Morphometric Appraisal of Slope Instability of Chilla Landslide, Garhwal Himalaya

A major landslide occurred in January 1990 on the left bank of Tal river, near Chilla in Hardwar district which raised a part of the river bed by 6-8 m. It has emerged as successive rotational slide forming numerous radial and longitudinal cracks with tension cracks on the slopes near the escarpment. The present paper highlights the geological, geomorphological and morphometric parameters to identify the factors responsible for instability of slope. A detailed morphometric assessment of the slide area has also been carried out with a view to prepare a zonation map of slide area in terms of instability. The study has been found very useful to understand the mechanism of the slide area and also to suggest suitable recommendations for control measures at proper locations in the slide area. The future behaviour of the slide area can also be assessed.