Mass Wasting

“It’s all downhill from here”

Mass Wasting is the

movement of solid Creep
material downslope.
• Creep is the unnoticed slow
• Creep: very slow movement of soils movement of unconsolidated
• Slump:
Slump small-volume movement of soils soils downslope.
• Landslide: large-volume movement of soil and • It is commonly seen as curved
rock tree trunks.
• Rock Fall:
Fall small-volume fall of rock from an • Important to look for when
outcrop buying real estate but not life-
• Debris Flow: water fluidized flow of debris threatening.
• Avalanche: air-fluidized flow of debris/ice/snow

Slump
Creep
• Slumps are marked by movement of a
coherent mass a short distance along a
curved surface.
• Slumps are less dangerous because they
generally move slowly, but they can still do
damage to human construction.
• A fine local example is the slump at the
intersection of highway 93 and U.S. 6 in
Golden.
• They are now building houses on top of the
slump.

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 Slump

Slump

Debris Flow Debris Flows, Georgetown, CO

• A debris flow is a water-fluidized flow

of rock and soil that moves down
slope.
• These can be small narrow flows that
descend steep slopes after a heavy
rain (below Georgetown, CO).
• Very damaging mudflows, called
lahars, may accompany volcanic
eruptions or earthquakes.

Rock Fall Landslides

• Rock falls happen off of outcrops
• Landslides can be large and
(cliffs and road cuts).
dangerous.
• Natural rock cliffs are usually quite
• They commonly start out as a
stable except in areas of rapid
coherent mass but may break up into
erosion.
a flow if a long distance is covered.
• Man-made cliffs (road cuts) are very
• Some local examples include the
unstable.
Slumgullion Slide near Lake City, CO.
• There was a recent (October, 1996)
• Another is the Gros Ventre near
rock fall in Yosemite National Park.
Jackson, WY.

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 GrosVentre Slide, WY Causes of Landslides
• Heavy Rain on unstable hillsides
• (Raising the water table)
• Seismic activity
• Volcanic activity
• Human construction

Snow Avalanche
Avalanche
• An Avalanche is an air-fluidized flow
of snow and ice or rock and soil
debris downslope.
• Snow avalanches are common here
in Colorado.
• Rock and soil avalanches are rare.

Ice Avalanche Mass Wasting is the

movement of solid
material downslope.
• Creep: very slow movement of soils
• Slump:
Slump small-volume movement of soils
• Landslide: large-volume movement of soil and
rock
• Rock Fall:
Fall small-volume fall of rock from an
outcrop
• Debris Flow: water fluidized flow of debris
• Avalanche: air-fluidized flow of debris/ice/snow