EOSC 114 Study Guide - Mudflow, Shear Stress, Internal Resistance
Document Summary
Landslides occur when the gravitational force pulling the slop material down exceeds the slop material"s internal resistance to shear or failure. Landslides can be more devastating to areas with a high population density, low levels of preparedness, and poorly made infrastructure. This is most frequently found in third world countries. The economic impact is usually more severe in developed countries because of the high cost of building new well-made infrastructure. Fall: occur on very steep slopes and material (usually rock) detaches from these slopes due to weakness. They are very fast and are propelled by gravity. Topple: forward rotation of material (rocks) about a pivot point below the center of gravity of the unit or in the slope. There is no debris topple because debris is unsorted with varied sizes while topples consist of coherent blocks. Slides: move as a coherent mass along a surface of failure, and are usually composed of soil, rock, or debris.