Abstract
Sections cut through the Quaternary sediment fill of the Fraser River valley in central British Columbia provide evidence for large-scale landsliding during Pleistocene time. Especially notable are thick, laterally extensive diamict beds, consisting mainly of Tertiary rock debris, that occur near the base of glaciolacustrine sequences. These beds were deposited by subaqueous debris flows during one or more periods of lake ponding when advancing Pleistocene glaciers blocked the ancestral Fraser River. The association of diamict beds and glaciolacustrine sediments deposited during periods of glacier advance may indicate a genetic link between slope failure and lake filling. These observations (1) demonstrate the adverse effects of high pore pressures on the stability of slopes underlain by poorly indurated Tertiary rocks and (2) extend the known history of landslides involving these rocks back into the Pleistocene. Key words: landslides, debris flows, Pleistocene, glacial lake.

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