Chapter 9, Keller 2008

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N I N E
PRELIMINARY PROOFS
Unpublished Work 2008 by Pearson Education, Inc.
From the forthcoming book Introduction to Environmental Geology, Fourth Edition, by Edward A. Keller, ISBN 9780132251501. To be published by Pearson Prentice Hall, Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, New Jersey. All rights
reserved. This publication is protected by Copyright and written permission should be obtained from the publisher prior to any prohibited reproduction, storage in a retrieval system, or transmission in any form or by any means, electronic,
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KELLMC09_0132251507.QXD 2/15/07 8:58 PM Page 287
Slope Processes, Landslides,

and Subsidence
Learning Objectives
Landslides, the movement of materials down
slopes, constitute a serious natural hazard in
many parts of the United States and the rest of
the world. Landslides are often linked to other
hazards such as earthquakes and volcanoes.
Most landslides are small and slow, but a few
are large and fast. Both may cause significant
loss of life and damage to human property,
particularly in urban areas. In this chapter we
focus on the following learning objectives:
Understand basic slope processes and the
causes of slope failure
Understand the role of driving and resisting
forces on slopes and how these are related
to slope stability
Understand how slope angle and topography,
vegetation, water, and time affect both slope
processes and the incidence of landslides
Understand how human use of the land has
resulted in landslides
Know methods of identification, prevention,
warning, and correction of landslides
Understand processes related to land
subsidence
Landslide La Conchita, California, landslide in 2005 destroyed

13 homes and killed 10 people. (Photo Courtesy of U.S. Geological
Survey)
287
PRELIMINARY PROOFS
288 Chapter 9 Slope Processes, Landslides, and Subsidence
CASE HISTORY La Conchita Landslide of 2005

The small beachside community of La Conchita, located about A study of La Conchita and the surrounding area suggests
80 km (50 mi) northwest of Los Angeles, California, was the site that the debris flows and slides of 1995, 2005, and older events
of a disaster on January 10, 2005 (see opening photograph). are a part of a much larger prehistoric landslide less than
On that day, a fast-moving landslide, debris flow damaged or about 40,000 years old that had not been recognized at the
destroyed 36 homes and killed 10 people. The 2005 landslide time of the more recent events (Figure 9.1). There is no evi-
was a reactivation of a 1995 landslide that destroyed several dence that the much larger, older prehistoric slide is moving
homes but caused no deaths. Both the 1995 and 2005 events as a mass, but parts are active, especially at the western
were in turn part of an older prehistoric landslide, less margin of the slide.1
than about 6,000 years old, on the steep slope directly above It is not if, but when future landslides will occur on the
La Conchita. As we shall see this 6,000 year old slide is part slopes above La Conchita. No part of the La Conchita
of an even older, larger slide on the mountain above. community exempt from a future landslide.2
The winter of 20042005 was particularly wet, with high- A potential solution to reduce the hazard to people and
intensity rainfall occurring at times. Neither residents nor houses is to transform the land use of La Conchita from an
local officials recognized that another landslide was immi- area where people live to a coastal park. Not all people living
nent. The 2005 debris flow was different from that of 1995 in there will be happy to hear such a suggestion, but society
that the flow was faster, at 45 km/hr (30 mph), and moved could help relocate people with fair compensation for valu-
further into the community. A number of people were able coastal property. The result would be a transformation
trapped in their homes while others ran for their lives. of a hazardous site into a resource for future generations.
Directly behind the community is a 200 m (600 ft) high At the least, we need to be diligent in the future concern-
slope that produces continuing landslide hazards for humans ing land-use planning and avoid unwise development on
living below it. La Conchita should never have been con- the large prehistoric slide above La Conchita. A similar,
structed at the foot of that slope. It has been known that but smaller, prehistoric slide was reactivated in Malibu,
landslides have occurred in the area for about 100 years. More California, in the mid-1980s, causing claimed damages in
telling, the community is built on about 15 m (50 ft) of old excess of $200 million.
landslide deposits. Landslides above La Conchita and to the What has been learned so far at La Conchita is that both
east and west have been occurring for thousands of years, prehistoric and active landslides can be recognized and their
long before people made the decision to build beach homes at future activity evaluated. We now need to be proactive and
the base of the steep slope. take steps to reduce risk from future landslides.
9.1 Introduction to Landslides

Landslides and related phenomena cause substantial damage (Figure 9.2) and loss
of life. In the United States, between 25 and 50 people are killed each year by land-
slides. This number increases to between 100 and 150 if collapses of trenches
and other excavations are included. The total annual cost of damages is about
$3.5 billion.2
Landslides and other types of ground failure are natural phenomena that
would occur with or without human activity. However, human land use has led
to an increase in these events in some situations and a decrease in others. For
example, landslides may occur on previously stable hillsides that have been
modified for housing development; on the other hand, landslides on naturally
sensitive slopes are sometimes averted through the use of stabilizing structures or
techniques.
Mass wasting is a comprehensive term for any type of downslope movement
of Earth materials. In its more restricted sense, mass wasting refers to a down-
slope movement of rock or soil as a more or less coherent mass. In this chapter,
we consider landslides in the restricted sense. We will also discuss the related
phenomena of earthflows and mudflows, rockfalls, and snow or debris avalanches.
For the sake of convenience, we sometimes refer to all of these as landslides. We
will also discuss subsidence, a type of ground failure characterized by nearly
vertical deformation, or the downward sinking of Earth materials. Subsidence
often produces circular surface pits but may produce linear or irregular patterns
of failure.
PRELIMINARY PROOFS
overlying ancient beach

Landslide deposits
Figure 9.1 Idealized diagram of landslides at La Conchita, CA The fast-moving landslides of 1995 and 2005 are a reactivation of part of a larger prehistoric
slide that is less than 6,000 years old, which is part of a much larger, older (few tens of thousands of years) landslide called the Rincon Mountain landslide.
101
Sea cliff
eep
Landslide deposits up to 15 m (50 ft) d
La Conchita
Beach
5
2 00
9 5&
19
on Mountain
5
199
(closed 101)
debris flow
Rinc
2005
oad R
Old
than 40,000 years old

Prehistoric slide less
Prehistoric slide less

than 6,000 years old
Landslide
Direction of
movement
N
289
PRELIMINARY PROOFS
Figure 9.2 Homes destroyed

Aerial photograph of the lower
part of the Portuguese Bend
landslide in southern California
(1950s). Note the kink in the pier
near the end of the landslide.
Eventually, most of the homes as
well as the swim club and pier
shown here were destroyed by
the slow-moving landslide.
(John S. Shelton)
9.2 Slope Processes and Types of Landslides

Slope Processes
Slopes are the most common landforms on Earth, and although most slopes
appear stable and static, they are dynamic, evolving systems. Slopes are not
generally uniform in their shape but are composed of segments that are straight
or curved. Two different-looking slopes are shown in Figure 9.3. The first
(Figure 9.3a) has a high cliff, or free face, a straight, nearly vertical slope segment.
This is a slope formed on hard granite rock in Yosemite National Park. Rock
fragments that fall from the free-face may accumulate at the base of the slope to
form a talus slope. The free-face and talus slopes are segments of the slope. Notice
the surface cover of soil, missing on the free face and talus slopes of Figure 9.3a.
The hillslopes in Figure 9.3b are formed on rocks that are not as strong as the
granite in Yosemite. The slopes are gentler and lack a free face. In this photo, there
are three segments: an upper convex slope, a lower concave slope, and, separating
the two, a straight slope. Thus, we see that slopes are usually composed of differ-
ent slope segments. The five segment types above are sufficient to describe most
slopes you will encounter in nature. Which slope segments are present on a partic-
ular slope depends on the rock type and the climate. Free-face development is
more common on strong hard rocks or in arid environments where there is little
vegetation. Convex and concave slopes are more common on softer rocks or with
a more humid wet climate where thick soil and vegetation are present. But there
are many exceptions to these general rules, depending upon local conditions. For
example, the gentle, convex, red-colored slopes in the lower part of Figure 9.3b
have formed on weak, easily eroded metamorphic rock (schist) in a semiarid
climate on Santa Cruz Island, California.
Material on most slopes is constantly moving down the slope at rates that vary
from an imperceptible creep of soil and rock to thundering avalanches and rock-
falls that move at tremendous velocities. These slope processes are one significant
reason that valleys are much wider than the streams they contain.
Types of Landslides
Earth materials may fail and move or deform in several ways (Figure 9.4). Rota-
tional slumps involve
P R Esliding
L I M I N A R along
Y P R O O FaS curved slip plain producing slump blocks
Slope Processes and Types of Landslides 291
Free face
Talus
Free face
(cliff)
Talus slope
(rock fall deposits)
Very hard
strong granite
(a)
Convex
Convex Straight
Soil Concave
Straight
Convex slope
Straight slope
Convex
Concave slope
Relatively weak rock

