On the basis of a total of thirteen case examples from the Tien Shan,
Karakorum, Himalaya and Tangula Shan (central Tibet), the risk potential
and hazards are inferred from the development of landscape during the
Quaternary. The history of glaciers can be seen as of central importance
for this. The Ice Age glacial erosion created V-shaped valleys, which
with their steep flanks - as a consequence of the interglacial formation
of V -valleys - have prepared and brought about landslides as well as
rockslides and the hazards, combined with them. The same is true for the
moraines, which the gla- ciers have deposited high-up in the valley
flanks and related loose stone deposits. Dry and wet mass movements
follow after heavy precipitation, especially in the semi-arid
investigation areas, and are catastrophes for the settlements and the
communication routes in the valley floors. Their key-forms are debris
cones and debris slopes, as well as mudflows and alluvial fans. In
addition to the Ice Age glaciation history, as a preparatory, indirect
factor, the Holocene to present glaciation history is, as a result of
the danlming-up of glacier- and moraine lakes and their outbursts, a
direct risk factor. The examples presented of acute and already occurred
cases of damage were inves- tigated in the years 1989-1994.
Acknowledgements The authors wish to thank the Deutsche
Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG), the Max Planck-Gesellschaft (MPG), the
Volkswagen-Stiftting (VW) and the Deutscher Aka- demischer
Austauschdienst (DAAD) for the financial support for the field-work.
