Oregon updates online map of landslide areas

More than 46,000 known landslide locations are now included in a statewide database that helps increase Oregon’s understanding of where future landslides may occur.

The Oregon Department of Geology and Mineral Industries (DOGAMI) has released version 3.0 of the Statewide Landslide Information Database for Oregon (SLIDO), which compiles all landslides that have been identified on published maps. The SLIDO interactive map at www.oregongeology.org/sub/slido makes locating landslides as simple as entering an address.

“We’ve mapped more landslides in the last five years than we did in the previous 60 years,” says Bill Burns, DOGAMI engineering geologist. “Land that has slid tends to slide again, so mapping landslide locations is critical.”

Use of lidar, a new tool that provides accurate high-resolution images of the earth’s surface, has dramatically expanded Oregon’s landslide knowledge. Almost all of the nearly 20,000 landslides mapped since 2009 have come from geologic and landslide mapping that used lidar.

“When we’ve finished mapping with lidar for the whole state, we’ll have a very different – and much better – understanding of landslides,” Burns says.

Collaborating with communities to assess landslide risk, and support putting that knowledge into action, is increasingly part of DOGAMI’s work.

“We do mapping projects with communities, to ensure they can use the information to help protect people and property,” Burns says.

The Statewide Landslide Information Database for Oregon (SLIDO) Release 3.0 by William J. Burns and Rudie Watzig is available as a free download, as web services, or for purchase on DVD. Learn more here: www.oregongeology.org/sub/slido/data.htm