(b)
Figure 9.3 Slope segments (a) Slope on hard granite in Yosemite National Park with free face (several
thousand feet high) and talus slope. (b) Slopes on Santa Cruz Island, California, on relatively weak schist
(red) and volcanic rocks (white), with convex, straight, and concave slope segments. (Edward A. Keller)
(Figure 9.4a, b). Translational sliding is downslope movement of Earth materials

along a planar slip plane such as a bedding plane or fracture (Figure 9.4c, d). Rock
fall is the free fall of Earth materials from a free face of a cliff (Figure 9.4e). Flows
are the downslope movement of unconsolidated (usually saturated) materials in
which particles move about and mix within the mass. Very slow flowage of rock or
soil is called creep (Figure 9.4f); rapid flowage may be an earthflow, mudflow, or
debris flow. An earthflow (Figures 9.4g and 9.5) often originates on a slope where
soil partially liquefies and runs out. The source area becomes a bowl-shaped
depression and a depositional area spreads out at the toe of the slope, giving the
event an hourglass shape. A debris flow or mudflow (Figure 9.4h) is a mixture of
rock, soil, and organic matter that mixes with air and water to flow rapidly down
slope. The upper part of the flow is often confined to a channel or valley but may
spread out when it is no longer confined. A debris flow has less than 50 percent
fines (sand, silt, and clay), whereas a mudflow has more than 50 percent fines by
volume. A debris avalanche (Figure 9.4i) is a very rapid to extremely rapid debris
flow. Large debris avalanches can cause catastrophic damage and loss of life.
Lateral spreads (Figure 9.4j) are a type of landslide that often occurs on nearly
flat slopes or very gentle slopes. The movement starts with liquefaction of silts,
clays, or fine sands during earthquake shaking Por R E other
L I M I N A disturbance.
RY PROOFS The actual
292
KELLMC09_0132251507.QXD
Main track
Source area
Sandstone
Depositional Slip plane
area Materials Rotated
Type of block Toe
Movement Rock Soil
2/15/07
Shade
Landslides Rotational
(g) Earthflow (h) Debris flow with variable Slump(a) Slump(b)
water content (a) Rock slump (b) Soil slump
Firm clay
8:58 PM
and rate Translational

of movement Rock slide(c) Solid slide (slip)(d)
Falls Rock fall(e) Soil fall
Soft clay with water-
Bedrock bearing silt and sand layers Slow Rock creep Soil creep(f)
Page 292
(j) Lateral spread Toe Surface

Surface rupture of rupture
Unconsolidated rock
(i) Debris avalanche and soil (saturated) (c) Rock slide (d) Soil slide
Flows
Earth flow(g)
Curved tree trunks
Rapid
Debris flow / mud flow(h) Tilted pole
Soil ripples
(k) Subsidence
Very rapid Debris avalanche(i)
Head scarp Subsidence Rock(j) Soil
PRELIMINARY PROOFS
Upper slump
Lateral spread Rock(k) Soil Fence out of alignment

Combination of slides, (e) Rockfall (f) Soil creep
Lower flow Complex
slumps, and flows(l)
Toe
(l) Complex slide
Figure 9.4 Types of landslides Classification of landslides based on type of movement, materials, water content, and rate of movement.
(Modified after U.S. Geological Survey 2004. Fact Sheet 2004-3072)
Slope Processes and Types of Landslides 293
Figure 9.5 Earthflow on soft

Head of earth flow shale near Santa Barbara, California.
(Edward A. Keller)
Flow
Toe of flow
movement is lateral extension. If stronger coherent rock or soil is at the surface

and is over a soil layer that liquefies, the stronger material may fracture, translate,
rotate, or disintegrate and flow. Lateral spreads often start suddenly and then
become larger in a slower, progressive manner.3 Subsidence may occur on slopes
or on flat ground and involves the sinking of a mass of Earth material below the
level of the surrounding surface (Figure 9.4k).
Landslides are commonly complex combinations of sliding and flowage. As
an example, Figures 9.4l and 9.6 show failures consisting of an upper slump that
is transformed to a flow in the lower part of the slide. Such complex landslides
may form when water-saturated Earth materials flow from the lower part of the
slope, undermining the upper part and causing slumping of blocks of Earth
materials.
Important variables in classifying downslope movements are the type of move-
ment (slide, fall, flow, slump, or complex movement), slope material type, amount
of water present, and rate of movement. In general, the movement is considered
rapid if it can be discerned with the naked eye; otherwise, it is classified as slow
(Figure 9.4). Actual rates vary from a slow creep of a few millimeters or centi-
meters per year to very rapid, at 1.5 m (5 ft) per day, to extremely rapid, at 30 m
(98 ft) or more per second.4
Head of slide
Upper slump Lower flow
Figure 9.6 Complex landslide

at La Conchita, California (1995). This
slide, which had an upper slump block
and a lower flow, destroyed the three-
story home in its path. (Edward A. Keller)
PRELIMINARY PROOFS
9.3 Slope Stability

Forces on Slopes
To determine the causes of landslides, we must examine slope stability, which can
be expressed in terms of the forces that act on slopes. The stability of a slope ex-
presses the relationship between driving forces, which move Earth materials down
a slope, and resisting forces, which oppose such movement. The most common
driving force is the downslope component of the weight of the slope material,
including anything superimposed on the slope such as vegetation, fill material,
or buildings. The most common resisting force is the strength, or the resistance
to failure by sliding or flowing, of the slope material acting along potential slip
planes. Potential slip planes are geologic surfaces of weakness in the slope material;
for example, foliation planes in a slope composed of schist, bedding planes in
sedimentary rocks, and fractures in all rock types are potential slip planes.
Slope stability is evaluated by computing a safety factor (SF), defined as the ratio
of the resisting forces to the driving forces. If the safety factor is greater than 1, the
resisting forces exceed the driving forces and the slope is considered stable. If the
safety factor is less than 1, the driving forces exceed the resisting forces and a slope
failure can be expected. Driving and resisting forces are not static: As local condi-
tions change, these forces may change, increasing or decreasing the safety factor.
Soil
Shallow landslide in
soil above rock
Landslide deposit
Soil
(a)
Soil
slips
Figure 9.7 Multiple soil slips

(a) Diagram of a shallow soil slip.
(b) Shallow soil slips on steep slopes
in southern California. The vegetation
is low brush known as chaparral.
(Edward A. Keller)
PRELIMINARY PROOFS (b)
Slope Stability 295
Driving and resisting forces on slopes are determined by the interrelationships

of the following variables:
Type of Earth materials
Slope angle and topography
Climate
Vegetation
Water
Time
The Role of Earth Material Type

The material composing a slope affects both the type and the frequency of down-
slope movement. Slides have two basic patterns of movement, rotational and
translational. In rotational slides, or slumps, the sliding occurs along a curved
slip surface (Figure 9.4a, b). Because the movement follows a curve, slump blocks,
the blocks of Earth material that are undergoing slump, tend to produce topo-
graphic benches, which can be rotated and tilted in the upslope direction like
those in Figure 9.4b. Slumps are most common on soil slopes, but they also occur
on some rock slopes, most often in weak rock such as shale. Translational slides
are planar; that is, they occur along inclined slip planes within a slope (Figure 9.4c,
d) (see A Closer Look: Translation Slides Along Bedding Planes). Common trans-
lation slip planes in rock slopes include fractures in all rock types, bedding planes,
weak clay layers, and foliation planes in metamorphic rocks. Soil slips, another
type of translational slide, can also occur in some areas. Soil slips are very shallow
slides in soil over rock that occur parallel to the slope (Figure 9.7). For soil slips,
A CLOSER LOOK Translation Slides Along Bedding Planes

Bedding planes are potential slip planes for landslides when perhaps as a result of water added to the top of the slope
they are inclined downslope and daylightthat is, are where grass was planted and watered. The landslide deposits
exposed on the surface of a slope. A slope of a seacliff with cover part of the sandy beach (Figure 9.B) and a catastrophe
daylighting bedding planes in shale is diagramatically shown was narrowly avoided as a beach party was happening a
on Figure 9.A. Several months later in 2003 the slope failed, short distance away.
of
p liff
Sl
To a c
ip
Daylighting beds (potential slip planes)

se
pl
an

ds ing
e
Sea cliff
(b
be ight
ed
l
di
ay
n
D
g
pl
an
e)
pl ial
es
p nt
Sh
an
sli ote
al
e
P
be
be ndy
dd
h
ac
in
Sa
g
pl
ane
s
Slide deposit People
Figure 9.A Daylighting beds Bedding planes Figure 9.B Translation slide This slide occurred in late 2003. Failure was
that intersect the surface of the land on a slope are along a daylightbedding plane. Slide deposits cover part of the beach.
said to daylight.Such beds are potential slip planes. (Edward A. Keller)
PRELIMINARY PROOFS
Vegetation removed by slide
Retaining wallto keep landslide

deposits off the road
(a)
Head of flow
Track of flow
Flow deposits
(b)
Figure 9.8 Shallow slides (a) Shallow soil slip, North Carolina. (b) Shallow debris flow, Klamath
River, California. Note the long narrow track and debris on the bank of the river. The logging road near
the bend of the failure may have helped destabilize the slope. (Edward A. Keller)
the slip plane is usually above the bedrock but below the soil within a slope material
known as colluvium, a mixture of weathered rock and other material (Figure 9.8).
Material type is a factor in falls as well as slides. If a resistant rock forms a very
steep slope, weathering or erosion along fractures may cause a rockfall. Such fail-
ures on nearly vertical high slopes in hard granite present a continuous, chronic
hazard in Yosemite National Park (Figure 9.9).
The type of materials composing a slope may greatly influence the type of
slope failure that occurs. For example, on shale slopes or slopes on weak volcanic
pyroclastic materials, failure commonly occurs as creep, the very slow downslope
PRELIMINARY PROOFS
Slope Stability 297
Figure 9.9 Rockfall, Yosemite

