Preliminary Interpretations from a Landslide Inventory in Interior Alaska

Landslides are geologic hazards that threaten human life, infrastructure, and property. To mitigate these threats, a landslide inventory map must first be developed. We present preliminary interpretations of the first comprehensive landslide inventory in the Fairbanks North Star Borough (FNSB), Interior Alaska. The inventory was developed using light detection and ranging (LiDAR) digital elevation models (DEMs), and validated with field checks of landslides accessible on public lands along the road system. The inventory provides a landslide spatial distribution that can be correlated to types of soil and/or bedrock, slope, aspect, and permafrost distribution. We can determine relative age of landslides using morphology, vegetation, and cross-cutting relationships with infrastructure. We provide landslide examples of: 1) different ages, 2) mechanisms of movement, and 3) morphology; and explore potential triggers of the prehistoric landslides.