The Koroluk Slide EarthCache
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Located about 32 km NE of Wainwright as the crow flies, or about 44 km by road. The best access is off Highway 14 on Road 894 – follow 894 north until you see the sign to the Koroluk Slide. Once there you will find an interpretive sign about the slide.
The Koroluk slide began abruptly in May of 1974, as a large crack that ran across a cultivated field near the top of the Battle River valley. Within days the field began to sink and by August 28, a near vertical scarp, 14 m high and 180 m long, had formed. At the time of the slide, Mr. Koroluk’s crops were planted, and were virtually undisturbed by their rapid drop.
This type of slide is called a mudslide. A mudslide occurs with a layer of soil beneath the surface, becomes over saturated with water. The surface soils squeezes down on the subsurface mud, which then flows down slope, still underneath the surface layer. As the subsurface layer moves downhill, the surface sinks to replace it creating a depression called a garben.
To log this cache:
1) You must post a picture with your log entry of yourself, your group, or your GPS receiver with a view of the scarp clearly showing the original ground elevation and the resulting elevation of the graben, and/or a view of the Battle River valley.
2) You must also send me an email indicating how many metres the toe of the mudslide had progressed towards the Battle River before it stopped.
PLEASE BE EXTREMELY CAUTIOUS AT THE TOP OF THE SCARP – THE GROUND MAY BE UNSTABLE AND THE EDGE OF THE CLIFF IS OBSCURED BY GRASS AND BRUSH. IF YOU BRING YOUNG CHILDREN ALONG – PLEASE KEEP MIND OF THEM.
Reference: “A Traveller's Guide to Geological Wonders in Alberta” by Ron Mussieux and Marilyn Nelson.
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