Fajardo, Jhon kelvin N,
- Geological structure
Geomorphology MIDTERM
DISCUSSION 1
TOPIC: HILLSLOPES
Sub-topics:
- Hillslope environments
- Hillslope transport processes and
hillslope development
- The form of hillslopes
- Humans and hillslopes
HAZARDOUS HILLSLOPES
- Mass movements that are associated
with hillslopes pose danger to human
lives
HILLSLOPE ENVIRONMENTS
- Hillslopes form by far the greater part
of the landscape.
- Ice-free landscapes of the world=90%
Hillslopes.
- River channels and their flood plains =
10%
- HILLSLOPES- integral part if the
DRAINNAGE BASIN SYSTEM, delivering
water and sediments to streams.
- Hillslopes range from FLAT TO STEEP.
- Commonly, hillslopes form CATENAS
CATENAS- are sequences of linked sloped units
running from the drainage divide to the valley
floor.
Hillslope processes VARY in different settings
and has rich DIVERSITY OF FORMS.
This is because of the VARIATION IN:
- Climate
- Vegetation
- Lithology
Geomorphologists have found that many areas
have characteristic hillslope form that
determines the general appearance of the
terrain.
Such characteristic hillslopes will have evolved
to a more or less equilibrium state under
particular constraints of ROCK TYPE and
CLIMATE.
 Dominant type of hillslope:
SOIL-MANTLED HILLSLOPES
- Hillslopes mantled with regolith or soil,
perhaps with some exposure of bare
rocks.
ROCK SLOPES
- Another common hillslope
Rock slopes form in three situations:
1. They form where either uplift or deep
incision means that they sit at too high
an elevation for debris to accumulate
and bury them.
2. They also form where active processes
at their bases remove debris, so
preventing its accumulation.
3. They may form where the terrain is too
steep or the climate is too cold or too
dry for chemical weathering and
vegetation to create and sustain
regolith.
More generally, BARE ROCK FACES form in
many environments where slope angles
EXCEED about 45o, which is the max angle
maintained by rock debris.
On humid tropics, regolith may form on slopes
as steep as 80o on rocks such as mudstones and
basalts because weathering and vegetation
establishment are speedy.
ROCK PROPERTIES and SLOPE PROCESSES
determine the FORM of rock slopes.
2 EXTREME CASES OF ROCK PROPERTIES:
1. First case is “hard” rocks with very high
internal strength (the strength
imparted by the internal cohesive and
frictional properties of rock).
- These usually fail along PARTINGS in the
rock mass – joints and fractures.
2. Second case is “Soft” rocks of lower
intact strength or intense fracturing
that behave more like soils.
As a rule of thumb, bare rock forms on hard
rocks.
 HILLSLOPE PROCESSES:
Main forces behind hillslope processes:
- Gravity
- Flowing water
- Temperature changes.
- Action of animals and plants (NOT
applicable to all situations; it only
applies to some specific situations.
Weathering includes the IN SITU conversion of
bedrock into REGOLITH, and the subsequent
chemical or mechanical transformation of
regolith.
Several hillslope processes serve as TRANSPORT
of regolith and other weathering products.
Hillslope processes as transport mechanism
can be:
- Slow and continual
a. Leaching
b. Soil creep
c. Rainsplash and sheet wash
- Rapid and intermittent
GRAVITATIONAL HILLSLOPE PROCESSES:
 Stress and strain in rocks , soil, and
sediments.
STRESS: is any force that tends to move
materials downslope. Depends largely upon the
mass of the soil body.
GRAVITY: is the MAIN FORCE
*elements that can set-up force in a soil body:
 Swelling and shrinking
 Expansion and contraction
 Ice-crystal growth
 Activities of animals plants
STRAIN: is the effect of stress upon a soil body.
It may be spread uniformly throughout the
body, or it may be focused around joints where
fractures may occur.
INHERENT RESISTANCE AGAINST DOWNSLOPE
MOVEMENTL:
1. Friction
- A force that acts against gravity and
resists movement. It depends on the
roughness of the plane between the soil
and the underlying material.
- Downslope movement of soil body can
occur when the applied stress is large
enough to overcome the max frictional
resistance.

