CGF3M

  Downhill movement of soil, regolith, and rock under the influence of gravity.  Often brings devastation to populated areas.  Occurs on slopes – small strip or patch of the land surface that is inclined from the horizontal.  Guide the downhill flow of surface water.  Alluvium – bottom layers of transported regolith beneath the valley bottom. Mass Wasting

  Soil creep – extremely slow downhill movement of soil and regolith.  Layers seem to ‘bend’ in the downhill direction  Causes fence posts and poles to lean downslope Types of Mass Wasting

  Earthflow – occurs in humid climates where a mass of water-saturated soil, regolith or rock may move down a steep slope within a few hours.

  Mudflow – a mud stream pours quickly down canyons in mountainous regions  Flows from erupting volcanoes are called lahars

  Landslide – rapid sliding of a large mass of soil or regolith  Rock slide – rapid sliding of a large mass of rock.

  Avalanche – rapid sliding of a large mass of snow.

  Induced mass wasting – human activities that result in the downhill movement of material.  From piling up waste soil and rock into unstable accumulations  Removing the underlying support of natural masses or soil, regolith and bedrock

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