National Park, California This
rockfall occurred at 6:52 pm, on
July 10, 1996 at Happy Isles along the
Merced River. The rockfall fell from
near Glacer Point 665 m (2,180 ft) to
the valley floor, reaching a speed or
110 m/s (250 mph). One person was
killed and over 1,000 trees were blown
down by the blast of air. The volume of
rock was about 30,000 m3. If the fall
had occurred earlier when numerous
people were at the Happy Isles Visitors
Center, many deaths could have
resulted. (Edwin L. Harp/U.S. Geological
Survey/U.S. Department of the Interior)
movement of soil or rock; earthflows, or mudflows, the downslope flow of saturated

Earth materials; slumps; or soil slips. Slopes formed in resistant rock such as well-
cemented sandstone, limestone, or granite do not experience the same problems.
Therefore, before developing on shale or other weak rock slopes, people must give
careful consideration to the potential landslide hazard.
The Role of Slope and Topography

The hillslope angle, which is a measure of how steep a hillslope is, is usually
called the slope. Slope greatly affects the relative magnitude of driving forces on
slopes. As the slope of a hillside or potential slip plane within a slope increases,
say from 15 degrees to 45 degrees or steeper, the driving force also increases;
therefore, landslides are more frequent on steep slopes. A study of landslides that
occurred during two rainy seasons in Californias San Francisco Bay area estab-
lished that 75 percent to 85 percent of landslide activity is closely associated with
urban areas on steep slopes.5 Within the United States, the coastal mountains of
California and Oregon, the Rocky Mountains, and the Appalachian Mountains
have the greatest frequency of landslides. All of the types of downslope move-
ment shown on Figure 9.4 occur on steep slopes in those locations.
PRELIMINARY PROOFS
(a)
Figure 9.10 Shallow soil slips can kill (a) Shallow soil slips
on steep southern California, vegetated slopes. (Edward A. Keller)
(b) A home in southern California destroyed by a shallow soil slip,
debris flow that originated as a soil slip. This 1969 event claimed (b)
two lives. (Courtesy of John Shadle, Los Angeles Department of Building
and Safety) House destroyed
Steep slopes are often associated with rockfalls and debris avalanches, which are
the very rapid downslope movement of soil, rock, and organic debris. In southern
California, shallow soil slips are common on steep saturated slopes. Once they
move downslope, these soil slips are often transformed into earthflows or debris
flows, which can be extremely hazardous (Figure 9.10). Earthflows can occur on
moderate slopes, and creep can be observed on very gentle slopes.
Debris flows are the downslope flow of relatively coarse material; more than
50 percent of particles in a debris flow are coarser than sand. Debris flows can
move very slowly or rapidly, depending on conditions. Debris flows, debris
avalanches, and mudflows vary in size: they can be relatively small to moderate
events, confined to a single valley of slope with a few hundred to hundreds of
thousands of cubic meters of debris. However, they can also be huge events
involving an entire flank of a mountain, measured in cubic kilometers of material
(see volcanic mudflows and debris flows, discussed in Chapter 7).
The Role of Climate

Climate can be defined as characteristic weather at a particular place or region
over seasons, years, or decades. Climate is more than the average air temperature
and amount of precipitation. Climate includes seasonal patterns of weather such
as winter rains along the West Coast of the United States, summer thunderstorm
activity in the southwestern United States, and hurricane activity of the southeast-
ern United States. The subject of climate and how it changes is discussed in detail
in Chapter 19.
The role of climate is important in our discussion of landslides because climate
influences the amount and timing of water, in the form or rain and snow, that may
infiltrate or erode a hillslope as well as the type and abundance of vegetation that
grows on a hillslope. Hillslopes in arid and semiarid climates tend to have sparse
vegetation and soils with a lot of bare rock exposed. Slope elements such as the free-
face and talus slopes tend to be more common because small differences in resistance
of rock to weathering and erosion are emphasized. Common landslide activity in
arid and semiarid regions includes rockfall, debris flows, and shallow soil slips.
PRELIMINARY PROOFS
Slope Stability 299
The Role of Vegetation

In the more subhumid to humid regions of the world, vegetation is abundant,
thick soil cover develops, and the slopes have many more convex and concave
slope segments. Landslide activity includes deep complex landslides, earthflows,
and soil creep. The role of vegetation in landslides and related phenomena is
complex. Vegetation in an area is a function of several factors, including climate,
soil type, topography, and fire history, each of which also influences what happens
on slopes. Vegetation is a significant factor in slope stability for three reasons:
Vegetation provides a cover that cushions the impact of rain falling on slopes,
facilitating infiltration of water into the slope while retarding grain-by-grain
erosion on the surface.
Vegetation has root systems that tend to provide an apparent cohesion (like
iron bars in concrete) to the slope materials, which increases resistance to
landsliding.
Vegetation adds weight to the slope.
In some cases, the presence of vegetation increases the probability of a land-

slide, especially for shallow soil slips on steep slopes. In southern California
coastal areas, one type of soil slip occurs on steep-cut slopes covered with low
vegetation called ice plant (Figure 9.11). During especially wet winter months, the
shallow-rooted ice plants take up water, adding considerable weight to steep
slopeseach leaf stores water and looks like a small canteenthereby increasing
the driving forces. The plants also cause an increase in the infiltration of water into
the slope, which decreases the resisting forces. When failure occurs, the plants and
several centimeters of roots and soil slide to the base of the slope.
Soil slips on natural steep slopes are a serious problem in southern California.
Chaparral, the dense shrubs or brush shown in Figure 9.7, facilitates an increase in
water infiltrating into the slope, lowering the safety factor.6
The Role of Water

Water is almost always directly or indirectly involved with landslides, so its role is
particularly important.7 When studying a landslide, we look first to examine what
the water on or in the slope is doing. There are three basic ways in which water
(a) (b)
Ice plants
slipped down slope
Figure 9.11 Ice plants on slopes are often unstable Shallow soil slips on steep slopes covered
with shallow-rooted ice plants near Santa Barbara, California: (a) an embankment on a road; (b) a home
site. The plastic sheet is an attempt to reduce infiltration of rain water. (Edward A. Keller)
PRELIMINARY PROOFS
(b)
Figure 9.12 Water eroding the toe of a slope causes instability

(a) Stream-bank erosion caused this failure, which damaged a road,
San Gabriel Mountains, California. (Edward A. Keller) (b) Beachfront home
being threatened by a landslide, Cove Beach, Oregon. (Gary Braasch/Getty
(a) Images Inc.)
on or in the slope can affect stability: (1) landslides such as shallow soil slips can
develop during rainstorms when slopes become saturated; (2) landslides such as
slumps or translational slides can develop months or even years after infiltration
of water deep into the slope; and (3) water can erode the base or toe of a slope,
thereby decreasing slope stability.
Waters ability to erode affects the stability of slopes. Stream or wave erosion on
a slope may remove material and create a steeper slope, thus reducing the safety
factor (Figure 9.12). This problem is particularly critical if the base of the slope
is an old, inactive landslide that is likely to move again if stability is reduced
(Figure 9.13). Therefore, it is important to recognize old landslides along potential
Curve in coastline identifies slide Head of slide House destroyed
(a) (b)
Figure 9.13 Reactivation of a slide (a) Aerial view of a landslide along the Santa Barbara coastal
area. The arrow points to the location of the slide. (b) Closeup of the slide, which destroyed two homes.
The slide is a reactivation of an older failure. (Courtesy of Don Weaver)
PRELIMINARY PROOFS
Slope Stability 301
road cuts and other excavations before construction in order to isolate and correct
potential problems.
Another way that water can cause landslides is by contributing to spontaneous
liquefaction of clay-rich sediment, or quick clay. When disturbed, some clays lose
their shear strength, behave as a liquid, and flow. The shaking of clay below
Anchorage, Alaska, during the 1964 earthquake produced this effect and was
extremely destructive. In Quebec, Canada, several large slides associated with
quick clays have destroyed numerous homes and killed about 70 people. The
slides occurred on river valley slopes when initially solid material was converted
into a liquid mud as the sliding movement began.8 These slides are especially
interesting because the liquefaction of clays occurs without earthquake shaking.
The slides are often initiated by river erosion at the toe of the slope and, although
they start in a small area, may develop into large events. Since they often involve
the reactivation of an older slide, future problems may be avoided by restricting
development in these areas.
The Role of Time

The forces on slopes often change with time. For example, both driving and resist-
ing forces may change seasonally as the moisture content or water table position
alters. Much of the chemical weathering of rocks, which slowly reduces their
strength, is caused by the chemical action of water in contact with soil and rock near
Earths surface. Water (H2O) is often acidic because it reacts with carbon dioxide
(CO2) in the atmosphere and soil to produce weak carbonic acid (H2CO3) This
chemical weathering is especially significant in areas with limestone, which is
susceptible to weathering and decomposition by carbonic acid. Changes due to
weathering are greater in especially wet years, as reflected by the increased frequen-
cy of landslides during or after wet years. In other slopes, there may be a continuous
reduction in resisting forces over time, perhaps due either to weathering, which
reduces the cohesion in slope materials, or to a regular increase in pore water pres-
sure in the slope from natural or artificial conditions. A slope that is becoming less
stable with time may have an increasing rate of creep until failure occurs. The case
history of the Vaiont Dam illustrates this concept (see Case History: Vaiont Dam).
CASE HISTORY Vaiont Dam

