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Glossary
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Below you will find key words and concepts that you should remember from this chapter.
creep  Very slow, continuous downslope movement of soil or debris.
(See page(s) 207)
debris  Any unconsolidated material at Earth’s surface.
(See page(s) 202)
debris avalanche  Very rapid and turbulent mass wasting of debris, air, and water.
(See page(s) 213)
debris fall  A free-falling mass of debris.
(See page(s) 217)
debris flow  Mass wasting in which motion is taking place throughout the moving mass (flow). The common varieties are earthflow, mudflow, and debris avalanche.
(See page(s) 208)
debris slide  Rapid movement of debris as a coherent mass.
(See page(s) 217)
earthflow  Slow-to-rapid mass wasting in which debris moves downslope as a very viscous fluid.
(See page(s) 208)
fall  The situation in mass wasting that occurs when material free-falls or bounces down a cliff.
(See page(s) 203)
flow  A type of movement that implies that a descending mass is moving downslope as a viscous fluid.
(See page(s) 203)
landslide  The general term for a slowly to very rapidly descending mass of rock or debris.
(See page(s) 202)
mass wasting  Movement, caused by gravity, in which bedrock, rock debris, or soil moves downslope in bulk.
(See page(s) 202)
mudflow  A flowing mixture of debris and water, usually moving down a channel.
(See page(s) 211)
permafrost  Ground that remains permanently frozen for many years.
(See page(s) 210)
relief  The vertical distance between points on Earth’s surface.
(See page(s) 205)
rock avalanche  A very rapidly moving, turbulent mass of broken-up bedrock.
(See page(s) 215)
rockfall  Rock falling freely or bouncing down a cliff.
(See page(s) 213)
rockslide  Rapid sliding of a mass of bedrock along an inclined surface of weakness.
(See page(s) 215)
rotational slide (slump)  In mass wasting, movement along a curved surface in which the upper part moves vertically downward while the lower part moves outward. Also called a slump.
(See page(s) 203)
shear force  In mass wasting, the component of gravitational force that is parallel to an inclined surface.
(See page(s) 206)
shear strength  In mass wasting, the resistance to movement or deformation of material.
(See page(s) 206)
slide  In mass wasting, movement of a relatively coherent descending mass along one or more well-defined surfaces.
(See page(s) 203)
solifluction  Flow of waterď·“saturated debris over impermeable material.
(See page(s) 210)
talus  An accumulation of broken rock at the base of a cliff.
(See page(s) 213)







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