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Geology

Landslide-driven drainage network evolution in a pre-steady-state mountain belt:

Finisterre Mountains, Papua New Guinea
Niels Hovius, Colin P. Stark, Matthew A. Tutton and Lon D. Abbott

Geology 1998;26;1071-1074
doi: 10.1130/0091-7613(1998)026<1071:LDDNEI>2.3.CO;2

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Landslide-driven drainage network evolution in a pre-steady-state

mountain belt: Finisterre Mountains, Papua New Guinea
Niels Hovius* Department of Geology, Trinity College, Dublin 2, Ireland
Colin P. Stark Lamont Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University, Palisades, New York 10964
Matthew A. Tutton* Geological Survey of Papua New Guinea, Private Bag, Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea
Lon D. Abbott Department of Environmental Studies, Prescott College, Prescott, Arizona 86301

ABSTRACT cene volcanic and volcaniclastic rocks of the

The emergence of an orogen is generally characterized by an early phase of rapid surface Finisterre arc (Wantoat Group) are overlain un-
uplift and the concomitant evolution of montane topography, leading in some cases to a steady conformably by Neogene and Quaternary marine
state in which tectonic mass flux is balanced by erosion. This early phase of mountain growth is carbonates (Gowop Group). They have been
exemplified in the Finisterre Mountains of Papua New Guinea, a propagating growth fold whose broadly folded, and thrust southwestward over a
catchments can be observed at a range of stages in their temporal evolution. Watersheds appear Neogene accretionary wedge consisting of detritus
to initiate by isolated gorge incision, to expand by large-scale landsliding in a manner controlled derived from the advancing thrust front and the
by ground-water seepage, and to entrench by fluvial incision of landslide scars and deposits. foreland (Davies et al., 1987; Abbott et al., 1994b;
Once a montane system of ridges and valleys is established, only rare, major landslides can Findlay et al., 1998) (Fig. 1). The range is capped
modify the drainage pattern. The steady-state morphology of a mountain belt is therefore inti- by an ~1200-m-thick sequence of recrystallized
mately related to its initial phase of growth. biomicrites, overlain by a thinner layer of porous
marls and calcareous mudstones, whose extreme
INTRODUCTION sequence of geomorphic processes that can shape thermal immaturity precludes substantial erosion
Mountain belts are narrow zones of tectonic tectonically dominated regional topography into a of overburden: Where they are in place, the marls
convergence in which crustal shortening is range-and-valley landscape in which denudation represent the uplifted pre-collision surface. From
achieved, in part, through the vertical stacking of effectively counters rock uplift. its present position at elevations of up to 4000 m,
rock mass. In such regions, tectonic uplift is Abbott et al. (1997) have calculated surface-uplift
counteracted by denudational processes that re- FINISTERRE MOUNTAINS rates of 0.8–2.1 mm/yr, similar to the average
distribute mass across the Earth’s surface. As Formation of the Finisterre Mountains started at rock-uplift rate for Quaternary coral terraces along
regional relief grows, denudational processes 3.0–3.7 Ma, following collision of the Finisterre the northeastern edge of the mountain belt
accelerate, and eventually a balance is reached in volcanic terrane—part of the South Bismarck (Chappell, 1974). Mean annual precipitation in the
which geomorphic removal equals tectonic input. plate—and the Australian continental margin Finisterre Mountains ranges from ~2.5 m in the
In mature, quasi-steady-state orogens, valley low- (Abbott et al., 1994a). Oligocene and early Mio- west to ~4 m in the east.
ering is thought to keep pace with bedrock uplift,
while an effective coupling between valley sys-
tems and bounding hillslopes ensures removal of
146 o E 147 o E
interfluve topography through weathering-limited
mass wasting or bedrock landsliding. Rock mass 1 A A'
is advected through a topographic surface, the 3 km
stability of which is subject only to changes in 0
boundary conditions (e.g., Burbank et al., 1996;
Pinter and Brandon, 1997). Steady-state scenarios
have been proposed for several mountain belts, Ra 2 A' 06 o S
notably the Southern Alps, New Zealand (Adams, m
u
1980), and the central Taiwan orogen (Suppe, 3
1984). However, it is during the phase preceding 6
balanced input and removal that the major
drainage elements of an orogen are established. 5 KF
Once entrenched, the planform geometry of a 4
mountain belt is broadly invariant to temporal Pac. plate
changes in geologic structure and lithology. This
Bismarck Markham
pre-steady-state geomorphic development has
remained largely undocumented. We have chosen N.B. Lae
the Finisterre Mountains of Papua New Guinea, A
an outstanding example of such a pre-steady-state Australian Huon Gulf
orogen (Abbott et al., 1997), to illustrate a plate
07 o S

