The Edgerton Landslide

In September 1974 a large landslide occurred about 48 km northeast of Wainwright, Alberta. This failure presented features of interest but preslide conditions could not be reliably determined. Immediately south of this landslide a scarp some 150 m long and 0.6 m high had formed, probably contemporaneously with the failure. Field inspection suggested that this incipient failure was a sufficiently independent feature to merit detailed investigation. The major failure was termed the North Slide and the incipient failure was termed the South Slide. Collectively these slides make up the Edgerton Landslide.The failure occurred largely in flat lying, poorly indurated interbedded sandstones, siltstones, and clay shales of late Upper Cretaceous age which are overlain in the upland areas by a thin veneer of till of Wisconsin age. In the vicinity of the landslides there are many old slump areas much subdued by erosion. Field evidence indicated that the lower part of the recent failure surface had reactivated an old failure surface, whereas the scarp area represents a first time slide.The South Slide was investigated by boreholes and test pits. Samples were obtained for laboratory testing and piezometers and tiltmeters were installed in selected boreholes.The scarp increased in height and by May 1976 it was 2.3 m high. There was no sign of a toe cropping out down the slope; however, the tiltmeters became closed off successively in a downhill direction. There is strong evidence to suggest that failure is progressing from scarp to toe.Analyses of the failure indicate residual angles of shearing resistance were being mobilized along the outer pre-sheared part of the failure surface due to old landslides. The recent slip surface comprises an inward extension of this old surface and an upward portion rising at an angle of about 55° to meet with the known scarp. Along this latter portion of the recent failure surface the soil parameters yielding the most reasonable factor of safety are a peak angle of shearing resistance and a cohesion very much less than that determined from laboratory testing.It is postulated that the failure occurred due to a gradual loss of soil strength, manifested by a virtual disappearance of cohesion, with the final triggering mechanism being a springtime rise in the pore pressure within the slide mass. Factors involved in the strength loss are suggested as including deep weathering during the Tertiary, valley rebound, and old landslide activity.