The worlds worst dam disaster occurred on October 9, 1963, The waves were still more than 70 m (230 ft) high more than
when approximately 2,600 lives were lost at the Vaiont Dam in 1.5 km (0.9 mi) downstream; in fact, everything for many kilo-
Italy (Figure 9.C). The disaster involved the worlds highest meters downstream was completely destroyed. The entire
thin-arch dam, yet, strangely, no damage was sustained by the eventslide and floodwas over in less than 7 minutes.
main shell of the dam or the abutments.9 The tragedy was The landslide followed a 3 year period of monitoring the
caused by a huge landslide in which more than 238 million rate of creep on the slope, which varied from less than 1 to as
cubic meters (0.06 mi3) of rock and other debris moved at many as 30 cm (12 in.) per week, until September 1963, when
speeds of about 95 km per hour (59 mi per hour) down the it increased to 25 cm (10 in.) per day. Finally, on the day before
north face of the mountain above the reservoir. Slide material the slide, it was about 100 cm (39 in.) per day. Although engi-
completely filled the reservoir for 1.8 km (1.1 mi.) along the neers expected a landslide, they did not realize until the day
axis of the valley to heights of nearly 152 m (500 ft) above the before the slide that a large area was moving as a uniform,
reservoir level. The rapid movement created a tremendous up- unstable mass. Interestingly, animals grazing on the slope had
draft of air and propelled rocks and water up the north side of sensed danger and moved away on October 1, over a week
the valley, higher than 250 m (820 ft) above the reservoir level. before the landslide.
The slide and its accompanying blasts of air, water, and rock The slide was caused by a combination of factors. First,
produced strong earthquakes recorded many kilometers away. adverse geologic conditionsincluding weak rocks and lime-
It blew the roof off one mans house well over 250 m (820 ft) stone with open fractures, sinkholes, and weak clay layers
above the reservoir and pelted the man with rocks and debris. that were inclined toward the reservoirproduced unstable
The filling of the reservoir produced waves of water more than blocks (Figure 9.D). Second, very steep topography created a
90 m (295 ft) high that swept over the abutments of the dam. strong driving force. Third, water pressure was increased in
PRELIMINARY PROOFS
0 0.5 1 Miles
0 0.5 1 Kilometers
Mount Borga
Elev. 2035 m
ara
d i Tu
B Val
A
Piave R.
Lake Vaio
nt
El. 680 m
Mt. Borga AUSTRIA
SLOVENIA
Vaiont Dam Massalezza R.
El. Belluno
Pia v
1400 m e
R.
ITALY
zo R.
A' B' Venice
Mesaz
Adriatic
Sea
Limit of flood Bypass tunnel Sinkhole
Area filled by slide, Limit of landslide, 1960

Cities and towns
1963
Aqueduct
Limit of landslide,
Path of wave Ancient slide
Oct. 9, 1963
caused by slide
(a)
Landslide deposits
Dam
(b)
Figure 9.C Sketch map of the Vaiont Reservoir (a) showing the 1963 landslide that displaced
water that overtopped the dam and caused severe flooding and destruction over large areas downstream.
A-Aand B-Bare the cross sections shown in Figure 8.D. (After Kiersch, G. A. Civil Engineering 34:3239)
(b) Photograph of the Vaoint Dam after the landslide. Notice that the concrete dam is still intact but the
reservoir above the dam is completely filled (or nearly so) with landslide deposits. (ANSA)
PRELIMINARY PROOFS
Human Use and Landslides 303
Geologic cross section A A'

Elev. (m)
1500
1300 Head of slide

Top of slide
1100
Floor glacial valley
900
700
Principal
0 100 300 500 m slide plane
500
Dogger formation: 300

Limestone, dense, A A'
medium to thick-bedded
Geologic cross section B B'

Elev. (m)
Malm formation:
1600
Limestone, platy to
thin-bedded, clay interbeds
1400 Head of slide
1200 Top of slide

Cretaceous Floor glacial valley
limestone: 1000
Dashed where
marl is present 800
600 Principal
slide plane
0 100 300 500 m
Lias formation: 400
Limestone, thin-bedded
with sandy marl interbeds 200
B B'
Figure 9.D Generalized geologic cross sections through the slide area of the Vaiont River Valley.
The locations of the sections are shown in Figure 8.C. (After Kiersch, G. A. Civil Engineering 34:3239)
the valley rocks because of the water in the reservoir. The rate fill the reservoir even after engineers tried to lower the reser-
of creep before the slide increased as the groundwater level voir level.
rose in response to higher reservoir levels. Fourth, heavy Officials concluded that the disaster was caused by an in-
rains from late September until the day of the disaster further crease in the driving forces accompanied by a great decrease
increased the weight of the slope materials, raised the water in the resisting forces, as rising groundwater in the slope
pressure in the rocks, and produced runoff that continued to increased along zones of weakness in the rock.9
9.4 Human Use and Landslides

The effect of human use on the magnitude and frequency of landslides varies from
nearly insignificant to very significant. In cases in which our activities have little
to do with the magnitude and frequency of landslides, we need to learn all we can
about where, when, and why they occur to avoid developing in hazardous areas
and to minimize damage. In cases in which human use has increased the number
and severity of landslides, we need to learn how to recognize, control, and mini-
mize their occurrence wherever possible.
Many landslides have been caused by interactions of adverse geologic condi-
tions, excess moisture, and artificial changes in the landscape and slope material.
The Vaiont Dam and Reservoir slide of 1963 in Italy is a classic example (see Case
History: Vaiont Dam). Other examples include landslides associated with timber
harvesting as well as numerous slides in urban areas.
PRELIMINARY PROOFS
Timber Harvesting
The possible cause-and-effect relationship between timber harvesting and erosion
in northern California, Oregon, and Washington is a controversial topic. There
is evidence to support the hypothesis that landslides, especially shallow soil slips,
debris avalanches, and more deeply seated earthflows, are responsible for much
of the erosion in these areas. In fact, one study in the western Cascade Range of
Oregon concluded that shallow slides are the dominant erosion process in the
area. Timber-harvesting activities, such as clear-cutting and road building over
approximately a 20 year observation period on geologically stable land did not
greatly increase landslide-related erosion. During that same time period, however,
logging on weak, unstable slopes did increase landslide erosion by several times
compared with landslide erosion on forested land.10
The construction of roads in areas to be logged is an especially serious problem
because roads may interrupt surface drainage, alter subsurface movement of
water, and adversely change the distribution of mass on a slope by cut-and-fill,
or grading, operations.10 As we learn more about erosional processes in forested
areas, we are developing improved management procedures to minimize the
adverse effects of timber harvesting. Nevertheless, we are not yet out of the woods
with respect to landslide erosion problems associated with timber harvesting.
Urbanization
Human activities are most likely to cause landslides in urban areas where there
are high densities of people and supporting structures such as roads, homes, and
industries. Examples from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and Los Angeles, California,
illustrate the situation.
Rio de Janeiro, with a population of more than 6 million people, may have more
slope-stability problems than any other city its size.11 The city is noted for the
beautiful granite peaks that spectacularly frame the urban area (Figure 9.14).
Combinations of steep slopes and fractured rock covered with thin soil contribute
to the problem. In the past, many such slopes were logged for lumber and fuel
and to clear space for agriculture. Landslides associated with heavy rainfall fol-
lowed the logging activity. More recently, lack of room on flat ground has led to
increased urban development on slopes. Vegetation cover has been removed, and
roads leading to development sites at progressively higher areas are being built.
Slide areas
Figure 9.14 Landslides are

common in the Rio de Janeiro area
Panoramic view of Rio de Janeiro,
Brazil, showing the steep (sugarloaf)
hills. The combination of steep slopes,
fractured rock, shallow soils, and
intense precipitation contributes to
the landslide problem, as do human
activities such as urbanization, log-
ging, and agriculture.Virtually all
of the bare rock slopes were at one
time vegetated, and that vegetation
has been removed by landsliding
and other erosional processes.
(Getty Images Inc.)
PRELIMINARY PROOFS
Human Use and Landslides 305
Excavations have cut the base of many slopes and severed the soil mantle at
critical points. In addition, placing slope fill material below excavation areas has
increased the load on slopes already unstable before the fill. Because this area
periodically experiences tremendous rainstorms, it is apparent that Rio de Janeiro
has a serious problem.
In February 1988, an intense rainstorm dumped more than 12 cm (4.7 in.) of
rain on Rio de Janeiro in 4 hours. The storm caused flooding and mudslides that
killed about 90 people, leaving about 3,000 people homeless. Restoration costs
exceeded $100 million. Many of the landslides were initiated on steep slopes
where housing was precarious and control of stormwater runoff nonexistent. It
was in these hill-hugging shantytown areas that most of the deaths from mud-
slides occurred. In addition, 25 patients and staff of a nursing home located in a
more affluent mountainside area were killed when the home was knocked down
by the landslide. If future disasters are to be avoided, Rio de Janeiro is in dire need
of measures to control storm runoff and increase slope stability.
Los Angeles in particular and southern California in general have experienced
a remarkable frequency of landslides associated with hillside development.
Landslides in southern California result from complex physical conditions, in part
because of the great local variation in topography, rock and soil types, climate, and
vegetation. Interactions between the natural environment and human activity are
complex and notoriously unpredictable. For this reason, the area has the some-
times dubious honor of showing the ever-increasing value of the study of urban
geology.12 Los Angeles has led the nation in developing building codes concern-
ing grading for development.
In southern California, the grading process, in which benches, referred to as
pads, are cut into slopes for home sites, has been responsible for many landslides. It
took natural processes many thousands, if not millions, of years to produce valleys,
ridges, and hills. In this century, we have developed the machines to grade them.
F. B. Leighton writes: With modern engineering and grading practices and appro-
priate financial incentive, no hillside appears too rugged for future development.12
No Earth material can withstand the serious assault of modern technology. Thus,
human activity is a geological agent capable of carving the landscape as do glaciers
and rivers, but at a tremendously faster pace. Almost overnight, we can convert
steep hills into a series of flat lots and roads, and such conversions have led to
numerous artificially induced landslides. As shown in Figure 9.15, oversteepened
slopes in conjunction with increased water from sprinkled lawns or septic systems,
as well as the additional weight of fill material and a house, make formerly stable
slopes unstable. As a rule, any project that steepens or saturates a slope, increases
its height, or places an extra load on it may cause a landslide.12
Bedding planes
Cracks developing exposed on slope
daylight Figure 9.15 Urbanization and
landslide potential Development of
artificial translational landslides.
Stable slopes may be made unstable
Cut
fill by a variety of alterations including
Cesspool removing support from the bedding
plane surfaces, adding water to the
Cut surface slope, steepening the slope, and
on bedrock adding fill on the slope. The cracks
shown in the upper part of the
diagram are an early sign that a land-
slide is likely to occur soon. (Reprinted,
with permission, from Leighton F. B. 1966.
Landslides and urban development. In
Engineering geology in southern California.
Bedding planes Los Angeles: Los Angeles Section of the
Association of Engineering Geology)
PRELIMINARY PROOFS
Landslides on both private and public land in Hamilton County, Ohio, have
been a serious problem. The slides occur in glacial deposits, composed mostly of
clay, lakebed sediments, and unstratified material called till as well as colluvium
and soil formed on shale. The average cost of damage exceeds $5 million per year.
Major landslides in Cincinnati, Ohio, have damaged highways and several private
structures.2
Modification of sensitive slopes associated with urbanization in Allegheny
County, Pennsylvania, is estimated to be responsible for 90 percent of the land-
slides in the area. An average of $2 million in damages results each year from
these landslides. Most of the landslides are slow moving, but one rockfall in an
adjacent county crushed a bus and killed 22 passengers. Most of the landslides in
Allegheny County are caused by construction activity that loads the top of a slope,
cuts into a sensitive location such as the toe of a slope, or alters water conditions
on or beneath the surface of a slope.13
9.5 Minimizing the Landslide Hazard