*Present address: Hovius: Department of Geo-
sciences, Pennsylvania State University, 540 Deike
Building, University Park, Pennsylvania 16802
(nhovius@geosc.psu.edu). Tutton: Golder Associates,
441 Vincent Street W., Leederville, WA 6007, Australia.
Figure 1. Simplified geology of Finisterre Mountains. 1—Wandokai Limestone, 2—Gowop Lime-
stone, 3—Wantoat volcaniclastics, 4—Leron Formation (conglomerates), 5—alluvium, 6—un-
differentiated highland rocks. KF—Kwama River fault. Inset map shows tectonic setting of
Papua New Guinea and location (box) of Finisterre Mountains. N.B.—New Britain, Pac.—Pacific.
Modified from Abbott et al. (1994a, 1997).

Geology; December 1998; v. 26; no. 12; p. 1071–1074; 2 figures. 1071

 Downloaded from geology.gsapubs.org on July 17, 2010
The Finisterre Mountains have been eroded
into a series of high plateaus, separated by deep,
steep-sided valleys (Fig. 2, A and B). Modern
plateau erosion is dominated by internal drainage
and dissolution of Gowop limestones, leaving
much of the surface intact. At its edges, however,
the plateau is affected by headward propagating
drainage systems. Catchments in the western and
central sections of the opposing range flanks have
met to form a ridge-shaped main divide, leaving
only isolated plateau fragments, while in the east-
ern part of the mountain belt, on the Huon Penin-
sula, they are separated by >10 km of undissected
plateau. This trend coincides with the eastward
propagation of the collision and subsequent uplift
of the Finisterre terrane from ~3.0 Ma in the west-
ern part of the mountain belt to <1 Ma on the
Huon Peninsula (Silver et al., 1991). As a conse-
quence, there is a strong range-parallel trend in
the maturity of montane topography.
The least developed montane topography is
found in the northeastern range flank, where
large tracts of gently arched limestone are sepa-
rated by small, elongate, externally draining
catchments. Further west, several such catch-
ments have developed dendritic drainage net-
works in which Wantoat rocks are exposed.
Proximity to the suture zone, and correspond-
ingly more intense thrust faulting, may have pro-
moted higher erosion rates in the southern range
flank. This range flank is occupied by regularly
spaced dendritic drainage systems in which
Gowop limestones have been removed almost
completely. We present observations from differ-
ent parts of the mountain belt to illustrate pre-
steady-state montane landscape evolution.
INITIAL PHASE
We start our discussion of montane landscape
evolution with the formation of valleys. Streams
erode bedrock through processes such as wear by
saltating and sliding impacts of the particles they
carry (Foley, 1980), abrasion by suspended sedi-
ment, and joint-block plucking (Hancock et al.,
1998). The efficacy of these processes is thought
to be a function of water discharge and channel-
bed slope (Howard and Kerby, 1983), and,
importantly, sediment flux (Howard et al., 1994).
If a stream is under capacity, the particle flux is
limited by the rate of hillslope-derived sediment
supply. Thus, there is a feedback between valley
lowering and hillslope erosion. An evolving
mountain belt may initially have modest local
relief, and thus small sediment loads derived
from shallow valley sides, which sustain rela-
tively low fluvial incision rates, and which in turn
do not promote effective catchment expansion
and hillslope mass wasting. Erosion is thus out-
paced by tectonic uplift resulting in growth of a
regional topographic high.
This initial phase of mountain building mani-
fests in the easternmost Finisterre Mountains
(Fig. 2, A and B), whose form is broadly that of a
1072
large growth anticline, the crest and north flank of slide scoured volcanic rocks near its base, but dis-
which have a contiguous limestone envelope. placed mainly recrystallized biomicrite.
Here, subdued local relief is associated mainly Valley-head landslide scars in the eastern
with internal drainage carbonate dissolution, Finisterre Mountains form semicircular clusters
while shallow, elongate catchments drain the (Fig. 2B). Large transverse catchments have sev-
north flank of the range parallel to its regional dip. eral such aggregates, which appear to fan out from
a common branching point, probably the location
CATCHMENT EXPANSION where sapping first occurred (Fig. 2, I and J). The
As regional topography steepens because of northward draining Kwama catchment has four
continued rock uplift, rates of mass wasting clusters that erode the plateau margin (Fig. 2,
increase. Debris is supplied faster to fluvial sys- B and I), of which the most westerly has advanced
tems of increasing stream power, accelerating farthest. Downstream of this cell, the Kwama
bedrock channel erosion and enhancing the rate River maintains a straight, northeasterly course
