Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Preface
- Acknowledgements
- 1 Introduction
- Part I The terrestrial cryosphere
- 2A Snowfall and snow cover
- 2B Avalanches
- 3 Glaciers and ice caps
- 4 Ice sheets
- 5 Frozen ground and permafrost
- 6 Freshwater ice
- Part II The marine cryosphere
- Part III The cryosphere past and future
- Part IV Applications
- Glossary
- References
- Index
- Plate section
2B - Avalanches
from Part I - The terrestrial cryosphere
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 June 2012
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Preface
- Acknowledgements
- 1 Introduction
- Part I The terrestrial cryosphere
- 2A Snowfall and snow cover
- 2B Avalanches
- 3 Glaciers and ice caps
- 4 Ice sheets
- 5 Frozen ground and permafrost
- 6 Freshwater ice
- Part II The marine cryosphere
- Part III The cryosphere past and future
- Part IV Applications
- Glossary
- References
- Index
- Plate section
Summary
History
The word avalanche is derived from the French “avaler” (to swallow). An avalanche involves the rapid flow of a mass of snow down a slope, triggered by either natural processes or human activity. Avalanches have long been feared in Alpine countries. On 1 March 1910, on the Great Northern Railway line through the Cascade Range at Stevens Pass, WA, northeast of Seattle, 96 passengers and crew were killed by a massive avalanche that struck a stationary train. Three days later in Rogers Pass, British Columbia, an avalanche running from the opposite slope killed 57 workmen, who were clearing a previous slide from the rail lines. During World War I some 50,000 troops were killed by avalanches in the Italian Alps that were triggered by artillery fire.
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- Chapter
- Information
- The Global CryospherePast, Present and Future, pp. 72 - 84Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2011