Minimizing the landslide hazard requires identifying areas in which landslides
are likely to occur, designing slopes or engineering structures to prevent land-
slides, warning people in danger areas of impending slides, and controlling slides
after they have started moving. The most preferable and least expensive option
to minimize the landslide hazard is to avoid development on sites where land-
slides are occurring or are likely to occur.
Identifying Potential Landslides

Identifying areas with a high potential for landslides is the first step in developing
a plan to avoid landslide hazards. Slide tendency can be recognized by examining
both geologic conditions in the field and aerial photographs to identify previous
slides. This information can then be used to evaluate the risk and produce slope
stability maps.
Once a landslide hazard is identified, it must be evaluated. A landslide inven-
tory, which may be a reconnaissance map showing areas that have apparently
experienced slope failure, is prepared. This inventory may be done by aerial pho-
tographic interpretation followed by an on-site check. At a more detailed level the
landslide inventory may be a map that shows definite landslide deposits in terms
of their relative activity. Figure 9.16a shows an example of such a map for part of
Santa Clara County, California. Information concerning past landslide activity
may then be combined with land-use considerations to develop a slope stability or
landslide hazard map with recommended land uses, as shown in Figure 16b. The
latter map is of most use to planners, whereas the former supplies useful informa-
tion for the engineering geologist. These maps do not take the place of detailed
fieldwork to evaluate a specific site but serve only as a general guideline for land-
use planning and more detailed geologic evaluation. Determining the landslide
risk and making landslide risk maps is more complicated, since it involves the
probability of occurrence and assessment of potential losses.14
Grading codes to minimize the landslide hazard have been in effect in the
Los Angeles area since 1963. These codes were instituted in the aftermath of
the landsliding in the 1950s and 1960s that resulted in great losses of life and prop-
erty. Since the grading codes have been in effect and detailed engineering geology
studies have been required, the percentage of hillside homes damaged by land-
slides and floods has been greatly reduced. Although initial building costs are
greater because of the strict codes, they are more than balanced by the reduction
of losses in subsequent wet years. Landslide disasters during extremely wet years
will continue to plague us; however, the application of geologic and engineering
information before hillside development can help minimize the hazard.
PRELIMINARY PROOFS
Minimizing the Landslide Hazard 307
0 0.5 km
Explanation Relative Map Geologic conditions Recommended land use

stability area Houses Roads
Active landslide
Public Private
Inactive landslide,
geologically young Most Flat or gentle slopes; subject
stable to local shallow sliding, soil Yes Yes Yes
Inactive landslide,
creep, and settlement
geologically old
Gentle to moderately steep slopes
in older stabilized landslide debris;
(a) Yes* Yes* Yes*
subject to settlement, soil creep, and
shallow and deep landsliding
Yes*
The land use would normally be expected Steep to very steep slopes; subject to
to be permitted, provided the geologic mass-wasting by soil creep, slumping, Yes* Yes* Yes*
data and (or) engineering solutions are and rock fall
favorable. However, there will be instances Gentle to very steep slopes in unstable
where the use will not be appropriate. material subject to sliding, slumping, No* No* No*
No* and soil creep
The land use would normally be expected to
Moving, shallow (<3m) landslide No* No* No*
not be permitted. However, there will
be circumstances where geologic data Least Moving, deep landslide, subject to
No No No
and (or) engineering solutions will permit stable rapid failure
the use. (b)
Figure 9.16 Landslide hazard map (a) Landslide inventory map and (b) landslide risk and land-
use map for part of Santa Clara County, California. (After U.S. Geological Survey. 1982. Goals and tasks of the
landslide part of a ground-failure hazards reduction program. U.S. Geological Survey Circular 880)
Preventing Landslides
Preventing large, natural landslides is difficult, but common sense and good
engineering practices can help to minimize the hazard. For example, loading the
top of slopes, cutting into sensitive slopes, placing fills on slopes, or changing
water conditions on slopes should be avoided or done with caution.13 Common
engineering techniques for landslide prevention include provisions for surface
and subsurface drainage, removal of unstable slope materials, construction of
retaining walls or other supporting structures, or some combination of these.4
Drainage Control. Surface and subsurface drainage control are usually effective
in stabilizing a slope. The objective is to divert water to keep it from running
across or infiltrating into the slope. Surface water may be diverted around the
slope by a series of surface drains. This practice is common for roadcuts (Fig-
ure 9.17a). The amount of water infiltrating a slope may also be controlled by
covering the slope with an impermeable layer such as soil-cement, asphalt, or
even plastic (Figure 9.17b). Groundwater may be inhibited from entering a slope
by constructing subsurface drains. A drainpipe with holes along its length is
PRELIMINARY PROOFS
Surface drain Soil cement being applied
(a) (b)
Figure 9.17 Two ways to increase slope stability (a) Drains on a roadcut to remove surface water
from the cut before it infiltrates the slope. (b) Covering a slope with a soil-cement in Greece to reduce
infiltration of water and provide strength. (Edward A. Keller)
surrounded with permeable gravel or crushed rock and is positioned under-

ground so as to intercept and divert groundwater away from a potentially
unstable slope.4
Grading. Although grading of slopes for development has increased the landslide
hazard in many areas, carefully planned grading can be used to increase slope
stability. In a single cut-and-fill operation, material from the upper part of a slope is
removed and placed near the base. The overall gradient is thus reduced, and mate-
rial is removed from an area where it contributes to the driving forces and placed
at the toe of the slope, where it increases the resisting forces. However, this
method is not practical on very steep, high slopes. As an alternative, the slope may
be cut into a series of benches or steps. The benches are designed with surface
drains to divert runoff. The benches reduce the overall slope of the land and are
good collection sites for falling rock and small slides (Figure 9.18).4
Slope Supports. Retaining walls constructed from concrete, stone-filled wire

baskets, or piles (long concrete, steel, or wooden beams driven into the ground)
Benches
Figure 9.18 Benching (upper

right quadrant) a slope along the
Pacific Ocean to reduce the overall
steepness of the slope and provide for
better drainage. (Edward A. Keller)
PRELIMINARY PROOFS
Minimizing the Landslide Hazard 309
Figure 9.19 How to support

a slope Some types of slope support:
retaining wall, piles, and drains.
Drain to let water

from slope out
Potential
slip plane
of landslide
Piles into
stable rock Fill for
house pad
Concrete
retaining wall
are designed to provide support at the base of a slope (Figure 9.19). They should
be anchored well below the base of the slope, backfilled with permeable gravel or
crushed rock (Figure 9.20), and provided with drain holes to reduce the chances of
water pressure building up in the slope (Figure 9.20). The evolution of a retaining
wall is shown on Figure 9.21. A shallow landslide along a road causes a problem
(Figure 9.21a). The wall is shown during construction in 1999 in Figure 9.21b. The
finished wall in 2001 now stabilizes the slope (Figure 9.21c).
Preventing landslides can be expensive, but the rewards can be well worth the
effort. It has been estimated that the benefit-to-cost ratio for landslide prevention
ranges from approximately 10 to 2,000. That is, for every dollar spent on landslide
prevention, the savings will vary from $10 to $2,000.15 The cost of not preventing
a slide is illustrated by the massive landslide in Utah known as the Thistle slide.
In April 1983, this slide moved across a canyon, creating a natural dam about
60 m (197 ft) high and flooding the community of Thistle, the DenverRio Grande
Railroad and its switchyard, and a major U.S. highway (Figure 9.22).15 The land-
slide and resultant flooding caused approximately $200 million in damages.
Figure 9.20 Retaining wall

