Jeffrey Yu

Mass Wasting

Mass wasting is caused by gravity or most of the time it’s caused by water
and water content. When gravity has the opportunity it pulls rocks lower
and lower until it reaches to the lowest part of the surface. Gravity also
pulls down dirt, dust and boulders. Over, time dirt and rocks pile up on
mountains or hills. When the rocks and dirt pile up more and more it gets
heavier and heavier than gravity pulls it down.

Rock Falls

This most common type of mass wasting. Rocks, boulders, pebbles and
dirt. These are loosened by freezing, weathering and other forces. Then
they just fall down. They stop when they hit something and it stops their
descent. Most of the time rocks forms at the bottom of a cliff or mountain.
Very often, these taluses form a cone shape, as they ascend up the side of
the mountain.
 LandSlides

Landslides take place when dirt, pebbles, rocks and boulders slide down a
slope together. Sometimes landslides are small and sometimes noticeable.
Other times they can be substantial, involving the entire side of the
mountain. This can be caused by rain, which adds additional weight to the
side of a slope can cause landslides.

Flows

Flows take place much more slowly than other slides and involves a lot of
water. After a heavy rainstorm the ground can become too wet to absorb
any additional water. The result is that the water is forced to run off on the
surface, gathering dust, dirt, rocks and sometimes boulders as it builds up.
Eventually, a wide area on a slope, the more liquid mud from behind breaks
through the dam and rushes outwards creating a muddy plains.

Creep

This is the slowest type of mass wasting. These type of movements are
very slow they require special equipment just to measure them. A creep
takes place when an entire side of a hill or mountain moves downwards.