of valley lowering. However, it is generally by for ~20 km. This course is mirrored by the upper
hillslope mass wasting alone that catchment ex- Sankwep River, which drains the adjacent section
pansion may occur (cf., Weissel and Seidl, 1997). of the southern range flank. The location of these
In the Finisterre Mountains, this phase of two drainage elements coincides with the Kwama
landscape evolution is represented along the River fault (Robinson, 1974), a major high-angle,
edges of the limestone plateau, east of Mount left-lateral fault, perpendicular to the structural
Sarawaget, where the mode of valley expansion grain of the mountain belt (Fig. 1). Evidently, the
is strongly determined by the local stratigraphy. fault has guided and facilitated drainage propaga-
On the plateau, limestones have become pro- tion, possibly by focusing seepage (Fig. 2J). We
gressively karstified, with high rates of infiltra- conclude that regional structures are powerful
tion and subsurface flow. Seepage concentrates attractors of erosion, particularly in the early
along subsurface permeability contrasts and stages of catchment expansion.
emerges where such interfaces are exposed.
Sapping (Baker, 1990) then results in undercut- ADDING TRIBUTARIES
ting of valley heads and side walls, and slope Downstream of headwalls, valley widths are
failure may ensue. On the north flank of the east- constant and equal to the diameter of the landslide
ern Finisterre Mountains, several drainage net- clusters. Valley sides are poorly dissected, and
works branch out from single points along mass wasting occurs principally through slope-
canyonlike valleys. Upstream of these points, clearing landslides. Away from the plateau mar-
low permeability volcaniclastic rocks are ex- gin, in the south flank of the range, most mountain
posed below steep valley heads, suggesting that ridges and peaks are defined by coalescing,
catchment expansion initiated once their contact multiple-kilometer scale landslide scars (Fig. 2B),
with the overlying limestones was exhumed. whose pattern responds to the local gradients
In this area, headwaters consist of large (0.1 to associated with the established valley network.
>5 km), amphitheater-shaped concavities (Fig. 2, Generally, headscarps are steep and arcuate; hum-
B–D). Large debris lobes are present below most mocky debris deposits fill the lower parts of scars
headwalls. These deposits have a chaotic topog- and spill into adjacent valleys. The 1988 Kaiapit
raphy, sometimes with pressure ridges and landslide (Peart, 1991) is a recent example of such
ponded drainage (Fig. 2, C and D). They have a failure (Fig. 2E). Without any obvious trigger,
commonly filled valleys for a distance of several this landslide collapsed the entire south face of a
kilometers, implying catastrophic failure of the spur descending from the main divide, involving
plateau edge. The ongoing nature of this process displacement of ~1.5 km3 of Finisterre volcanic
is illustrated by the recent occurrence of a large rocks and graywackes. The failure had a height of
landslide in the Yalumet Valley (Fig. 2B). This 1.5 km, a base width of 2.5 km, and a concave
Figure 2. Summary of geomorphic observations and interpretation of Finisterre Mountains.
A: Shaded relief image of digital elevation model of Finisterre Mountains, illustrating sequence
of catchment initiation, expansion, and entrenchment along range axis. Position of B shown by
box. B: Part of Huon Peninsula, showing expansion of watersheds by landsliding (gray hatched
areas) mapped from aerial photographs. X—location of Yalumet landslide,Y—Mount Sarawaget,
Z—Kwama River. C: Amphitheater-headed catchment swamped by debris generated by land-
slides at plateau edge. D: Initial fluvial incision on landslide-debris terrace, together with sub-
sidiary landsliding and stream ponding. Below landslide dam, river cuts bedrock. E: Kaiapit land-
slide, a multiple-kilometer-scale failure. Debris filled a trunk valley and has subsequently been
incised. F: Gusap Valley—fluvially incised landslide debris terrace with remnants of plateau
escarpment in background. G: Gusap Valley—fluvial incision through landslide debris down into
bedrock. H: Gusap Valley—catchment initiation on landslide scar. I: Kwama catchment and adja-
cent plateau, showing surface runoff (blue arrows); groundwater flow (black arrows); landslides
(red patterned areas); and initiation and expansion (green arrows) of catchments. J: Section
across propagating catchment “finger” illustrating divergence of surface and subsurface flow.
Seepage is focused toward base of permeable limestone at contact with volcaniclastic aquitard.
GEOLOGY, December 1998
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GEOLOGY, December 1998 1073

