DEFINITION OF MASS WASTING

Movement of soil, rock and other earth

materials (together called regolith) downslope by gravity

without the direct aid of a transporting medium such as ice,

water, or wind. It is estimated that more than 2 million mass

movements occur each year in the United States alone. Mass

movements occur at various rates, from a few inches per year

to sudden catastrophic rock falls and avalanches that can

bury entire towns under tons of rock and debris. In general,

the faster the mass movement the more hazardous it is to

humans, although even slow movements of soil down hill

slopes can be extremely destructive to buildings, pipelines,

and other societal constructions. In the United States alone,

mass movements kill tens of people and cost more than $1.5

billion a year. Other mass movement events overseas have

killed tens to hundreds of thousands of people in a matter of

seconds. Mass wasting occurs under a wide variety of environmental

conditions and forms a continuum with weathering,

as periods of intense rain reduce friction between regolith

and bedrock, making movement easier. Mass movements also

occur underwater, such as the giant submarine landslides

associated with the 1964 Alaskan earthquake.

Mass movements are a serious concern and problem in

hilly or mountainous terrain, especially for buildings, roadways

and other features engineered into hillsides. Mass movements

are also a problem along riverbanks and in places with

large submarine escarpments, such as along deltas (like the

Mississippi Delta in Louisiana). The problems are further compounded

in areas prone to seismic shaking or severe stormrelated

flooding. Imagine building a million-dollar mansion on

a scenic hillside, only to find it tilting and sliding down the hill

at a few inches per year. Less spectacular but common effects

of slow downhill mass movements are the slow tilting of telephone

poles along hillsides, and the slumping of soil from

oversteepened embankments onto roadways during storms.

Mass wasting is becoming more of a problem as the

population moves from the overpopulated flat land to new

developments in hilly terrain. In the past, small landslides in

the mountains, hills, and canyons were not a serious threat

to people, but now, with large numbers of people living in

landslide-prone areas, landslide hazards and damage are

rapidly increasing.

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