Massive Utah avalanche triggered seismic events
DOI: 10.1063/PT.5.027614
San Francisco Chronicle : The largest nonvolcanic landslide in North American history occurred last year at the Bingham Canyon copper mine near Salt Lake City, Utah, according to scientists at the University of Utah. In their study published in GSA Today, they report that on 10 April 2013 the northeastern wall of the almost 1000-m-deep pit collapsed following two landslides about 90 minutes apart. The event moved some 165 million tons of debris and triggered several earthquakes. “We don’t know of any case until now where landslides have been shown to trigger earthquakes,” said Jeff Moore, one of the study’s coauthors. No injuries occurred, because the mining company was aware of the mine’s instability and had evacuated the area.
