Surface Processes

 Mass Wasting
 Streams
 Ground Water
 (Glaciers)
 (Shorelines)
 (Deserts)
Monument Valley, Arizona
Stream Carved Landscapes
Three Sisters, Cascades, Oregon
Denali National Park, by Berann
Yosemite, Bridal Vail Falls
Karst Topography from GW action
 XI. Mass Wasting

A. Classifications (Definitions,
processes and controlling factors)
B. Examples (Appling knowledge of
processes)
C. Prevention of Mass Wasting (limiting
and eliminating)
Flow
Classification of
Mass Wasting
Slide

Fall
 Classification of Mass Wasting
Classification Material Velocity
Creep Debris Imperceptibly Slow
Flow

Earth Flow Debris

Type of Movement

Slope and Material

Mudflow Saturated Debris Dependent <5 km/hr

Avalanche Debris or Rock Very Fast 100 km/hr

Fall Slide

Rotational Slide Debris Slow-mod. (short)

Rock Slide Bedrock Fast

Debris Fall Debris Fast

Rockfall Bedrock Fast

Creep
 Imperceptibly slow flow
 Expansion - contraction
 Heating – Cooling
 Freeze – Thaw
Earth Flow and
Rotational Slide
 Debris (soil) both
slides and flows

 Sliding
 Rotation
(tilting)
 Scarp
 Flow
 Mixing
 Hum-
mocks
 Rock Slide and Fall
 Bedrock may slide
and/or fall

 Weathering
reduces bedrock
strength
 Eventually
gravity wins
Talus Slopes
 The result of
 Mechanical
weathering
 Rock falls and slides
 Crushing and
abrasion (more
mechanical
weathering)
 Rock Avalanches
 Slopes of rock
fragments may let go
and careen downhill
as a very fast flow
Mass Wasting, Who Cares?

 Geology in the news?

 How does it effect you?
(Environmental Geology)
 Know where to look

 Understand risks

 Reduce and prevent risks

 Improve engineering

 We need to understand
how mass wasting works
 Shear Force vs.
Shear Strength
 Driving Forces
i.e., Shear Force
 Component of Gravity
 Other forces
 Resisting Forces
i.e., Shear Strength
 Fiction and Adhesion
 Soil or Rock
 Mt. St. Helens
 Landslide triggers
eruption
 Reduced shear
strength from
earthquakes and
bulging
 Increased shear
force as bulge
grows and slopes
steepen
 Eruption causes
Mudflows
Gros Vantre Slide
 Sandstone and debris on
Impermeable shale
 Saturation of sandstone and
lubrication of shale
 Both reduced shear strength
(added to shear force)
 Shear force overcomes
shear strength
 Sandstone and debris slide
Use Knowledge of Mass Wasting
to Avoid Risks
 Be able to recognize
geologically unstable
situations
Understanding Mass Wasting

Development causes:
 Increased shear force
 Steepened slope
 Added weight
 Decreased shear
strength
 Devegetation
 Reworking of fill
 Saturation of soil
Reduce Risks

Some solutions include:

 Increase shear strength
 Re-compact soils
 Re-vegetate soil slopes
 Construct retaining wall with
anchors
 Prevent Saturation
 Prohibit over-irrigation
 Install surface drains
 Install subsurface drains
Reduce Risks

 Increase shear
strength with iron
rods and
anchors
 Remove risk
Examples of Mass Wasting

 The Old
Man of the
Mountain,
Cannon
Mtn. NH
 X. Streams

A. The Hydrologic Cycle (components and

pathways)
B. Stream Velocity (controls and results)
C. Drainage Patterns and Landscape
Features (results of erosion and deposition)
D. Stream Valley Development (tectonic
uplift and downcutting)
The
Hydrologic Cycle See Fig. 12.3
Drainage Basins
 Systems of streams
and their tributaries
that collect runoff
 Divide
Great Lakes
 Ground Water Drainage Basin
 Steam Profiles
(Streams Shaping
the Land)

Flood
V-Shaped
Plain
Valley
What is this Drainage Pattern?
(What does is tell of the geology?)
Valley and Ridge Province of PA
(Trellis Stream Patters)
Stream Gradient
 Slope of the land
 Sinuosity of stream

10 m 10 m

1 km 1 km

10 m/km 10 m per 1¼ km =
8 m/km
Meander Velocity
 Higher velocities on  Fig. 10.6
outside of meanders
causes erosion
(cut bank)

 Lower velocities on
inside of meanders
causes deposition
(point bar)
Channel Shape and Roughness

A. Narrow and Deep

 Less resistance
 Faster flow
B. Wide and Shallow
 More resistance
 Slower flow
C. Rough Streambed
 More resistance
 Slower flow
Stream Velocity Controls:

 Erosion
 Transport
 Deposition
 First, Weathering
Stream Erosion  Fracturing
(mechanical)
 Loosening
(mechanical and
Then, Erosion chemical)
 Solution (chemical weathering)  Solution (chemical)
 Hydraulic Action (lifting)

 Abrasion (crushing and grinding)

Fig 10.11
  Dissolved Load
Stream  Suspended Load
Transport  Bed Load
 Saltation
 Rolling, sliding
Fig10.14

(ions)
Stream  Erosion
Deposition Dominated
 High gradients
e.g., Alluvial Fans  Less resistance
 Fast velocities
 Deposition
Braided
Streams
Dominated
 Lower gradients
 More resistance
Alluvial Fan
 Lower velocities
Fig. 10.31

Fig. 10.19
Stream
Deposition

 Midchannel bars Fig. 10.18a

 Point bars

Fig 10.22b
 Braided streams
Fig. 10.18b
Deltas

 Reduction of
velocity due to
extreme
widening

 Deposition of Fig. 10.28

silt and clay
Erosion and
Deposition 
Transport
E.g., Meandering streams
 As meanders are
migrating
 Cutbanks eroding
 Point bars building
 Sediment is moving
downstream
Meander Cutoff

How does the gradient change with meandering

and meander cutoff?
Meandering Streams

Identify D

 Cutbanks
 Point bars
 Meander neck A

 Oxbow lakes
C
 Areas of Erosion B
 Areas of
Deposition
E
Fig. 10.20
Natural Levees

 Flooding
 Overbank deposits
 Widening of stream
into flood plain
 Deposition of
sediment
 Coarse near stream
 Fine farther away
Fig. 10.27
Graded Streams

Increased velocity and

accelerated erosion.

Base level:
Lake or Sea

Erosion acts to grade the

Longitudinal stream profile to
concave-upward curve

Same
Base level
Drainage Patterns
Geology controls stream
A. Dendritic
patterns
A. Uniformly Erodible
(e.g., flat-lying sedimentary rocks
of the Midwest)
B. Radial
B. Conical Mountains
(e.g., Volcanoes)
C. Fractured bedrock
(shallow bedrock) C. Rectangular
D. Resistant ridges of tilted
sedimentary rocks
(e.g., Valley and Ridge Province
of Pennsylvania) D. Trellis