Abstract: Debris talus is a very common landform in the temperate high mountain, so much so that it is the most represen-
tative of the periglacial and nival processes. This work studies debris cones in the Picos de Europa, an Atlantic
mountain range in the north of the Iberian Peninsula. A detailed geomorphological map was prepared, fieldwork
was carried out on the debris cone surface, the ground and air thermal regime was analyzed, and a five-year Ter-
restrial Laser Scan survey carried out. Annual volume changes on the surface of the debris cones were detected
and related to active processes and sediment transfer. Two different behaviors were observed in each cone.
Cone A is linear, with equilibrium between accumulation and sediment transfer, while Cone B is concave-
convex denoting accumulation processes in the upper part deriving from the greater frequency of snow ava-
lanches. Changes in morphology surpass 50 cm/year with most of the activity taking place in the highest and low-
est areas. The presence and action of the ice on the debris slope are moderate or non-existent and freeze-thaw
processes are only active on the walls at over 2000 m a.s.l. The main processes on debris cones are debris flow
and creep related to snowcover, but sediment transfer on the slopes involves high intensity-low frequency (de-
bris flow, avalanches) and high frequency-low intensity processes (creep, shift, solifluction and wasting).
