They are a common occurrence in mountainous terrain throughout the world, wherever snow is deposited on slopes steeper than about 20 to 30 degrees. In the United States, where avalanches are the most frequent form of lethal mass movement, avalanche hazard exists from the lower-elevation coastal mountain ranges to the higher mountains of the continental interior. Read the entire page →
From page 6... ... Hence, a large overburden of snow alone may not result in avalanching if it is internally strong and anchored to the layer below, but a shallow snow layer can slide from a mountainside if the snow is poorly bonded to the underlying material. Snow avalanches represent a complex problem in mechanical stability; thus, attempts to provide a better understanding of the phenomenon have focused primarily on the physical processes taking place within the constantly changing winter snow cover and the dependence of those processes on temperature and other meteorological factors. Read the entire page →
From page 7... ... - ~ FIGURE 1 (a) An "attractive" potential development site in a century-old lodgepole pine forest on a fan beneath Deadman Gulch, Colorado Front Range, 1976. Read the entire page →
From page 8... ... Reforestation provides a natural form of protection, but avalanche risk may substantially increase in the near future due to forests dying or deteriorating as a result of air pollution. The most common technique for reducing avalanche hazard is to artificially release potential avalanches at a selected safe time. Read the entire page →

From page 5...

... They are a common occurrence in mountainous terrain throughout the world, wherever snow is deposited on slopes steeper than about 20 to 30 degrees. In the United States, where avalanches are the most frequent form of lethal mass movement, avalanche hazard exists from the lower-elevation coastal mountain ranges to the higher mountains of the continental interior.

Read the entire page →

From page 6...

... Hence, a large overburden of snow alone may not result in avalanching if it is internally strong and anchored to the layer below, but a shallow snow layer can slide from a mountainside if the snow is poorly bonded to the underlying material. Snow avalanches represent a complex problem in mechanical stability; thus, attempts to provide a better understanding of the phenomenon have focused primarily on the physical processes taking place within the constantly changing winter snow cover and the dependence of those processes on temperature and other meteorological factors.

Read the entire page →

From page 7...

... - ~ FIGURE 1 (a) An "attractive" potential development site in a century-old lodgepole pine forest on a fan beneath Deadman Gulch, Colorado Front Range, 1976.

Read the entire page →

From page 8...

... Reforestation provides a natural form of protection, but avalanche risk may substantially increase in the near future due to forests dying or deteriorating as a result of air pollution. The most common technique for reducing avalanche hazard is to artificially release potential avalanches at a selected safe time.

Read the entire page →

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1. Snow Avalanche Problems Pages 5-8

1. Snow Avalanche Problems
Pages 5-8