The movement of rock or soil down slopes under gravity alone, distinct from other erosion in that the debris is not carried in a moving medium such as water, wind or ice. Creep, solifluction, rockfalls, debris flows and landslides each have their own character, the process works on terrestrial and submarine slopes alike, and while rapid events can be deadly, even slow soil creep deforms roadways, structures and pipelines. This description is adapted from Wikipedia contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0; changes were made. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/
Facts
TimescaleSeconds for a rockfall to hundreds of years for soil creep 1 Driving ForceGravity acting on slope material once its weight exceeds the material's shear strength, often triggered by heavy rainfall, earthquake shaking or slope oversteepening. 1 Resulting FeatureA rockfall can pile up as a talus slope at the base of the cliff it fell from. 1 SignificanceRapid mass-wasting events such as landslides can be deadly and destructive. 1 Timescale
Timescale (category)Instantaneous / Seconds 1 Timescale (category) Driving Force
Driving Force (category) Connections
Associated With
Landslide and slope-stability hazards from mass wasting are a core concern of engineering geology.
Source Engineering Geology (Wikipedia)
It differs from other erosion in that the debris is not entrained in a moving medium.
Source Mass Wasting (Wikipedia)
Causes
Source Archipelagic apron (Wikipedia)
Read from this phenomenon's own Wikipedia article (Storegga Slide); earth5 pass cause judgment: Mass Wasting.
Source Wikidata: Storegga Slide
In Discipline
A slope process shaping terrain at and near the surface.
Source Mass Wasting (Wikipedia)
Sources
1. Mass Wasting (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationLead section
Mass wasting, also known as mass movement, is a general term for the movement of rock or soil down slopes under the force of gravity.
Deposits and landforms
Rockfall can produce talus slopes at the feet of cliffs.
Hazards and mitigation
Rapid mass wasting events, such as landslides, can be deadly and destructive.
View the Source Archipelagic apron (Wikipedia)
Causes: Archipelagic apron, Article textQuote, Causes: Archipelagic apron, Article text
Instead, archipelagic aprons most likely formed from debris avalanches and pyroclastic flows.
Scree (Wikipedia)
Causes: Scree, Lead section (caused-by Mass Wasting)Quote, Causes: Scree, Lead section (caused-by Mass Wasting)
Scree is a collection of broken rock fragments at the base of a cliff or other steep rocky mass that has accumulated through periodic rockfall.
Fajã (Wikipedia)
Causes: Fajã, Lead sentenceQuote, Causes: Fajã, Lead sentence
Fajã (Portuguese pronunciation: [fɐˈʒɐ̃], of unknown etymology) is a Portuguese term of obscure origin used to describe supratidal talus at the foot of coastal cliffs, caused by landslides or lava flows.
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