Slope Processes and Development

Front

What are avalanches?

Back

Rapid movements of snow, ice, rock, or earth down a slope.

Front

What does climatic geomorphology refer to?

Back

The different processes that operate in different climatic zones, producing different slope forms or shapes.

Front

Define denudation.

Back

The wearing away of the Earth’s surface, including erosion, weathering, and mass movements.

Front

What are falls in the context of slope processes?

Back

Movements of rock/debris under the effect of gravity, often after being prised open by freeze–thaw weathering.

Front

What are flows?

Back

Movements of a mass of soil or rock that contain a significant amount of water.

Front

What are heaves?

Back

Movements of soil or ice towards the surface in a vertical direction.

Front

Define mass movements.

Back

Large-scale movements of the Earth’s surface that are not accompanied by a moving agent such as a river, glacier, or ocean wave.

Front

What is regolith?

Back

The irregular cover of loose rock debris that covers the Earth.

Front

What is shear strength?

Back

The internal resistance of a slope.

Front

What is shear stress?

Back

The forces attempting to pull a mass downslope.