36 Advances in understanding landslides and other mass movements

In this session we want to highlight advances in understanding mass movements, including studies focused on description, mapping, monitoring, triggering mechanisms, mitigation, modeling, and evaluating susceptibility.

Wednesday, 11 March 2026
8:30 AM - 10:30 AM
RCC, 105

Landslide Hazards in the Western Highland Rim: Evidence from Warner Parks, Davidson County, Tennessee

Paper number: 36-1
Program: Technical Sessions
Time: 8:35 AM – 8:50 AM

Authors

Abstract

Landslides are an underrecognized geologic hazard in the Western Highland Rim of Tennessee, where steep slopes, weak bedrock, and intense rainfall events create unstable terrain. This study investigates landslide occurrence and associated risks in Davidson County, focusing on Warner Parks, Nashville’s largest municipally managed park system, spanning 3,100 acres within the dome-shaped Central Basin bordered by the Highland Rim. Proximity to the basin wall makes these parks highly susceptible to slope failures, particularly following heavy rainfall. The May 2010 extreme rainfall event (13.57 inches in two days) caused widespread flooding and triggered more than 500 landslides countywide, including numerous slope failures within Warner Parks. We mapped over 30 landslides using remote sensing and field verification, with lengths ranging from 24 ft to 738 ft and axial lengths from 41 ft to 375 ft; more than two-thirds impacted roads or infrastructure. Failures were primarily rotational and translational slides that evolved into debris flows, concentrated along contacts between the Mississippian Fort Payne Formation and the Devonian Chattanooga Shale overlying Ordovician Limestone. Petrographic and mineralogical analyses reveal that the Chattanooga Shale, containing expanding clays and gypsum, forms a weak zone that initiates many slides. Using the Unstable Slope Management Program, we assessed visitor risk and developed a landslide density map. With approximately 1.5 million annual visitors, these findings highlight the need for comprehensive landslide inventories and risk assessments. As extreme rainfall events become more frequent, proactive mitigation and informed land-use planning are critical for enhancing resilience in Davidson County and the surrounding Highland Rim areas.

Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs. Vol. 58, No. 1

doi: 10.1130/abs/2026SE-411699

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