Mass Wasting

Mass Wasting

The movement of rock and soil down slope under the influence of gravity.

Mass wasting have three types; Falls, Landslides, and Flows.

Rockfalls and Debris falls

When a large mass of rock fails and the resultant fall spreads out into a debris fan, it is referred to as a rockslide or even a debris avalanche.

Landslides

It is a sudden fast movement of a cohesive mass of soil, rock, or regolith.

Flows

Are landslides that involve the movement of material down a slope in the form of a fluid.

Types of Flow

Slurry Flows (Solifluction, Debris flow, Mudflow)
Granular Flows (Earthflow, Grainflow, Debris Avalanche, Creep)

Slurry Flows

Consists of a mixture of rocks and or regolith containing 20% to 40% water.

Solifluction

a mixture of creep and flow, which forms distinctive sheets, terraces and lobes of debris and boulders.

Debris flow

a moving mass of loose mud, sand, soil, rock, water and air that travels down a slope under the influence of gravity.

Mudflow

is a form of mass wasting involving fast-moving flow of debris that has become liquified by the addition of water.

Granular Flows

Contain only 0 to 20% moisture. They are not considered as water-saturated flows.

Earthflow

a downslope viscous flow of fine-grained materials that have been saturated with water and moves under the pull of gravity.

Grain flow

composed mainly of dry material like sand dunes.

Debris Avalanche

is formed when an unstable slope collapses and debris is transported away from the slope.

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