Types of mass movement

Types of mass movement

1. Slow

   • Soil Creep
     • Soil particles pushed/heaved to surface by wetting, heating or freezing of water
     • Manger in Vale, Whitehorse, Oxfordshire
   • Rain Splash Erosion
     • Raindrops compact the soil + dislodge particles EQUALLY in all directions
     • Cold, periglacial environments

2. Flow

   • Surface Wash
     • when soil's infiltration capacity is exceeded + can lead to formation of gullies
     • semi-arid regions
   • Sheet Wash
     • The unchannelled flow of water over a soil surface
     • Boscastle floods, 2004
   • Throughflow
     • Water moving down through soil

3. Fast

   • Slides
     • material maintains its shape+cohesion until it impacts at bottom of slope+leads to large, slumped terraces
     • Vaiont Dam, Italy
   • Falls
     • Occur on steep slopes
     • Wastwater, Lake district
   • Slumps
     • Occurs on weaker rocks, (clay), +have a rotational movement along a curved slip plane
     • Holbeck hall hotel, Scarborough