(concrete cribbing) with backfill
used to help stabilize a roadcut.
(Edward A. Keller)
PRELIMINARY PROOFS
(a) (b)
Figure 9.21 Steps in making a retaining wall (a) Shallow

slide in the early 1990s. (b) Retaining wall being constructed in 1999
to correct the problem. (c) Finished wall in 2001. (Edward A. Keller) (c)
The Thistle slide involved a reactivation of an older slide, which had been known
for many years to be occasionally active in response to high precipitation. There-
fore, it could have been recognized that the extremely high amounts of precipitation
in 1983 would cause a problem. In fact, a review of the landslide history suggests
that the Thistle landslide was recognizable, predictable, and preventable! Analysis
of the pertinent data suggests that emplacement of subsurface drains and control of
surface runoff would have lowered the water table in the slide mass enough to have
prevented failure. The cost of preventing the landslide was estimated to be between
$300,000 and $500,000, a small amount compared with the damages caused by the
slide.15 Because the benefit-to-cost ratio in landslide prevention is so favorable, it
seems prudent to evaluate active and potentially active landslides in areas where
considerable damage may be expected and possibly prevented.
Warning of Impending Landslides

Landslide warning systems do not prevent landslides, but they can provide time
to evacuate people and their possessions and to stop trains or reroute traffic.
Surveillance provides the simplest type of warning. Hazardous areas can be visual-
ly inspected for apparent changes, and small rockfalls on roads and other areas can
be noted for quick removal. Human monitoring of the hazard has the advantages
of reliability and flexibility but becomes disadvantageous during adverse weather
and in hazardous locations.16 Other warning methods include electrical systems,
tilt meters, and geophones
P R E L I M I N that
A R Y P pick
R O O F Sup vibrations from moving rocks. Shallow
Snow Avalanches 311
Figure 9.22 Landslide blocks

a canyon Thistle landslide, Utah.
This landslide, which occurred in 1983,
involved the reactivation of an older
slide. The landslide blocked the
canyon, creating a natural dam, flood-
ing the community of Thistle, the
DenverRio Grande Railroad, and a
major U.S. highway. (Michael Collier)
Slide
blocks
canyon
wells can be monitored to signal when slopes contain a dangerous amount of

water. In some regions, monitoring rainfall is useful for detecting when a threshold
precipitation has been exceeded and shallow soil slips become more probable.
Correcting Landslides
After a slide has begun, the best way to stop it is to attack the process that started
the slide. In most cases, the cause of the slide is an increase in water pressure, and
in such cases an effective drainage program must be initiated. This may include
surface drains at the head of the slide to keep additional surface water from
infiltrating and subsurface drainpipes or wells to remove water and lower the
water pressure. Draining tends to increase the resisting force of the slope material,
thereby stabilizing the slope.7
9.6 Snow Avalanches

A snow avalanche is the rapid downslope movement of snow and ice, sometimes
with the addition of rock, soil, and trees. Thousands of avalanches occur every
year in the western United States. As more people venture into avalanche-prone
areas and more development occurs in these areas, the loss of life and property
due to avalanches increases. The most damagingP Ravalanches
E L I M I N A R Y P Roccur
O O F S when a large
Gold
Creek
High avalanche
hazard
limit Behrends
Avenue
Potential avalanche
hazard
limit
No hazard
0 0.5 km
approx. scale
(b)
Figure 9.23 Avalanche hazard (a) Avalanche chute or track in

the Swiss Alps. (Edward A. Keller) (b) Map of part of Juneau, Alaska,
showing the avalanche hazard. (After Cupp, D. 1982. National Geographic
(a) 162:290305)
slab of snow and ice, weighing millions of tons, fails owing to the overloading of a
slope with fresh snow or to development of zones of weakness within the snow-
pack. These slabs move rapidly downslope at velocities of up to 100 km per hour
(62 mi per hour). Avalanches tend to move down tracks, called chutes, that have
previously produced avalanches (Figure 9.23). As a result, maps delineating the
hazard may be developed. Avoiding hazardous areas is obviously the preferred
and least expensive adjustment to avalanches. Other adjustments include clearing
excess snow with carefully placed explosives, constructing buildings and struc-
tures to divert or retard avalanches, or planting trees in avalanche-prone areas to
better anchor the snow on slopes.
9.7 Subsidence
Interactions between geologic conditions and human activity have been factors in
numerous incidents of subsidence, the very slow to rapid sinking or settling of
Earth materials (Figure 9.4e). Most subsidence is caused either by the withdrawal
of fluids from subsurface reservoirs or by the collapse of surface and near-surface
soil and rocks over subterranean voids.
Withdrawal of Fluids
The withdrawal of fluidssuch as oil with associated gas and water, ground-
water, and mixtures of steam and water for geothermal powerhave all caused
PRELIMINARY PROOFS
Subsidence 313
Land level 1925

Areas of major subsidence
Areas of lesser subsidence

CA
LIF
SAN
O
Central Valley
RN
FRANCISCO
IA
0 100 200
km
FRESNO
Amount of subsidence
Santa Clara N Land level 1955
Valley area Tulare-Wasco
(19251975)
area
Los Banos Arvin-Maricopa
Kettleman area
City area LOS ANGELES
PACIFIC OCEAN Land level 1963
(a) Land level 1975
Figure 9.24 Land subsidence from groundwater extraction

(a) Principal areas of land subsidence in California resulting from
groundwater withdrawal. (After Bull, W. B. 1973. Geological Society of
America Bulletin 84. Reprinted by permission) (b) Photograph illustrating
the amount of subsidence in the San Joaquin Valley, California. The
marks on the telephone pole are the positions of the ground surface
in recent decades. The photo shows nearly 8 m (26 ft) of subsidence.
(Courtesy of Ray Kenny) (b)
subsidence.17 In all cases, the general principles are the same: Fluids in Earth
materials below Earths surface have a high fluid pressure that tends to support
the material above. This is why a large rock at the bottom of a swimming pool
seems lighter: Buoyancy produced by the liquid tends to lift the rock. If support or
buoyancy is removed from Earth materials by pumping out the fluid, the support
is reduced, and surface subsidence may result.
Thousands of square kilometers of the central valley of California have sub-
sided as a result of overpumping groundwater in the area (Figure 9.24a). More
than 5,000 km2 (1,930 mi2) in the Los BanosKettleman City area alone have
subsided more than 0.3 m (1 ft), and within this area, one stretch of valley 113 km
(70 mi) long has subsided an average of more than 3 m (10 ft), with a maximum of
about 9 m (30 ft) (Figure 9.24b). As the water was mined, the pore pressure was
reduced and the grains were compacted;18,19 the effect at the surface was subsi-
dence (Figure 9.25). Similar examples of subsidence caused by overpumping are
documented near Phoenix, Arizona; Las Vegas, Nevada; HoustonGalveston,
Texas; and Mexico City, Mexico. The subsidence can cause extremely long, deep
surface fissures (open cracks) to form in sediments.19
Sinkholes
Subsidence is also caused by removal of subterranean Earth materials by natural
processes. Voids, large open spaces such as caves, often form by chemical weath-
ering within soluble rocks such as limestone and dolomite, and the resulting lack
of support for overlying rock may cause it to collapse. The result is the formation
of a sinkhole, a circular area of subsidence caused by the collapse of a near-
surface subterranean void or room in a cavern.
Sinkholes have caused considerable damage to highways, homes, sewage facil-
ities, and other structures. Natural or artificial fluctuations in the water table are
PRELIMINARY PROOFS
Figure 9.25 Process of subsidence Idealized diagram showing how

Ground surface surface subsidence results from pumping groundwater. The vadose zone is the
unsaturated zone above the water table. The zone of saturation lies beneath
the water table. Pore (empty) spaces between grains collapse after pumping.
(From Kenny, R. 1992. Fissures. Earth 2(3): 3441)
Vadose zone
Water table
Zone of saturation
Bedrock
Ground level drops from subsidence

