Inventory of Large‐Scale Landslide Traces in the Transition Zone Between the Qinghai‐Tibet Plateau and the Sichuan Basin

ABSTRACT The transition zone between the Qinghai‐Tibet Plateau and the Sichuan Basin is one of the regions with the most frequent occurrence of strong earthquakes and geological disaster chains in the world. To ensure the safety of people's lives and properties and the land planning of major national projects, it is necessary to conduct a detailed inventory of the background of geologic hazards in this area. Based on high‐resolution optical remote sensing images and a geographic information system (GIS) platform, this study used a combination of visual interpretation and historical landslide records verification to construct an inventory of large‐scale landslide traces in the transition zone between the Qinghai‐Tibet Plateau and the Sichuan Basin. The results show that at least 10,310 large‐scale landslides developed in the study area of 119,460 km 2 , mainly distributed in the deep valley of the Dadu River and its main tributaries. The total area of all landslides is 3,983.97 km 2 , and the average area of these landslides is ~0.386 km 2 . The minimum area of the landslides in the study area is 102,066 m 2 , and a total of 615 landslides have an area of more than 1 km 2 . The area of the Jiaju ancient landslide is the largest, reaching 25.82 km 2 . The maximum point density and area density of landslide traces in the study area are as high as 0.95 km −2 and 80.5%, respectively. The areas with high landslide point density and area density are mainly concentrated in Heishui, Li, Danba, Xiaojin, Baoxing, Luding, Hanyuan, and Ganluo counties in Sichuan Province. This study provides a typical case for conducting large‐scale landslide inventory research in the surrounding areas of the Qinghai‐Tibet Plateau. The inventory of large‐scale landslide traces provides scientific support for revealing the development patterns of landslides, assessing landslide susceptibility, and guiding the prevention of geological disasters in the study area.