The Siwalik Group in the present text are
described into three namely
- Lower Siwalik consisting of sub-greywacke with fine to
medium grained clastics containing calcareous cement disseminated throughout
the rockmass and interbedded with well developed clays of maroon and chocolate
colours,
- The Middle Siwaliks are a gradation frc greywacke to
arkose interbedded with thinner clays and calcareous matter occurring as
segregation.
The sandstones are less sorted, coarse grained and soft.
The sequence generally starts with a lower alteration of sandy clays and
sandstones which gradually
merge with massive, soft sandstones above and 3) the Upper Siwalik consist of very
coarse clastics. They generally start with a pebble horizon at the base and goes
upto conglomeratic horizon. In the basal part the beds alternating with
conglomerates are soft sandstones, whereas in the upper part they are generally
dull red clays with some sandstones.
Tectonic Setting The investigated area
forming a part of the SianDhar Syncline is structurally very complicated and has
undergone repeated phases of tectonic movements during which the litho-units
have suffered foldmg fiaultmg and thrustmg. The main structural features which
are encountered in the area are:
- Main Boundary Thrust :
In the investigated area
this has brought the rocks of Lower Tertiaries which are now justaposed with the
Siwaliks. At number of places this thrust has been displaced by younger
transverse faults roughly trending in a NE-SW direction. In the field it was
observed that the areas nearby this thrust are showing intense crushing and
slickensides. Sometimes the faulted breccia are also found along this thrust.
- Krol Thrust :
This has brought the rocks of Basantpur Formation over the
Subathus. Drag folds and puckers are intensely developed in the calcareous and
shaley horizon of Basantpur Formation. The middle limbs of the puckers are
frequently sheared locally producing a coarse strain slip cleavage and the rocks
often show effects of cataclasis. Though the beds on the opposite sides of this
junction are generally parallel, truncation of strips of Subathu against the
trace of this junction near Sataun (not in the model area) is quite remarkable.
-
Giri Thrust :
It is named after the Giri River (Pilgrim and West, 1928) and
separated the Simla Group from the Krol Formation. In the present area the Giri
river follows the Giri Thrust except near Dadahu village where this river
changes its course due to a transverse fault. Intense crushing, mylonitization
and the course of the Giri river are the main criteria for recognizing this
thrust in the field.
-
Transverse Faults:
A number of transverse faults oblique or
sometimes perpendicular to the thrust trending NE-SW has displaced mainly Krol
Thrust and Main Boundary Thrust at several places.
Most of the streams, south of
Giri river, are following these transverse faults. One of the most important
fault winch has changed the course of the Giri river is passing through Dadahu
village and named as Dadahu Fault. In addition to these major faults, a number
of E-W trending faults parallel to the axes of major synclines have also
affected the formations. This E-W trending fault system is more or less
contemporaneous with the folding and must have preceded the overthrusting by the
pre-Siwaliks Whereas, the faults which are trending NE-SW direction are of
recent age. According to our opinion the major landslides are occurring due to
these faults as quite good number of landslides are coming in the vicinity of
these faults (eg. Jagar ka Khala).
Landslide Hazard ZonationA natural hazard means the
probability of occurrence within a specified period of time and within a given
area of a potentially damaging phenomenon. Though hazard is a process and it is
very difficult to map a process which has not yet occurred. However, hazard
mapping may be defined as "the identification of those sites where there is a
likelihood of hazardous events rather than hazard affected sites".
Hazard
mapping is stated to be undertaken with respect to 4 key properties, magnitude,
location, frequency and time. Under the present study the main emphasis is given
on the location of landslides (Spatial).
Terrain Factors
Landslide Hazard
Zonation may be defined as a technique of classifying an area into zones of
relative degrees of potential hazards by ranking of various causative factors
operative in a given area, based on their influence in initiation of landslides.
It is therefore, the first task to identify various terrain factors which govern
the stability of slope. Under the present study an attempt has been made to
prepare a landslide hazard zonation map based on the synthesization of data
acquired from various geo-environmental thematic maps.
From the exhaustive
literature survey and the field checks, following geo-environmental factors are
found which are playing a significant role in causing slope instability problems
'in the area
- Slope Aspect
- Slope Morphometry
- Landuse/Landcover
- Dip Slope Relation
- Rockmass Strength
- Drainage
- Geology
- Ridge/Crest Line
- Road
- Tectonic/Lineament
- Relative Relief