Buckling deformation in the Highwood Pass, Alberta, Canada

Buckling of beds in the sedimentary rocks in the Highwood Pass, Alberta, Canada, occurs on steep underdip and dip slopes. The modes of buckling are determined by bedding thickness. We distinguish Euler buckles that develop in beds without cross fractures, block-flexure buckles that form with smooth buckled bedding surfaces in beds with cross fractures, and block buckles that develop with large rotations of rock blocks in rock layers more than 0.1 m thick. Chevron buckles resembling chevron folds develop in beds less than 0.1 m thick. Buckles can be displaced further to form roof and wall structures or cascades. Key words : buckling, critical load, slope stability, natural rock slope.