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A slump is a form of mass wasting that occurs when a coherent mass of loosely consolidated materials or a rock layer moves a short distance down a slope. [1] Movement is characterized by sliding along a concave-upward or planar surface.
Mass wasting, also known as mass movement, [1] is a general term for the movement of rock or soil down slopes under the force of gravity. It differs from other processes of erosion in that the debris transported by mass wasting is not entrained in a moving medium, such as water, wind, or ice.
In traditional usage, the term landslide has at one time or another been used to cover almost all forms of mass movement of rocks and regolith at the Earth's surface. In 1978, in a very highly cited publication, David Varnes noted this imprecise usage and proposed a new, much tighter scheme for the classification of mass movements and ...
Gully – Landform created by running water and/or mass movement eroding sharply into soil; Hill – Landform that extends above the surrounding terrain; Hillock, also known as Knoll – Small hill; Mesa – Elevated area of land with a flat top and sides, usually much wider than buttes; Mountain pass – Route through a mountain range or over ...
At volcanoes, the term landslide is commonly used for slope movements with shear and displacement in a relatively narrow zone. [7] They can be in the form of debris avalanches, debris flows, slumps and rockfalls. [7] [8] A debris avalanche is a sudden, very rapid flow of rock and soil in response to gravity. It is a common middle stage in the ...
Mass wasting or mass movement is the downward and outward movement of rock and sediments on a sloped surface, mainly due to the force of gravity. [ 49 ] [ 50 ] Mass wasting is an important part of the erosional process and is often the first stage in the breakdown and transport of weathered materials in mountainous areas.
It refers to the gravity-driven failure and subsequent movement downslope of any types of surface movement of soil, rock, or other debris. The term incorporates earth slides, rock falls, flows, and mudslides, amongst other categories of hillslope mass movements. [12] They do not have to be as fluid as a mudflow.
Solifluction is a collective name for gradual processes in which a mass moves down a slope ("mass wasting") related to freeze-thaw activity. This is the standard modern meaning of solifluction, which differs from the original meaning given to it by Johan Gunnar Andersson in 1906. [1] [2]