 Downloaded from geology.gsapubs.org on July 17, 2010
shape with slope gradients as steep as 60°. Land-
slide debris traveled 6.5 km down two adjoining
valleys, leaving 150–200-m-thick deposits, and
killing 75 people.
Slope clearing landslides such as the Kaiapit
example generate concavities that concentrate
runoff (Fig. 2H) on a scale sufficient to initiate
watersheds. On the southern range flank, most
lower-order catchments were apparently created
by this mechanism. Their formation acts to widen
existing valleys and to remove plateau remnants.
ENTRENCHMENT
Once the subescarpment drainage pattern is
established, development of a complex ridge-and-
peak topography proceeds rapidly. Runoff con-
centration causes fluvial incision of landslide scars
and deposits, resulting in the formation of steep
inner valleys, bounded by debris terraces (Fig. 2,
F–H). Such terraces are found throughout the
southern Finisterre Mountains. In most valleys,
fluvial incision has progressed beyond the base of
landslide deposits into bedrock (Fig. 2G). Thus,
the drainage network is entrenched in the uplift-
ing rock mass, consolidating runoff into trunk
streams. Continued fluvial incision reduces the
upper length scale of the local topography, replac-
ing the initial landslide-induced concavities with
entire drainage networks (Fig. 2H). Consequently,
the potential for slope failure on a multiple-
kilometer-scale, which currently dominates ero-
sion of the Finisterre Mountains, is eventually
removed from the landscape. In the ensuing phase
of orogenic evolution, erosion occurs primarily
through local slope failure in response to fluvial
incision. The upper length scale of such landslides
is constrained by the local drainage density. In this
scenario, large, drainage-altering landslides are
extremely rare and the topographic template is
essentially fixed. Major rearrangements of this
mature montane landscape can only be caused by
progressive structural entrainment of drainage,
renewal of large-scale landsliding due to changes
in tectonic and/or climatic boundary conditions,
or horizontal advection of topographic elements
through an orogenic system.
OTHER PRE-STEADY-STATE
MOUNTAIN BELTS
Landscape development is controlled at first
order by tectonic rock-uplift rate and deformation
style, substrate properties, and climate. These
boundary conditions vary globally; regional
topography and topographic evolution are unique
expressions of the ambient regime. In the
Finisterre Mountains, we observe a strong litho-
logic and structural control on catchment expan-
sion, principally through the focusing of seepage.
The large-scale, deep-seated landslides that are
characteristic of this region appear to be less com-
mon in other pre-steady-state mountain belts,
such as the Transverse Ranges of California and
the southern section of the Taiwan orogen.
1074
CONCLUSION
Pre-steady-state topography in the Finisterre
Mountains results from unbalanced tectonic and
erosional mass fluxes. Here, evolution of mon-
tane topography can be observed from drainage
initiation, through catchment expansion and
stream entrenchment, to a ridge-and-valley land-
scape in which fluvial incision and hillslope mass
wasting effectively counter rock uplift. Drainage
initiation is retarded by high infiltration rates and
low sediment yields from an arched plateau con-
sisting of precollision sedimentary rocks. How-
ever, once fluvial incision has started, rapid
catchment propagation results from landslide-
driven escarpment retreat, focused at spring sap-
ping sites. Thus, the mode and rate of drainage
network expansion are governed not by fluvial
incision but by hillslope mass wasting at the
valley heads. Multiple-kilometer-scale landslides
initiate the formation of tributary catchments on
the flanks of protovalleys. Stream entrenchment
then follows from runoff concentration in trunk
streams, promoting valley-floor lowering through
landslide debris and into bedrock. With increas-
ing dissection of the landscape, the potential for
catchment-rearranging slope failures is reduced,
and steady-state topography ensues. The steady
state morphology of a mountain belt therefore
ultimately derives from the organization of sur-
face processes during the preceding phase of
mountain growth.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This study was supported by a Trinity College Re-
search Fellowship to Hovius, a Lamont-Doherty Post-
doctoral Research Fellowship to Stark, and by ARCO
and Shell UK. We thank Jack Abraham for field sup-
port, and Frank Pazzaglia, Doug Burbank and an
anonymous reviewer for comments on the manuscript.
The digital elevation model of the Finisterre Mountains
was produced by Randy Smith. Study completed under
National Science Foundation grant EAR-9526954.
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