Landslide structures, kinematic elements, and topography of the Cleveland Corral landslide near U.S. Highway 50, El Dorado County, California

The Cleveland Corral landslide, located near U.S. Highway 50 in El Dorado County, California, is episodically active. This USGS data release contains multiple data sets of topography, mapped ground-surface structures, location of GPS monuments, horizontal displacement vectors from repeat GPS surveys, kinematic elements, and shallow landslides in the landslide area. These data were collected between 1997 and 2023 when the landslide was active and are contained in GIS format files (primarily ArcGIS geodatabases). This data release includes topographic base maps and maps of the landslide structures and features to reflect changes as the slide episodically moved during this time period.

Additional information about the Cleveland Corral landslide and links to related data releases can be found on the ScienceBase project page https://www.sciencebase.gov/catalog/item/65a821ecd34ebad3f34c9a4b.

This Data Release consists of the following GIS files:
(1) BaseMap1997.gdb - geodatabase of 1997 base map,
(2) BaseMap1999.gdb - geodatabase of 1999 base map,
(3) BaseMap2007.gdb - geodatabase of 2007 base map,
(4) ClevelandCorral_1m_DEM_2007.tif - 2007 digital elevation model (1-meter resolution),
(5) LandslideFeatures_1997_2000.gdb - geodatabase of 1997-2000 landslide structures and features,
(6) LandslideFeatures_2005_2017.gdb - geodatabase of 2005-2017 landslide structures, features, and kinematic elements covering the years 2005, 2006, 2010, 2011, and 2017, and
(7) GPS_Surveys_Points_and_Vectors.gdb - geodatabase of annual measurements of GPS monument locations and associated displacement vectors for 2004 to 2023.

Explanation of the contents of each GIS file is included with an associated metadata (.xml) file.

Topographic, stream, and road features can be found in a series of base maps and one digital elevation model (DEM) (items 1-4) covering the landslide and adjacent hillslope area extending from Ice House Road, upslope of the landslide, to U.S. Highway 50 and the South Fork of the American River, downslope of the landslide. These base maps were constructed photogrammetrically on a stereo analytical plotter, using overlapping vertical 1:3000 or 1:3600 nominal scale aerial photographs along with surveyed ground photo-control points (Reid and Brien, 2025). Information about these map-construction techniques can be found in Baum and others (1998) and Messerich and Coe (2003).

Landslide structural features for multiple years can be found in LandslideFeatures_1997_2000.gdb and LandslideFeatures_2005_2017.gdb (items 5 and 6). These features, including landslide scarps (normal faults), tension cracks, lateral shear features (strike-slip faults), toe or depositional thrusts, and shallow landslides or debris flows, were mapped after periods of activity. Landslide feature terminology follows that in U.S. Geological Survey (2006); alternate structural terms for landslide features, such as normal fault and strike-slip fault, can be found in Fleming and Johnson (1989). In addition, landslide structures (feature type of lines) are designated as primary (for major boundaries and features with larger displacements, typically greater than 1 meter) and secondary (for features with lesser displacements).

Shallow landslides on and near the main landslide were mapped in different years (feature type of polygons) and are included in both geodatabases containing landslide features. These shallow features are categorized as either (1) slides that did not significantly mobilize into debris flows or (2) slides that did at least partially mobilize into debris flows and travel more than a few meters downslope. Note that the full extent of debris-flow deposits is shown only after 2006; earlier mapping only delineates the shallow landslide source, not the debris-flow extent.

LandslideFeatures_1997_2000.gdb incorporates active, visible features mapped at a scale of 1:200 in the 1997-2000 time period, as well as some older landslide features adjacent to the active region. After 2000, active structural features visible in the years 2005, 2006, 2010, 2011, and 2017 are included in LandslideFeatures_2005_2017.gdb. GPS surveying utilizing post-processed kinematic techniques was used to map recently active features in the post-2000 years.

Major kinematic elements of the landslide were identified for the periods of 2005, 2006, and 2011 when the landslide was actively moving. These elements were defined using mapped structural boundaries and field observations of the relative timing when a given element started moving during a specific active period (Reid and Brien, 2019). These kinematic elements are included in the LandslideFeatures_2005_2017.gdb geodatabase and attributed by location and relative timing of initial movement.

References cited:
Baum, R.L., Messerich, J. and Fleming, R.W., 1998, Surface deformation as a guide to kinematics and three-dimensional shape of slow-moving, clay-rich landslides, Honolulu, Hawaii: Environmental & Engineering Geoscience, vol. 4, no. 3, p.283-306.

Fleming, R.W. and Johnson, A.M., 1989, Structures associated with strike-slope faults that bound landslide elements, Engineering Geology, vol. 27, p. 39-114.

Messerich, J.A. and Coe, J.A., 2003, Topographic map of the active part of the Slumgullion landslide on July 31, 2000, Hinsdale County, Colorado: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 03-144.

Reid, M.E., and Brien, D.L., 2019, Debris-flow initiation promoted by extension within a slow-moving landslide, in Seventh International Conference on Debris-Flow Hazards Mitigation, p. 824-831.

Reid, M.E., and Brien, D.L., 2025, 1:3000 and 1:3600 scale aerial photographs of the Cleveland Corral landslide located near U.S. Highway 50, El Dorado County, California, 1997, 1999 and 2007, https://doi.org/10.5066/P146VWNZ.

U.S. Geological Survey, 2006, FGDC Digital Cartographic Standard for Geologic Map Symbolization: U.S. Geological Survey Techniques and Methods 11-A2, Appendix A, Section 17.