Rest and Be Thankful (A83) landslide, 2012

Rest And Be Thankful location

Following a period of heavy rain, on 1 August 2012 a debris flow landslide occurred along the A83 Rest and Be Thankful pass (Argyll and Bute, Scotland).

It was reported that between 50 to 100 tonnes of material blocked the road that was subsequently closed in both directions resulting in a long diversion.

Rest and Be Thankful landslide, August 2012.

The BGS Landslide Response Team made a visit to the landslide on 2 August 2012 to record the failure. Information collected for the BGS National Landslide Database (ID 18688/1).

Landslide debris blocking the A83, August 2012.

Road closures

This is the fifth time the road has been closed in the last five years:

Rest and Be Thankful slope showing landslides from 2007, 2009, 2011 and 2012.

Geology

The area in which these failures have occurred is steeply sloping ground underlain by rocks of the Beinn Bheula Schist Formation. These are composed of psammite and semi-pelite rocks that are metamorphic in origin. These are composed largely of quartz, feldspar and mica minerals. These rocks are commonly intensely foliated and spectacularly folded; extensive quartz lenses and veins also occur.

The bedrock plays little part in the landslide activity on these slopes. The recent landslides here have largely been associated with slope deposits, including peat and topsoil as well as the underlying layers of colluvium. The colluvium comprises sandy to gravelly silts and clays, with varying amounts of cobbles and boulders. The colluvium deposits on this slope represent earlier phases of slope instability.

Composite photograph of the Rest and Be Thankful landslide, 2012.

Composite photograph of Rest and Be Thankful landslide 2012.

Contact the Landslide Response Team

British Geological Survey
Keyworth
Nottingham
NG12 5GG
E-mail: Landslides team
Telephone: 0115 936 3143
Fax: 0115 936 3276