Ground surface
Earth fissure
Water-saturated Vadose zone

sediment
Water table
Zone of saturation
Bedrock
Compacted sediment
probably the trigger mechanism. High water table conditions enlarge the cavern
closer to the surface of Earth by dissolving material, and the buoyancy of the
water helps support the overburden. Lowering of the water table eliminates some
of the buoyant support and facilitates collapse. On May 8, 1981, this process was
dramatically illustrated in Winter Park, Florida, when a large sinkhole began
developing. The sink grew rapidly for 3 days, swallowing part of a community
swimming pool, parts of two businesses, several automobiles, and a house (Fig-
ure 9.26). Damage caused by the sinkhole exceeded $2 million. Sinkholes form
nearly every year in central Florida when the groundwater level is lowest. The
Winter Park sinkhole formed during a drought, when groundwater levels were
at a record low. Although the exact positions of sinkholes cannot be predicted,
their occurrence is greater during droughts; in fact, several smaller sinkholes
PRELIMINARY PROOFS
Subsidence 315
Figure 9.26 Sinkhole swallows

part of a town The Winter Park,
Florida, sinkhole that grew rapidly
for 3 days, swallowing part of a
community swimming pool as well as
two businesses, a house, and several
automobiles. (Leif Skoogfors/Woodfin
Camp and Associates)
developed at about the same time as the Winter Park event.20 On June 23, 1986, a
large subsidence pit developed at the site of an unrecognized, filled sinkhole in
Lehigh Valley near Allentown, in eastern Pennsylvania. Within a period of only a
few minutes, the collapse left a pit approximately 30 m (100 ft) in diameter and
14 m (46 ft) deep. Fortunately, the damage was confined to a street, parking lots,
sidewalks, sewer lines, water lines, and utilities. Seventeen residences adjacent
to the sinkhole narrowly escaped damage or loss; subsequent stabilization and
repair costs were nearly half a million dollars. Figure 9.27 shows the generalized
geology of Lehigh Valley. The northern part of the valley is underlain by shale,
whereas the southern portion is underlain by limestone. The valley is bounded by
resistant sandstone rocks to the north and resistant Precambrian igneous rocks to
the south (Figure 9.27).21
Photographs from the 1940s to 1969 provide evidence of the sinkholes history.
In the 1940s, the sinkhole was delineated by a pond approximately 65 m (213 ft) in
diameter. By 1958 the pond had dried up, the sinkhole was covered by vegetation,
and the surrounding area was planted in crops. Ground photographs in 1960 sug-
gest that people were using the sinkhole as a site to dump tree stumps, blocks of
Lehigh Valley
N
Lehigh R. Delaware R.
Allentown
0 5 10 km
Sandstone Figure 9.27 Geology of a val-

ley with sinkhole hazard Generalized
Shale geologic map of the Lehigh Valley in
PA
eastern Pennsylvania where a large
Limestone collapse sinkhole formed suddenly.
(Modified from Dougherty, P. H., and Perlow,
M., Jr. 1987. Environmental Geology and
Granitic & gneiss
Water Science 12(2):8998)
PRELIMINARY PROOFS
asphalt, and other trash. By 1969 there was no surface expression of the sinkhole;
it was completely filled, and corn was planted over it.
Even though the sinkhole was completely filled with trash and other debris, it
continued to receive runoff water that was later increased in volume by urbaniza-
tion. Sources of water included storm runoff from adjacent apartments and
townhouses, streets, and parking lots. It is also suspected that an old, leaking
water line contributed to runoff into the sinkhole area. In addition, urbanization
placed increased demand on local groundwater resources, resulting in the lower-
ing of the water table. Geologists believe that hydrologic conditions contributed
to the sudden failure. The increased urban runoff facilitated the loosening or
removal of the plugthat is, the soil, clay, and trash that filled the sinkhole
while the lowering of the groundwater reduced the overlying support, as was the
case with the Winter Park sinkhole. Sinkholes are discussed further in Chapter 12
with groundwater processes.
Salt Deposits
Serious subsidence events have been associated with salt mining. Salt is often
mined by solution methods: Water is injected through wells into salt deposits, the
salt dissolves, and water supersaturated with salt is pumped out. Because the
removal of salt leaves a cavity in the rock and weakens support for the overlying
rock, it may lead to large-scale subsidence.
On November 21, 1980, a bizarre example of subsidence associated with a salt
mine occurred in southern Louisiana. Lake Peigneur, a shallow lake with an
average depth of 1 m (3.3 ft), drained after the collapse of the salt mine below it.
The collapse occurred after an oil-drilling operation apparently punched a hole
into an abandoned mine shaft of the Jefferson Island Salt Dome, a still-active
multimillion-dollar salt mine located about 430 m (1,410 ft) below the surface. As
water entering the mine enlarged the hole, pillars of salt were scoured and dis-
solved, causing the roof of the mine to collapse and producing a large subsidence
pit (Figure 9.28).
The lake drained so fast that 10 barges, a tugboat, and an oil-drilling barge
disappeared in a whirlpool of water into the mine. Fortunately, the 50 miners and
7 people on the oil rig escaped. The subsidence also claimed more than 0.25 km2
(0.1 mi2) of Jefferson Island, including historic botanical gardens, greenhouses, and
Drill hole JEFFERSON ISLAND
Lake Peigneur Airshaft Airshaft
Subsidence
pit
Jefferson Island
salt dome
LA
Production shaft
Lake Peigneur
Salt dome
430 m
New Orleans ?
Subsidence pit
(a)
Salt mine
Salt mine
Figure 9.28 A bizarre subsidence event (a) Location of Lake
Peigneur. (b) Idealized diagram showing the Jefferson Island salt dome
collapse that caused a large subsidence pit to form in the bottom of Mine collapse?
Lake Peigneur, Louisiana. (b)
PRELIMINARY PROOFS
Subsidence 317
a $500,000 private home. The remaining gardens were disrupted by large fractures
that dropped the land down to the new edge of the lake. These fractures are formed
as the land sinks and are commonly found on the margins of large subsidence pits.
Lake Peigneur immediately began refilling with water from a canal connecting
it to the Gulf of Mexico, and nine of the barges popped to the surface 2 days later.
There was fear at first that even larger subsidence would take place as pillars of
salt holding up the roof of the salt dome dissolved. However, the hole was appar-
ently sealed by debris in the form of soil and lake sediment that was pulled into
the mine. Approximately 15 million cubic meters (530 million cubic feet) of water
entered the salt dome, and the mine was a total loss. The previously shallow lake
now has a large, deep hole in the bottom, which undoubtedly will change its
aquatic ecology. In a 1983 out-of-court settlement, the salt-mining company was
reportedly compensated $30 million by the oil company involved. The owners of
the botanical garden and private home apparently were compensated $13 million
by the oil company, drilling company, and mining company.
The flooding of the mine raises important questions concerning the structural
integrity of salt mines. The federal Strategic Petroleum Reserve Program is plan-
ning to store 75 million barrels of crude oil in an old salt mine of the Weeks Island
salt dome about 19 km (12 mi) from Jefferson Island. Although the role of the
draining lake in the collapse is very significant, few salt domes have lakes above
them. The Jefferson Island subsidence was thus a rare event.
Coal Mining
Subsurface mining of coal in the western and eastern United States has produced
serious subsidence problems. The subsidence is most common where underground
mining is close to the surface of the land or where the rocks left as pillars after min-
ing are weak or intensely fractured. Usually, only 50 percent of the coal is removed,
leaving the remainder as pillars that support the roof, formed from the rocks over-
lying the mine. Over time, the pillars weather, weaken, and collapse, producing the
surface subsidence.22 In the United States, more than 8,000 km2 (3,090 mi2) of land
has subsided owing to underground coal mining, and subsidence continues today,
long after mining terminated. In 1995, a coal mine that was last operated in the
1930s collapsed beneath a 600 m (1,970 ft) length of Interstate Highway 70 in Ohio;
repairs took 3 months.23 Subsidence most often affects farmland and rangelands
but has also damaged buildings and other structures in towns and cities, including
Scranton, Wilkes-Barre, and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (Figure 9.29).22,23
Figure 9.29 Subsidence over

coal mines An underground fire in an
abandoned coal mine in Pennsylvania
has melted the snow near this vent.
Note the smoke escaping to the
atmosphere. (National Institute for
Occupational Safety & Health)
PRELIMINARY PROOFS
9.8 Perception of the Landslide Hazard

A common reaction of homeowners concerning landslides is, It could happen on
other hillsides, but never this one.12 Just as flood hazard mapping does not pre-
vent development in flood-prone areas, landslide hazard maps will probably not
prevent all people from moving into hazardous areas. Prospective hillside occu-
pants who are initially unaware of the hazards may not all be swayed by technical
information. The infrequency of large slides tends to reduce awareness of the
hazard where evidence of past events is not readily visible. Unfortunately, it often
takes catastrophic events that claim numerous expensive homes to bring the prob-
lem to peoples attention. In the meantime, people in many parts of the Rocky
Mountains, Appalachian Mountains, California, and other areas continue to build
homes in areas subject to future landslides.
What You Can Do to Minimize Your

