Skip to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock ( ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Skip to content

Try the next-generation Data Catalog at catalog-beta.data.gov and help shape it with your feedback.

Debris-flow and Flood Video Files, Chalk Cliffs, Colorado, USA, 2015

Metadata Updated: January 21, 2026

Chalk Cliffs, located 8 miles southwest of Buena Vista, Colorado, is one of the most active debris-flow areas in the state (U.S. Geological Survey). Three stations were set up at Chalk Cliffs which are located sequentially along a channel draining the 0.3 km^2 study area. These stations are equipped with rain gauges, laser distance meters, and data loggers to record rainfall and stage data (Kean, et al., 2020). This data release includes videos of debris-flows and floods captured by high-definition cameras placed at two different locations, associated with the monitoring stations, along the study area at Chalk Cliffs during 2015. Both cameras are located near the Upper Station (Station 1). One is located at the bridge cross section at the channel (Bridge Camera) and another on the opposite side of the basin with a broad view of the channel (Wide-angle Camera). The attached figure "station_and_camera_locations.png" provides an overview figure with the location of the two cameras and three stations along the channel. The videos and their audio are used to record information on flow type and velocity of debris flows. They can also be used to interpret how the flow characteristics, such as sediment concentration, vary with time to compare to seismic observations. Video recording for all cameras is triggered using a rainfall threshold, derived from rainfall measurements using the rain gauges (Michel et al., 2019). The complete videos for all the cameras are downloaded manually during site visits. More detailed information about the cameras and settings used can be found in the metadata file under “Process steps” in “Data quality information.” During 2015, several debris flows and floods were captured by the two cameras. The videos can currently be viewed in the individual ‘Child item’ pages accessible below. The ‘Child item’ pages contain either flood or debris flow video files for each camera described above. The following citations relate to reports that provide background information for this data release: Michel, A., Kean, J.W., Smith, J.B., Allstadt, K.E., Coe, J.A. (2019). Taking the pulse of debris flows: Extracting debris-flow dynamics from good vibrations in southern California and central Colorado. Debris-flow hazards mitigation: Mechanics, Monitoring, Modeling, and Assessment. http://dx.doi.org/10.25676/11124/173224
U.S. Geological Survey Landslide Hazards Program. (2020). Chalk Cliffs, Colorado. U.S Geological Survey, https://www.usgs.gov/natural-hazards/landslide-hazards/science/chalk-cliffs-colorado?qt-science_center_objects=0#qt-science_center_objects Kean, J.W., Smith, J.B., and Coe, J.A., 2020, Debris-flow monitoring data, Chalk Cliffs, Colorado, USA, 2014: U.S. Geological Survey data release, https://doi.org/10.5066/P9MUWDFN.

Access & Use Information

Public: This dataset is intended for public access and use. License: No license information was provided. If this work was prepared by an officer or employee of the United States government as part of that person's official duties it is considered a U.S. Government Work.

Downloads & Resources

Dates

Metadata Created Date January 11, 2026
Metadata Updated Date January 21, 2026

Metadata Source

Harvested from DOI USGS DCAT-US

Additional Metadata

Resource Type Dataset
Metadata Created Date January 11, 2026
Metadata Updated Date January 21, 2026
Publisher U.S. Geological Survey
Maintainer
Identifier http://datainventory.doi.gov/id/dataset/USGS_5f9c36f9d34e198cb78de18b
Data Last Modified 2021-09-02T00:00:00Z
Category geospatial
Public Access Level public
Bureau Code 010:12
Metadata Context https://project-open-data.cio.gov/v1.1/schema/catalog.jsonld
Metadata Catalog ID https://ddi.doi.gov/usgs-data.json
Schema Version https://project-open-data.cio.gov/v1.1/schema
Catalog Describedby https://project-open-data.cio.gov/v1.1/schema/catalog.json
Datagov Dedupe Retained 20260120223735
Harvest Object Id ca5051fe-13af-4988-8acb-ee35971d5236
Harvest Source Id 2b80d118-ab3a-48ba-bd93-996bbacefac2
Harvest Source Title DOI USGS DCAT-US
Metadata Type geospatial
Old Spatial {"type": "Polygon", "coordinates": -106.19153, 38.729782, -106.19153, 38.73724, -106.181788, 38.73724, -106.181788, 38.729782, -106.19153, 38.729782}
Source Datajson Identifier True
Source Hash 793b918e2f184f38eb89c61d5053cdf2e924cc889bb018789ec6a44f8ace6c2f
Source Schema Version 1.1
Spatial {"type": "Polygon", "coordinates": -106.19153, 38.729782, -106.19153, 38.73724, -106.181788, 38.73724, -106.181788, 38.729782, -106.19153, 38.729782}

Didn't find what you're looking for? Suggest a dataset here.