Landslides caused by the Hubbard Glacier Earthquake on December 6, 2025

Yukon Geological Survey

Contributors: Derek Cronmiller, Theron Finley, Banja Lipovsky, Jan Detmer

A guest post featuring photos and commentary on landslides in Canada's Yukon Territory caused by the December 6, 2025 M=7.0 Hubbard Glacier Earthquake.

The December 6, 2025 Hubbard Glacier Earthquake in the St. Elias Mountains of Yukon caused widespread mass wasting activity in an area near Mount Logan, Canada. On December 12, 2025, the Yukon Geological Survey completed a public flyover of the area to collect images and document seismic activity in the area. Based on the preliminary USGS limited fault model, the earthquake rupture appears to have been shallow, with approximately 2 m of slip occurring at a depth of about 6 km but no evidence of earthquake surface rupture was identified. However, we have documented extensive surface impacts, including more than 200 landslides, numerous avalanches and avalanches, and widespread damage to glaciers throughout the region.

View southwest towards Mount King George. Avalanche and serac avalanche scars are visible on the ridge in the foreground, and large rock avalanche scars on the northeast face of King George Mountain are visible in the background, caused by landslides from the December 6, 2025 Hubbard Glacial Earthquake.

Landslide activity was concentrated on the Mount King George massif, where rock avalanches and rockslides were the most common types of failure. Based on preliminary seismic transmissions, the King George Block directly overlies part of the fault rupture and rises to an elevation of 3,741 metres, about 1,900 meters above the surrounding Hubbard Glacier.

Landslide and debris scars on the northwestern edge of the King George Massif, towards Mount Logan (5959 m). Note the lack of snow cover here due to concentrated avalanche and landslide activity, compared to the more distant peaks.

Landslide activity continued for several days after the main earthquake, likely due to a combination of aftershocks and gradual failure of slopes damaged by the earthquake or destabilized by previous landslides. At least one rock avalanche occurred between December 11 and 12, according to Landsat images. At the time of the observation flight, slide scars on the east and northeast flanks of Mount King George remained active, with ongoing rockslides and rockfalls producing large dust clouds. The large slide scar on the east face of Mount King George appears to have liquid water flowing down its center, indicating either the presence of discontinuous permafrost within the rock mass or significant heating associated with slope failure.

A large landslide scar on the east face of Mount King George appears to contain liquid water flowing from about halfway down the scar (arrow). This scar was producing active rockfall at the time of the observing flight and filling nearby valleys with dust.

The largest landslide observed was a rock and ice avalanche resulting from a partial collapse of the southwest ridge of King George Mountain. The basal failure surface occurred along a planar line sloping toward the southwest and subparallel to the preexisting slope of the south side of the ridge. The slide crown originated at about 3,000 meters above sea level and descended about 1,300 meters along a tributary glacier before coming to rest on the Hubbard Glacier, about 7.4 km from the source area. This corresponds to a total travel angle of about 10 degrees. This high motion is typical of rockslides on glaciers (see Evans and Clague 1988), where motion is enhanced by the low friction surface of the glacier, snow and ice drag, and water input generated through frictional melting (Sosio et al., 2012).

Source area and runoff of largest landslide (9 km2) triggered by Mw = 7.0 December 6, 2025 Hubbard Glacier Earthquake, earthquake on the southwest ridge of Mount King George. The avalanche surface of the largest rock and ice avalanche on the south side of the southwest ridge of Mount King George.

Avalanches were common on all sides and occurred over a more extensive area than landslides. Some of the largest avalanches occurred on the north and east flanks of Mount King George and Macarthur Peak (a sub-peak of Mount Logan) and produced plumes that in some cases extended 2-3 km across the glacier at the base of the slopes where they began. Damage to glaciers was also extensive. Collapses of ice bridges and seracs on ice slopes were widespread on the Hubbard Glacier and adjacent tributaries. A partial glacier collapse occurred between Mount King George and Mount Queen Mary, an area directly above many of the more intense aftershocks. This section of the glacier is covered in debris from a rock avalanche off the east side of King George Mountain that may have contributed to its failure. The most affected area is located in a popular recreation area in Kluane National Park and may have a significant impact on the objective risks faced by skiers and mountaineers in the area over the coming years.

Partial collapse of the glacier between Mount King George and Mount Queen Mary. The length of the holiday is about 2.4 km. Widespread collapse of bridges and snow bridges on the south side of Queen Mary Mountain. The field of view in the center of the image is about 5 km. Widespread collapse of bridges and snow bridges on the south side of Queen Mary Mountain. The field of view in the center of the image is about 5 km. Rock avalanche down King George Mountain caused by the Hubbard Glacier Earthquake on December 6, 2025. Runoff distance 1.4 km.

All photos courtesy of the Yukon Government.

References:

Evans, S.G., & Clague, J.J. 1988. Catastrophic rockslides in glacial environments. In Proceedings of the Fifth International Symposium on Landslides, 2, pp. 1153-1158. Lausanne, Switzerland.

Sosio R., Crosta, G.B., Chen, J.H. and Hungr, O. 2012. Modeling the propagation of rockslides on glaciers. Quaternary Science Reviews 47, 23-40

Text © 2026. The Authors. CC BY-NC-ND 3.0 Unless otherwise noted, images are subject to copyright. Any reuse without express permission of the copyright owner is prohibited.

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