Landslide is often used as a blanket term for all mass movements caused by gravity. A landslide occurs when rock and soil, often triggered by earthquakes or human activities such as construction, move down a slope.A landslide is defined as the movement of a mass of rock, debris, or earth down a slope. Landslides are a type of "mass wasting," which denotes any down-slope movement of soil and rock under the direct influence of gravity.
Landslides aren't just down a slope movement. A landslide is the downward and outward movement of a slope with a rock or artificial fill material along a certain plane interface under the influence of gravity, slope, water and other similar forces.
These rock, soil and vegetation movements are caused by excessive rainfall on a slope. often the water seeps into the Rock underlying this material and washes it all down the slope.
Mass wasting is the movement of rock and soil down slope under the influence of gravity. Rock falls, slumps, and debris flows are all examples of mass wasting. Often lubricated by rainfall or agitated by seismic activity, these events may occur very rapidly and move as a flow. A landslide is a mass movement in which rock and soil move down a slope. An avalanche is also a type of landslide because it moves soil and rock down slope along with ice and snow. The downward movement of water into the soil surface and interflow water flowing downhill through permeable rock above the water table and percolation the gravity flow of water within the soil. A mudflow is the rapid down slope movement of water-saturated water- saturated soil, regolith. The higher water content creates a flow rapid enough to be perceptible to the eye. Mass movement, also known as Mass Wasting, is the movement of large amounts of soil and rock debris down slopes in response to gravity's pull, or the rapid or gradual sinking of the Earth's ground surface in a predominantly vertical direction.Movement of water into soil is called infiltration, and the downward movement of water within the soil is percolation, permeability or hydraulic conductivity.