2. Cohesion between particles
- Cohesion – measures the tendency of
particles within the soild body to stick
together.
- Induced by gravity that may affect
topography, notable in mountain
terrain.
2 Most important factors for the nature of
deformation:

Cohesion arises through (5): I. WEATHERING

II. ALTERATION OF ROCK MASS
- Capillary suction of water in pores
- Compaction, causing smaller grains to These factors are caused by:
interlock
I. CLIMATIC FACTORS
- Chemical bonds (Var der Waals Bonds)
II. FLUIDS WITHIN THE
- Plant root system
MOUNTAIN
- Presence of CEMENTS such as
a. Carbonates These factors depend at:
b. Silica
c. Iron oxides I. Physicochemical property of
rock
II. Mechanical properties of the
rock
Internal Friction/ Shearing Resistance:
The basic process tend to be that ROCK
- When soil particle affect the mass
WEATHERING and ALTERATIONN progressively
cohesion of soil by tending to stick to
REDUCE the EFFECTIVE STRENGTH an initially
one another and by generating friction
homogeneous and stable mountain so that it
between one another.
eventually undergoes increasing inelastic,
- Internal friction is determined by (3):
gravity -driven deformation, including the :
a. Particle size
b. Particle shape - Sagging of crests
c. Degree to which particles touch - Appearance of large fractures that may
each other. trigger landslides.

