Landslide Deposits on Shortoff Mountain

posted in: Geology | 0

Rick Lockamy has been creating some great images of the gorge using new LIDAR elevation data.  Here he shares with us some of his work revealing landslide deposits on Shortoff’s southern slopes.

 

The trail up Shortoff and a big pile of colluvium marked
Big pile of colluvium marked on this LIDAR image of Shortoff Mountain.

 

landslide deposit Shortoff Mountain Linville Gorge
Another view of the landslide deposit from above.

 

Shortoff Mountain Linville Gorge
A view of the gorge from the south, with Shortoff in the foreground.

 

Another pile of colluvium at the end of Shortoff Mountain in Linville Gorge
Another pile of colluvium is seen at the end of Shortoff Mountain. Rick’s work is fascinating for its ability to reveal pure geology.

 

Linville Gorge in the shadows
Linville Gorge in the Shadows. Sometimes Rick’s work is simply beautiful.

 

Rick is a geologist with NCDOT Geotechnical Engineering Unit in Asheville.  BS in geology at WCU and learned GIS at AppState.  This post is only a first installment from his work.  We’ll have more up soon, including a look at just how close the Linville River is to abandoning the gorge and plunging into North Cove instead.