Assignment task:
Go to: "Earthquake Lake, MT" in Google Earth. The program will take you to a narrow, mountain lake, and you will want to zoom in on the lake's downstream end. In 1959, a large earthquake resulted in a massive landslide, called the Madison Slide, into Madison River Canyon. The landslide deposits dammed the river and created the lake. Check out some quick information about this event by clicking on the orange and purple information dots located in the deposit at the lake's downstream end. Zoom in on the deposits, tilt for a partial side-view, and rotate to view the slope on the southern side of the valley. This was the source region for the landslide, and the scarp is still clearly visible.
a. Using the elevation feature given at the bottom and the "ruler" tool (from the "Tools' menu), determine the slope angle (in degrees) for the hill slope area prior to failure, and then also the slope angle (in degrees) for the post-slide deposit. Be careful to determine whether you are measuring the actual horizontal distance or the hypotenuse with the ruler tool... (See me if you need help with this calculation Help with Calculating Slope)