The Palliser Rockslide, Canadian Rocky Mountains: Characterization and modeling of a stepped failure surface

► The prehistoric Palliser Rockslide failure mechanism is investigated. ► The rockslide volume is estimated and the pre-slide topography reconstructed. ► Terrestrial photogrammetry allows characterizing failure surface stepped geometry. ► Four step-path types with discontinuities and intact rock fracture are described. ► Numerical modeling provides an estimation of intact rock bridge percentage.