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Columbia River Gorge Landslides

January 23, 2023

Extreme rainfall during two atmospheric river events in January 2021 and January 2022 triggered a series of debris flows in the Columbia River Gorge, Oregon.  The flows had significant impacts, including multiple highway closures and one fatality.  This story map highlights rainfall data and observations of debris flow deposits by the Oregon Department of Geology and Mineral Industries (DOGAMI) within the 2017 Eagle Creek burn area.  The impact of the Eagle Creek Fire on debris-flow susceptibility is an ongoing area of research performed collaboratively between the USGS and DOGAMI.

a pile of large boulders and tree parts up against a guardrail next to a road
 Debris flow deposit at the outlet of the Tumalt Creek drainage basin, Columbia River Gorge, Oregon,  following storms in January 2021.