Landslide Hazard
Consider the following advice if purchasing property on a slope:
Landslides often involve complex geology, and a geologic evaluation by a
professional geologist of any property on a slope is recommended.
Avoid homes at the mouth of a canyon, even a small one, where debris flows
or mudflows may originate from upstream slopes and travel down the
canyon.
Consult local agencies, such as city or county engineering departments, that
may be aware of landslides in your area.
Watch out for little landslides in the corner of the propertythey usually
get larger with time.
If purchasing a home, look for cracks in house walls and for retaining walls
that lean or are cracked. Be wary of doors or windows that stick or floors that
are uneven. Check foundations for cracks or tilting. If cracks in the walls or
the foundation can be followed to the land outside the house, be especially
concerned that a landslide may be present.
Be wary of leaks in a swimming pool, trees tilted downslope, utility wires
that are taut or sagging.
Be wary if small springs are present, as landslides tend to leak water. Look
for especially green areas, where more subsurface water is present.
Walk the property and surrounding property, if possible, looking for linear
or curved cracks (even small ones) that might indicate incipient instability of
the land.
Active landslides often have hummocks or steplike ground features.
Fixing a potential landslide problem is often cost effective, but it can still be
expensive and much of the fix is below ground, where you will never see the
improvement. It is better to not purchase land with a potential landslide
hazard!
The presence of one or more of the above features is not proof of the presence
of a landslide. For example, cracks in walls and foundations can be caused
by soils that shrink and swell. However, further investigation is warranted if
the above features are present.
PRELIMINARY PROOFS
Revisiting Fundamental Concepts 319
SUMMARY
Landslides and related phenomena cause substantial dam- dams and reservoirs have increased migration of ground-
ages and loss of life. Although they are natural events, their water into slopes, resulting in slope failure. Logging operations
occurrence can be increased or decreased by human activity. on weak, unstable slopes have increased landslide erosion.
The most common landforms are slopesdynamic, Grading of slopes for development has created or increased
evolving systems in which surface material is constantly erosion problems in many urbanized areas of the world.
moving downslope, or mass wasting, at rates varying from Minimizing landslide hazards requires identification, pre-
imperceptible creep to thundering avalanches. Slope failure vention, and correction procedures. Monitoring and mapping
may involve flowage, slumping, sliding, or falling of Earth techniques facilitate identification of hazardous sites. Identifi-
materials; landslides are often complex combinations of cation of potential landslides has been used to establish
sliding and flowage. grading codes, and landslide damage in these areas has been
The forces that produce landslides are determined by the decreased. Prevention of large natural slides is very difficult,
interactions of several variables: the type of Earth material on but careful engineering practices can do much to minimize
the slope, topography and slope angle, climate, vegetation, the hazard when it cannot be avoided. Engineering tech-
water, and time. The cause of most landslides can be deter- niques for landslide prevention include drainage control,
mined by examining the relations between forces that tend to proper grading, and construction of supports such as retaining
make Earth materials slide, the driving forces, and forces that walls. Correction of landslides must attack the processes that
tend to oppose movement, the resisting forces. The most started the slide; this usually means initiating a drainage
common driving force is the weight of the slope materials, program that lowers water pressure in the slope.
and the most common resisting force is the strength of the Snow avalanches present a serious hazard on snowcov-
slope materials. The safety factor of a slope is the ratio of re- ered, steep slopes. Loss of human life due to avalanches is
sisting forces to driving forces; a ratio greater than 1 means increasing as more people venture into mountain areas for
that the slope is stable; a ratio less than 1 indicates potential winter recreation.
slope failure. The type of rock or soil on a slope influences Withdrawal of fluids such as oil and water and subsur-
both the type and the frequency of landslides. face mining of salt, coal, and other minerals have caused
Water has an especially significant role in producing land- widespread subsidence. In the case of fluid withdrawal, the
slides. Water in streams, lakes, or oceans erodes the base of cause of subsidence is a reduction of water pressures that
slopes, increasing the driving forces. Excess water increases tend to support overlying Earth materials. In the case of solid-
the weight of the slope materials while raising the water pres- material removal, subsidence may result from loss of support
sure. Increased water pressure, in turn, decreases the resisting for the overlying material. The latter situation may occur
forces in the slope materials. The effects of human use on the naturally when voids are formed in soluble rock such as lime-
magnitude and frequency of landslides vary from insignifi- stone and the collapse of overlying Earth material produces
cant to very significant. When landslides occur indepen- sinkholes.
dently of human activity, we need to learn enough about Most people perceive the landslide hazard as minimal,
them to avoid development in hazardous areas or to provide unless they have prior experience. Furthermore, hillside resi-
protective measures. In other cases, when human use has dents, like floodplain occupants, are not easily swayed by
increased the number and severity of landslides, we need technical information. Nevertheless, the wise person will have
to learn how to minimize these occurrences. In some cases, a geologist inspect property on a slope before purchasing.
Revisiting Fundamental Concepts

Human Population Growth human-induced landslides. When we remove trees from hill-
By 2050 the worlds population will have increased by about slopes or intensively urbanize hillslopes, landslides increase
50 percent. Three billion more people to feed and house will in both size and number. Landsliding is an erosion process,
place increased stress on the environment. More people will removing vegetation and soils along with valuable land
be living on steep slopes where landslides are likely to occur. resources that future generations will need.
Therefore, we must learn more about how to minimize the
landslide hazard to reduce potential losses of human life and Earth as a System
property. Hillslopes are complex systems with physical, chemical,
hydrologic, biological, and human components. When we
Sustainability change one part of the system through land-use change, we
For future generations to inherit a quality environment, we cause other changes that may affect the stability of the slope.
must work to minimize the magnitude and frequency of This is an example of the principle of environmental unity.
PRELIMINARY PROOFS
Slopes are very sensitive to changes in hydrology, and when maps are necessary to help inform people about the potential
trees are removed the amount of water that infiltrates the soil hazards of hillside development.
or runs off the land changes. Trees use a lot of soil water
through the process of transpiration, which is loss of water Scientific Knowledge and Values
through leaves and other plant tissue. When trees or other Physical, chemical, and biological processes operating on hill-
vegetation are removed this process stops, and the amount of slopes are fairly well understood. We also know the risks
water in the soil may increase. Wet slopes are more prone to associated with hillside development and the methods to
landsliding than are dry slopes. If trees are logged, the roots reduce the landslide hazard. As more people in the future are
may die and decay. When they do, the soil loses some forced by economics or lured by the view to live in hazardous
strength because root systems bind the soil together. The areas on steep hillslopes, we need to examine our values.
combined effects of wetter soils and reduced soil strength as How can we provide safe housing for growing urban areas,
tree roots decay result in more shallow landslides. This con- especially in developing countries? Too often shantytowns
cept explains the significant increase in shallow landslides develop on undesirable steep lands that have been cleared of
that occurs several years after logging. forest. These areas, when hit by intense rainstorms or shaken
by earthquakes, commonly produce slides that may kill hun-
Hazardous Earth Processes, Risk Assessment, and Perception dreds to thousands of people. This scenario does not have to
People are basically optimistic about where they wish to live, be replayed again and again if we place value on human life
and their perception of landslide risk reflects this optimism. and apply principles of sound land-use planning for people
Education about potential risks and construction of hazard moving to urban centers.
Key Terms
landslide (p. 288) safety factor (SF) (p. 294) subsidence (p. 288)
mass wasting (p. 288) sinkholes (p. 313) translational landslide (p. 295)
rotational landslide (p. 295) snow avalanche (p. 311)
PRELIMINARY PROOFS
Critical Thinking Questions 321
Review Questions
1. What is a landslide? 7. How may spontaneous liquefac- 12. What is the process that causes sub-
2. What are the main ways that tion occur? sidence due to withdrawal of fluid
materials on a slope may fail? 8. Why does time play an important such as groundwater or petroleum?
3. What is the safety factor, and how role in landslides? 13. What was the role of groundwater
is it defined? 9. What is the main lesson learned in the formation of the Winter
from the Vaiont Dam disaster? Park sinkhole?
4. Differentiate between rotational
slides (slumps) and translational 10. How might the process of urban-
slides and shallow slips. ization increase or decrease the
5. How does the slope angle affect stability of slopes?
the incidence of landslides? 11. What are the main steps we can
6. What are the three ways that take to prevent landslides?
vegetation is important in slope
stability?
Critical Thinking Questions

1. Your consulting company is hired by a national park such as landslides? Assume you have been hired by a
in your region to estimate the future risk from community to make the citizens more aware of the land-
landsliding. Develop a plan of attack that outlines slide hazard in their very steep topographic area. Outline
what must be done to achieve this objective. a plan of action and defend it.
2. Why do you think that many people are not easily
swayed by technical information concerning hazards
PRELIMINARY PROOFS

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What are the main causes of slope failure?

What are the main causes of slope failure?

How do slope angle, vegetation, and water affect slope stability and landslides?

How do slope angle, vegetation, and water affect slope stability and landslides?

KELLMC09_0132251507.

QXD 2/15/07 8:57 PM Page 286

Slope Processes, Landslides,

Landslide La Conchita, California, landslide in 2005 destroyed

288 Chapter 9 Slope Processes, Landslides, and Subsidence

CASE HISTORY La Conchita Landslide of 2005

9.1 Introduction to Landslides

overlying ancient beach

than 40,000 years old

Prehistoric slide less

290 Chapter 9 Slope Processes, Landslides, and Subsidence

Figure 9.2 Homes destroyed

9.2 Slope Processes and Types of Landslides

Slope Processes and Types of Landslides 291

Relatively weak rock

(Figure 9.4a, b). Translational sliding is downslope movement of Earth materials

and rate Translational

(j) Lateral spread Toe Surface

Unpublished Work 2008 by Pearson Education, Inc.

(l) Complex slide

Slope Processes and Types of Landslides 293

Figure 9.5 Earthflow on soft

movement is lateral extension. If stronger coherent rock or soil is at the surface

Upper slump Lower flow

Figure 9.6 Complex landslide

294 Chapter 9 Slope Processes, Landslides, and Subsidence

9.3 Slope Stability

Figure 9.7 Multiple soil slips

Slope Stability 295

Driving and resisting forces on slopes are determined by the interrelationships

The Role of Earth Material Type

A CLOSER LOOK Translation Slides Along Bedding Planes

Daylighting beds (potential slip planes)

Slide deposit People

296 Chapter 9 Slope Processes, Landslides, and Subsidence

Vegetation removed by slide

Retaining wallto keep landslide

Slope Stability 297

Figure 9.9 Rockfall, Yosemite

movement of soil or rock; earthflows, or mudflows, the downslope flow of saturated

The Role of Slope and Topography

298 Chapter 9 Slope Processes, Landslides, and Subsidence

The Role of Climate

Slope Stability 299

The Role of Vegetation

In some cases, the presence of vegetation increases the probability of a land-

The Role of Water

300 Chapter 9 Slope Processes, Landslides, and Subsidence

Figure 9.12 Water eroding the toe of a slope causes instability

Curve in coastline identifies slide Head of slide House destroyed

Slope Stability 301

The Role of Time

CASE HISTORY Vaiont Dam

302 Chapter 9 Slope Processes, Landslides, and Subsidence

Mt. Borga AUSTRIA