MASS MOVEMENTS 2. Flow

- Involves SHEAR through the soil, rock,
1. Rock Creep and continuous creep
or snow and ice debris.
- Very slow plastic deformation of soil or
- Rate of flow is SLOW at the base of the
rock.
flowing body and increases toward the
- Result from stress applied by the
surface.
weight of the soil or rock body and
- Most movements occur as turbulent
usually occur at depth below the
motions.
weathered mantle.
- Is DIFFERENT from soil creep
- Is a Part of Rock Mass Deformation
4 Classification of Flow: often HAS THE CONSISTENSY OF A WET
CEMENT.
A. Avalanche
- Debris flow occurs as a SERIES OF
- The rapid downslope movement of
SURGES that lasts from a few seconds
earth, rock, ice, or snow
to several hours.
B. Debris Flow
- Debris flow may move 1-20 m/s, and
C. Earth Flow
may flow several kilometers beyond the
D. Mudflow
source area.
- Some debris flow are powerful enough
to cause damage on structures that lie
 TYPES OF FLOW along its path.
Dry Flow:
LAHARS: are the mudflows that are
A. Dry Ravel: triggered by water saturating the debris
- Is the rolling, bouncing, and sliding of on the side of volcanoes.
individual particles down a slope.
- A dominant hillslope sediment-
transport process in 3. SLIDES:
a. Steep Arid landscape - Are widespread form of mass
b. Semiarid landscape movement.
- It includes the mobilization of particles - These take place along clear cut shear
during fires when sediment wedges planes and are usually TEN TIMES
that have accumulated behind LONGER THAN THEY ARE WIDE.
vegetation collapse. 2 SUBTYPES:
- It also includes mobilization by A. TRANSLATIONAL SLIDE
bioturbation and by small landslides. - Occur along planar shear planes and
Slowest Flow: includes:
a. Debris slides
A. Solifluction (Soil Fluction): b. Rock block slides
- The downslope movement of water- c. Earth slides
saturated soil over frozen ground, d. Earth block slides
which acts as a sliding plane, during e. Rock slide
summer months in periglacial
environments. B. ROTATIONAL SLIDE: are also called
- Results from the combined action of SLUMPS
frost creep and gelifluction—which is - Occur along concave shear planes,
the slow saturated flowage of thawed normally under conditions of low to
ice-rich sediments. moderate water content.
- Commonest on thick uniform materials
such as clays.
Debris Flow: - This includes:
a. Rock slumps
- Refers to the fast-moving body of
b. Debris slumps
particles with water or air or both that
c. Earth slumps
4. HEAVE:
- Is produced by the alternating phases
of expansion and contraction caused by
the:
i. Heating and cooling
ii. Wetting and drying
iii. Burrowing activities of animals
(bioturbation).
- Materials move downslope during the
cycle because EXPANTION LIFTS THE
MATERIALS AT RIGHT ANGLES TO THE
SLOPE , but CONTRACTION DROPS IT
NEARLY VERTICAL under the influence
of gravity.
- Classification:
i. Soil creep (finer material)
 Common under humid and
temperate climates
 Occurs mainly in environments with
SEASONAL CHANGES in MOISTURE
and SOIL TEMPERATURE.
ii. Talus creep (coarser material)
 Is the slow downslope movement of
talus (coarse materials), RESULTS
CHIEFLY FROM ROCKFALL IMPACT.
 Thermal expansion and thermal
contraction may also play a role.
iii. Forest creep
 Occurs when the expansion and
contraction is brought about by
FREEZING AND THAWING.
iv. Terracettes
 Occurs frequently on steep grassy
slopes.
 May be produced by SOIL CREEP.
 SHALLOW LANDSLIDES –
IMPORTANT FACTOR IN THEIR
FORMATION.
5. FALL
- Refers to the downward movement of
rocks or occasionally of soil, through the
air.
- Soil may topple from cohesive soil
bodies like riverbanks.
- ROCKFALLS ARE MORE COMMON,
especially in landscapes with steep,
towering rock slopes and cliffs---this is
also where talus slopes commonly form.
- Water and ice may also undergo fall as
waterfalls and icefalls.
- Other forms:
- Debris falls and earth falls
6. Subsidence:
- occurs in two ways:
1. CAVITY COLLAPSE
 Rock or soil plummets into
underground cavities (as in karst
terrain).
2. SETTLEMENT
 The ground surface is lowered
progressively by compaction, often
because of groundwater withdrawal
or earthquake vibrations.
GRAVITY TECTONICS
- Mass movements may occur in
geological scales.
- Large rock bodies slide or spread under
thee influence of gravity to produce
large-scale features such as:
1. Thrusts
2. Nappes
- TECTONIC DENUDATION: a term that
describes the UNLOADING of mountains
by GRAVITY SLIDING and SPREADING.
- The slides are slow, ebing only about
100 m/yr under optimal conditions.
HILLSLOPE TRANSPORT PROCESSES detachment by raindrop impact, which
carries particles further than rainsplash
 Surface Processes: rainsplash and
alone.
rainflow
- SHEETWASH:
- Rainsplash and rainflow:
- Carries sediments in a thin layer of
a. Common in arid environments
water running over the soil surface.
b. Associated with the generation of
- Is not normally a uniformly thick laye of
HORTONIAN OVERLAND FLOW.
eater moving downslope, rather, the
c. Falling rainsdrops dislodge
sheet SUBDIVIDES and follows many
sediments to form “splash,” which
flowpaths DICTATED BY THE
moves in all directions through the
MICROTOPOGRAPHY OF THE SURFACE.
air, resulting in a net downslope
- SHEETWASH RESULTS FROM OVERLAND
transport of material.
FLOW.
- Experimental studies using sand trough
have showed that: Smooth rock and soil surfaces:
a. 5-DEGREE SLOPE: 60% of the
- A continuous sheet of water carries
sediments moved by the raindrop
sediments downslope.
impact, moves downslope while
40% moved upslope. Slightly rougher terrain:
b. 25-DEGREE SLOPE: 95% of the
sediments moved downslope. - Set of small rivulets link water-filled
- Smaller particles are more susceptible depressions and bear sediment.
to rainsplash than larger particles. Grassed Slopes.
- The AMOUNT OF SPLASH depends
many factors such as: - sediment-being threads of water pass
a. Rainfall properties around stems.
i. Drop size Forests with thick litter layer:
ii. Velocity
iii. Drop circumference - overland flow occurs under decaying
iv. Drop momentum leaves and twigs.
v. Kinetic energy
Soils with little to no vegetation cover are more
vi. Rainfall intensity
vulnerable to erosion.
b. Landscape characteristics
i. Slope angle
ii. Vegetation cover
 Subsurface processes: leaching and
- RAIN POWER:
through-wash.
- Is a mathematical expression that
- LEACHING
UNITES rainfall, hillslope, and
- Involves the removal of weathered
vegetation characteristics.
products in solution through the rock
- Allows the modulation by flow depth.
and the soil.
- Is a good predictor of the detachment
- SOLUTION
rate of fine-grained particles.
- Is an efficacious process in hillslope
- RAINFLOW:
denudation.
- Is transport caused by the traction of
overland floe combined with
 - It does not always lead to surface
lowering, at least at first, because the
volume of rock and soil may stay the
same.
- Solution takes place in the body of
regolith along subsurface lines of
concentrated waterflow including:
a. Through flow in percolines
b. Through flow in pipes
- THROUGH-WASH, INTERNAL EROSION,
AND SUFFOSSION.
- Means a digging under or undermining.
- May also refer to the process wherein
throughflow as it carries sediment inn
solution and in suspension.
- Suspended particles that are
transported this way will be TEN TIMES
SMALLER than the grains they pass
through.
- Through-wash is important ONLY in
washing silt and clay out of clean sands,
and in washing clays through cracks and
root holes.
- Throughflow may occur along
percolines. It may also form in pipes in
soil, which may form gullies if they
should collapse, perhaps during heavy
rainstorm.
BIOTURBATION
- The uprooting of trees may break-up
bedrock and transport soil downslope.
- Bioturbation refers to the churning and
stirring of soil by organisms.
- ANDRE LEHRE (1987), found that
biogenic creep is more important than
inorganic creep.
CLIMATE AND HILLSLOPE PROCESSES:
- Extensive field measurements since
about 1960 show that hillslope
processes appear to vary considerably
with climate.
- Soil creep in temperate maritime
climates shifts about 0.5-2.00 mm/year
of material in the upper 20-25 cm of
regolith.
- in temperate continental climates rates
run in places a little higher at 2-
15mm/year, probably owing to more
severe freezing of the ground in winter.
- SOLIFLUCTION
- Includes frost creep caused by heaving
and gelifluction, occurs 10-100 times
more rapidly than soil creep and affects
material down to about 50 cm; typical
rates falling eithin 10-100 mm/year.
- Wet conditions and silty soils FAVOUR
solifluction.
CRITERIA
3. 20% - visual aids, style ng ppt.
4. 50% - content, completeness of points
5. 30% - delivery, energy, clarity,
confidence
Ppt will be sent to ma’am shaky’s email.
Some notes on HILLSLOPE PRESENTATION:
Hllslope environments
Hillslopes are considered to be the most
common landform
It is an integral part of drainage.
6. Characteristic hillslope will determine
the form of the appearance of the
landscape.
HILLSLOPE PROCESSES:
Main force:
7. Grav
8. Water
9. Temp changes
10. Plant and animal action (specific envi)
Processes can be
11. Slow and cont
12. Fast and intermittent
Stress—is the specific force that moves the
materials downslope while gravity is the main
force that influence material to move
downslope.
Strain—effect of the stress on the materials
Cohesion- tendency of particles to stick
together.
Pore water pressure
Mass movements
13. Rock creek and continuous creep – very
slop plastic deformation
14. Flow- involves shear through the soil
15. Debris flow- fast moving body of
sedment coarses sedimments
16. Eaerth flow soul and rock material
saturated with eater
17. Mudflow mass of water and fine-
grained material that flows downflow
with high water content.
Gravitational hillslope processes
Slides- widespread form off mass movement
18. Translational – yung plane flat
19. Rotational slides aka slumps – curved
plane na pinanggalingan.
Heave – slow form of ,mass movement
pr=duced by alternating contract and expansion
20. Soil creep—finer material
21. Terracette (?)
22. Talus creep – coarser materials
23. Frost creep
Fall is the downward movement of rock
24. Rock fall—more common in steep
towering rock slope or cliffs. Influenced
by air and grvity
25. Water fall and ice fall
26. Debris fall and earth falls – occur along
river banks (topple?)
Subsidence – sinking of earth surface
27. Cavity collapse
28. Settlement – ground surface is lowered
progressively by compaction. Could be
heightened by removal off groundwater
or occurrence of earthqukes
Grvity tectonics – these are mechanism s where
large masses of rocks move downslope due to
gravity.
29. Nappes- lerge sheet like body of rock
30. thrusts
Hillslope Transport Processes
Trainsport from high elevel to low elev
1. Surface Processes
31. Dry ravel – the general term of rolling
bounding or sliding of individual partiles
downslope; it occurs in arid and semi-
arid environment.
32. Rain flow – cause by traction of
overland flo combined with detachment
bu raindrop impact
 33. Sheetwash – caused by the overland
flow
34. Rain power – good predictor for
detachment rate of fine-grained
particles; math expression
2. Subsurface processes – top most layer
of soil profile
35. Leaching – removal of weathered
products in solution through the rock
and the soil
36. Through-wash – almost the same as
leaching—it washes out silt and clays
out of sands
3. Bioturbation – includes organisms
37. It is the churning or stirring of soil by
organisms to sediment transport.
38. Trace fossil
Nine units model
How slope developed overtime
47. Slope declining: humid sclimate – steep
48. Slope replacement: tectonic areas
49. Slope retreat: sea cliffs and semi-arid
environments
Slope dev takes long to study
Space-time substitutioin allows construction of
long-term
Michael J Kirkby – leading figure in hillslope
Hillslope forms
Slope has two meanings

