Mass Wasting

Front 1

flow

Back 1

mass moves downslope as a viscous fluid.

Front 2

slip

Back 2

mass remains stuck together, moving on a defined surface

Front 3

slump

Back 3

movement along a curved surface

Front 4

slide

Back 4

descending mass that moves along a plane parallel to the slope of the surface

Front 5

normal force

Back 5

force of gravity perpendicular to the slope

Front 6

shear force

Back 6

force of gravity parallel to the slop

Front 7

Shear strength

Back 7

resistance to deformation due to cohesiveness, friction, plant roots

Front 8

Creep

Back 8

slow, continuos, downslope movement of soil or debris and loose debris`

Front 9

Debris Flow

Back 9

the general term used for mass wasting where motion takes place throughout the mass

Front 10

Earth flow

Back 10

when debris moves downslope as a viscous fluid and is covered by a blanket of vegitation

Front 11

solifluction

Back 11

flow of water-saturated debris over impermeable material

Front 12

Permafrost

Back 12

ground that remains frozen for many years

Front 13

mudflow

Back 13

mixture of debris and water, down a channel

Front 14

Debris avalanche (landslide)

Back 14

fastest type of debris flow that has air trapped under the rock mass that may act as an air cushion that reduces friction

Front 15

Rockfall

Back 15

when a block of bedrock breaks off and falls freely or bounces down a cliff

Front 16

Talus

Back 16

an apron of fallen rock fragments that accumulates at the base of a cliff

Front 17

rockslide

Back 17

rapid sliding of a mass of bedrock alon an inclined surface

Front 18

Debris slide

Back 18

a coherent mass of debris moving along a surface

Front 19

Debris fall

Back 19

a free-falling mass of debris that initially started out as a coherent mass.