plan d'accès

Valérie Baumann
SEGEMAR (Servicio Geológico Minero Argentino)
Buenos Aires - Argentina

Thème abordé:

Natural Hazards in the Puente del Inca region, Andean Cordillera, Mendoza, Argentina

Sommaire:

The village of Puente del Inca, strategically located on the National Route Nº 7, within the Las Cuevas valley, a historical passageway in the high Andes between Argentina and Chile has a long history of natural disasters typical for high mountain areas. Urban growth and the need to find a definitive solution for families living in the old Trans-Andean railroad buildings urge to develop a land-use-plan, as the rail road will be re-opened. The Geological Survey of Argentina realized a pilot study within the Multinational Andean Project: Geosciences for Andean Communities with the goal to produce a natural hazard map of this village and its surroundings. We present a geological and geomorphologic map combined with an analysis of the landslides processes of the study area.

Rock falls constitute one of the principal mechanisms of erosion and transport on slopes and are one of the natural hazards of greatest impact. Historic records indicate that mainly rock falls have affected areas beyond the base of the talus which we refer to as the rock-fall shadow. Other active processes are debris flows, which represent a high hazard at the exit of tributary valleys into the Las Cuevas valley and at exits of small gullies with only seasonal run off during snow melt.

Other natural hazards that are considered to be of less risk due to their lower frequency, or because they only indirectly affect the area, were analyzed and include: A) the deposit of the Horcones drift either attributed to a glacial surge post Late Glacial Maximum (LGM) or a flow type landslide which included glacial ice and moraine deposits that deposited ~ 13 ka 14C B.P. B) large-scale debris flows associated with deep seated deformation east of Puente del Inca, and C) subsidence in association with karst processes in gypsum W of Puente del Inca.

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