Mass Wasting

What is Mass Wasting?

Mass movement, often called mass wasting, is the downslope movement of a mass of surface materials, such as soil, rock or mud. This mass movement typically occurs along hillsides and mountains due to the influence of gravity and can happen very slowly or very quickly.


Vocabulary

  • avalanche

  • creep

  • landslide

  • mass movement

  • mass wasting

  • mudflow

  • slump

  • talus slope

Websites and Articles

Videos

Activities and Worksheets

Mini Landslide Activity : Students explore how different materials (sand, gravel, lava rock) with different water contents on different slopes result in landslides of different severity. They measure the severity by how far the landslide debris extends into model houses placed in the flood plain.

Books