LESSON 3

Signs of Other Related Geological

Hazards
SIGNS OF IMPENDING LANDSLIDE OR SINKHOLE
1. Earlier landslide as indicator
 If there’s frequent occurrence of landslides in a section, it implies that the soil
in this area is weak and has unstable geology; thus, more susceptible to
landslides. This may be caused by lack of vegetation, weathering, erosion, etc.
 Multiple landslide events within the same place are retrogressive, piecemeal,
or reactivated.
 A reactivated landslide is when an old, semi-stable landslide changed
something, causing a new collapse at the same place.
 Inspecting an area of an old landslide for scarps and deposits is a clear
indicator that a landslide will reactivate. This is also a sure sign that much of the
region's underlying geology is fragile and vulnerable to landslides.
2. Tension cracks
 These are caused by the stress and friction produced by
geologic materials moving apart which forms steep lines of
cracks in the terrain.
 Tension cracks above an existing landslide can hint at a future
reactivation.
 These cracks are located on higher elevated ground.  Cracks
that are found on flat terrain are caused by fault movement
and not landslide indicators
3. Things Moving
 Deformation and movement of non-living objects not caused by human
manipulation can also indicate a landslide.
 The most common of these is that trees are bending up in a J-curve as a sign
that the ground slips out from underneath them.
 A patch of angled forest on a slope or J-curved trees somewhere can be a good
indicator that the ground is less solid than it seems.
 no longer closing properly, or broken utilities.
 This motion can be slow or rapid. Rapid landslides are results of sudden
collapse of a slope. This happens in terrains that are steeper uphill. Whereas,
indicators of slow landslides are categorized by movement of floor tiles,
deformation of door frames which causes difficulty in closing and opening the
door, and broken electric posts, gas, water and sewage pipes.
 Creaking and cracking can also be warning signs.
4. Water Doing Something Different
 Changes in water flow.
 Springs, seep, or wet ground may appear on a seemingly dry terrain.
Similarly, unexpected withdrawal of water also indicates the same.
Water causes alteration of the pressure within the slopes of a terrain.
 A debris flow is a very wet, very mobile landslide, where water is
loaded with trees, mud, rock, and everything else caught in the
current. Low water level precedes the arrival of the debris flow surge.
WARNING SIGNS OF AN IMPENDING SINKHOLE
The occurrence of sinkholes and landslides may have something in common
because they are both geologic hazards. Here are some signs of an impending
sinkhole.
 Trees or fence posts that tilt or fall
 Foundations that slant
 New small ponds that appear after rain
 Cracks in the ground  Sudden drainage of a pond
 Rapid appearance of a hole in the ground
 Dips, depressions, slopes that appear in a yard
 Dead patches of grass or plants
 Sinkholes in the neighborhood
 Wilted vegetation in a limited area
 Well water that is discolored or contaminated with debris
 Cracking or buckling of home’s concrete slab
 Presence of odd bugs like slugs, centipedes in homes
 Earthly odor in home after rain
 New or widening cracks
 Separation between walls and ceiling or floors
 Cracks around door and window frames
 Cracked grout between tiles
 Cracked tiles  Stair step cracks in blocks or bricks
 Uneven floors, warping of hardwood, bulging or sagging sections
 Doors or windows that don’t open or close easily
 Cracks in sheetrock near doors or windows
All homes are subject to some settling characteristics.
Signs of an impending geologic hazard may or may not
always cause a landslide or a sinkhole but the presence
of two or more of these signs may indicate that there is
something wrong happening in the area which alerts
people to be cautious and careful for possible dangers
that it may cause
Activity 3:
Directions: Check out your own house and go around your
place and try to look for signs that indicate whether it is prone
or not to landslides and sinkholes. Create an investigative
essay about your findings.
Indicate the specific signs that you have observed, it’s specific
location and why do you think they are really signs of
landslides and sinkholes and not just a mere damage caused
by non-geologic hazards
 LESSON 4

Interpretation of Geological Maps

What is a Geological Map?
This type of map shows how geological features, rock
units or geologic strata are shown by colors or symbols
to indicate where they are exposed at the surface.
Geological Maps Features:
1.Faults 3. Folds
2. Tilts 4. Rock layers

Parts of Geological Map:

1. Legend 3. Interpretation
2. Title 4. Susceptibility
5. Sources
Symbols in Geological Maps
1. Thick lines and thin lines
2. First capitalized letter in geologic unit
3. Colors
4. Dotted contact line
Symbolizing Geology
Contours and topography are just the first parts of a geologic map. The
map also puts rock types, geologic structures, and more onto the
printed page through colors, patterns, and symbols. Here is a small
sample of a real geologic map. You can see the basic things —
shorelines, roads, towns, buildings, and borders—in gray. The contours
are there too, in brown, plus the symbols for various water features in
blue. All of these are on the map’s base. The geologic part consists of
the black lines, symbols, labels, and areas of color. The lines and the
symbols condense a great deal of information that geologists have
gathered through years of fieldwork.
Geologic Age and Formation Symbols
The letter symbols signify the name and age of the rock units in an
area. The first letter refers to the geologic age, as shown above. The
other letters refer to the formation name or the rock type. The
geologic map of Rhode Island is a good example of how the symbols
are used. A few of the age symbols are unusual; for instance, so many
age terms begin with P that special symbols are needed to keep them
clear. The same is true for C, and indeed the Cretaceous Period is
symbolized with the letter K, from the German word Kreidezeit. This is
why the meteor impact that marks the end of the Cretaceous and
beginning of the Tertiary is commonly called the "K-T event."
The other letters in a formation symbol usually refer to the rock type. A
unit consisting of Cretaceous shale might be marked "Ksh." A unit with
mixed rock types might be marked with an abbreviation of its name, so
the Rutabaga Formation might be "Kr." The second letter might also be
an age term, particularly in the Cenozoic, so that a unit of Oligocene
sandstone would be labeled "Tos." All of the information on the
geologic map—such as strike and dip, trend and plunge, relative age
and rock unit—are obtained by the hard work and trained eyes of
geologists working in the field. But the real beauty of geologic maps—
not just the information they represent—is in their colors.
You could have a geologic map without using colors, just lines and letter symbols
in black and white. But it would not be user-friendly, like a paint-by-numbers
drawing without the paint. What colors to use for the various ages of rocks?
There are two traditions that arose in the late 1800s: the harmonious American
standard and the more arbitrary International standard. The familiarity with the
difference between the two makes it obvious at a glance where a geologic map
was made. These standards are just the beginning. They apply only to the most
common rocks, which are sedimentary rocks of marine origin. Terrestrial
sedimentary rocks use the same palette but add patterns. Igneous rocks cluster
around red colors, while plutonic rocks use lighter shades plus random patterns
of polygonal shapes. Both darken with age. Metamorphic rocks use rich,
secondary colors as well as oriented, linear patterns. All of these complexities
make geologic map design a specialized art.
Every geologic map has its reasons to deviate from the standards.
Perhaps rocks of certain time periods are absent so that other units
can vary in color without adding confusion; perhaps the colors clash
badly; perhaps the cost of printing forces compromises. These are the
reasons why geologic maps are so interesting: each one is a
customized solution to a particular set of needs. In every case, one of
those needs is that the map must be pleasing to the eye. Geologic
maps, especially the kind still printed on paper, represent a dialog
between truth and beauty.
Activity 4 .
Do this if you do not have access to internet or wifi.
Draw a Geological Map of your town and ask your
parents about a brief history of it.