Geography 2152F/G Lecture Notes - Lecture 10: Climatology, Meteor Crater, Milky Way
5 Sep 2021
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Snow avalanche : a mass of snow many cubic meters in volume that separates from a snowpack and ows downslope. Rocks, soil, ice and debris can travel in a similar motion; however the term avalanche is generally reserved for snow. The intensity of the hazard is dependent on slope steepness. An avalanche traveling as a coherent block. An avalanche that becomes wider as it travels downslope. It is estimated that over 99% of avalanches are not seen by anyone. It is likely that over 1 million avalanches large enough to kill a person occur annually in western canada alone. Snowfall accumulation depends on latitude, altitude and proximity to bodies of water. Temperature decreases with altitude therefore high mountains have permanent snow cover. Snow accumulates on mountain slopes that are at angles of less than 60 degrees. If the angle is steeper than 60 degrees, snow will not be able to accumulate, it will constantly slide right off the steep slope.
