From Canada’s Largest Landslide to Modern Flood Hazards: Mt. Meager’s Volcano‑Driven Sediment Story

Whimsical Wavelengths - A Science Podcast by Volcanologist & Geophysicist: Jeffrey Mark Zurek, PhD, PGeo | Science Communicator

Episode notes

Mount Meager last erupted 2,400 years ago, but today the hazard is the mountain literally falling apart. In this episode, Dr. Jeffrey Zurek (P.Geo) moves downstream with environmental professional Veronica Woodruff to unpack the legacy of the Capricorn Creek landslide—Canada's largest recorded mass wasting event.

We explore how 40km of 1940s diking in the Pemberton Valley has complicated modern flood risks, the physics of river aggradation, and why Engineered Log Jams (ELJs) are a vital green-infrastructure solution for stabilizing massive sediment loads. This conversation highlights how community resilience, reforestation (380k trees), and proactive investment can change environmental outcomes before the next high-flow event.

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Keywords
sciencevolcanoscience communicationVolcanic hazardsMt MeagerCanada's Largest LandslideSediment hazardslandslide riskriver sedimentationengineered logjams