50. Angle of inclination

Climate and hillslope processes 51. The inclined surface itself

39. Hillslopes vary considereably with Hillslope – the inclined surface

climat – diff climate=diff hillslope
Slope angle – refer to the angle of inclination
process
40. Transport limited – mas marami
nattransport
Hillslope profile
41. Supply limited – mas marami yunng
nattransport kesa nawweatherr like 3 elements of slope:
debris flow
52. Upper convex unit
53. Straight middle unit
54. Concave lower unit
Hillslope development:
Transition between slope elements
Effects to slope:
Abrupt – free face
42. Rock structure and lithology
43. Climate Smoothe –
44. Soil
45. Vegetation
46. Human influence Concavo-convex –

Describing slope units

Slope elements 55. Slope unit – either a segment or an
elemnt
Lam moo na to boi
 56. Segment – protioin of profile where
angle roughly remains the same.
57. Elemt – portioin in which the curvature
roughly remains the same.
Systems for naming elements
68. Slope – plane tangent to the terrain
surace represted by the DEM
69. 2 comp
70. - gradients -max rate of change in
altitude
71. Asapect – compass direction of max
rate of change

Slope Units Universal soil equation

Partd off the hillslope depending on thee angle.

Geomorphic catena – sequence off linked slope Humans anff Hillslopes.

units

Several schemes
Soil erosion modelling

Prev of soil erosion are neded

Conves slope segments
Factors affecting the rate of soil erosion
58. Soil creep and rainsplash
72. Rainfall
Straight elements 73. Runoff
74. Wind
59. Receives large amounts of materials 75. Soil
from the mass wasting and erosioinal 76. Slope
processes of the convex slope segments 77. Land cover
above it. 78. The presence or absence of
60. Concave slope conservation strategies
61. Sites off transport and deposition
Lumped models: non-spatial predicts the overall
or average yeah right sure teka sandaleee

Distributed models

Landform elements

62. Inflection -complicated kinks

63. Described by local land-surface
geometry
64. Altitude
Wire mesh – for fine grained slopes I think this
65. Digital elevation models (DEMs)
falls under mantled slopes
66. Topographic elements can be computed
directly from DEM and are classified Rock volt – inclined beds
67. - primary attributesecondary attribute –
Magandang drainage system para hindi mag
pinag sama primary attributes before
percolate yung water sa limestone.
giving result
Very important ang mitigating measure sa
geomorphology.

Isama ang mitigating measure sa report