Landslide classification

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There have been known various classifications of landslides and other types of mass wasting.

For example, the McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Science and Technology distinguishes the
following types of landslides:

 fall (by undercutting)

 fall (by toppling)
 slump
 rockslide
 earthflow
 rockslide that develops into rock avalanche

Contents
[hide]

 1 Classification factors
o 1.1 A1) Type of movement
o 1.2 A2) Involved material
o 1.3 A3) Activity
o 1.4 A4) Movement velocity
o 1.5 B1) The age of the movement
o 1.6 B2) Geological conditions
o 1.7 B3) Morphological characteristics
o 1.8 B4) Geographical location
o 1.9 B5) Topographical criteria
o 1.10 B6) Type of climate
o 1.11 B7) Causes of the movements
 2 Types and classification
o 2.1 Falls
o 2.2 Topples
o 2.3 Slides
 2.3.1 Translational slide
 2.3.2 Rotational slides
 2.3.3 Spreads
o 2.4 Flows
 2.4.1 Flows in rock
 2.4.1.1 Rock Flow
 2.4.1.2 Rock avalanche (Sturzstrom)
 2.4.2 Flows in soil
 2.4.2.1 Debris flow
 2.4.2.2 Debris avalanche
 2.4.2.3 Earth flow
 2.4.2.4 Mudflow
o 2.5 Complex movement
 3 See also
 4 References

Classification factors[edit]
Various scientific disciplines have developed taxonomic classification systems to describe
natural phenomena or individuals, like for example, plants or animals. These systems are based
on specific characteristics like shape of organs or nature of reproduction. Differently, in landslide
classification, there are great difficulties because phenomena are not perfectly repeatable; usually
being characterised by different causes, movements and morphology, and involving genetically
different material. For this reason, landslide classifications are based on different discriminating
factors, sometimes very subjective. In the following write-up, factors are discussed by dividing
them into two groups: the first one is made up of the criteria utilised in the most widespread
classification systems that can generally be easily determined. The second one is formed by
those factors that have been utilised in some classifications and can be useful in descriptions.

A1) Type of movement[edit]

This is the most important criterion, even if uncertainties and difficulties can arise in the
identification of movements, being the mechanisms of some landslides often particularly
complex. The main movements are falls, slides and flows, but usually topples, lateral spreading
and complex movements are added to these.

A2) Involved material[edit]

Rock, earth and debris are the terms generally used to distinguish the materials involved in the
landslide process. For example, the distinction between earth and debris is usually made by
comparing the percentage of coarse grain size fractions. If the weight of the particles with a
diameter greater than 2 mm is less than 20%, the material will be defined as earth; in the
opposite case, it is debris.
A3) Activity[edit]

The classification of a landslide based on its activity is particularly relevant in the evaluation of
future events. The recommendations of the WP/WLI (1993) define the concept of activity with
reference to the spatial and temporal conditions, defining the state,

the distribution and the style. The first term describes the information regarding the time in
which the movement took place, permitting information to be available on future evolution, the
second term describes, in a general way, where the landslide is moving and the third term
indicates how it is moving.

A4) Movement velocity[edit]

This factor has a great importance in the hazard evaluation. A velocity range is connected to the
different type of landslides, on the basis of observation of case history or site observations.

B1) The age of the movement[edit]

Landslide dating is an interesting topic in the evaluation of hazard. The knowledge of the
Landslide frequency is a fundamental element for any kind of probabilistic evaluation.
Furthermore, the evaluation of the age of the landslide permits to correlate the trigger to specific
conditions, as earthquakes or periods of intense rains. It is possible that phenomena could be
occurred in past geological times, under specific environmental conditions which no longer act
as agents today. For example, in some Alpine areas, landslides of the Pleistocene age are
connected with particular tectonic, geomorphological and climatic conditions.

B2) Geological conditions[edit]

This represent a fundamental factor of the morphological evolution of a slope. Bedding attitude
and the presence of discontinuities or faults control the slope morphogenesis.
B3) Morphological characteristics[edit]

As the landslide is a geological volume with a hidden side, morphological characteristics are
extremely important in the reconstruction of the technical model.

B4) Geographical location[edit]

This criterion describes, in a general way, the location of landsides in the physiographic context
of the area. Some authors have therefore identified landslides according to their geographical
position so that it is possible to describe "alpine landslides", "landslides in plains", "hilly
landslides" or "cliff landslides". As a consequence, specific morphological contexts are referred
characterised by slope evolution processes.

B5) Topographical criteria[edit]

With these criteria, landslides can be identified with a system similar to that of the denomination
of formations. Consequently, it is possible to describe a landslide using the name of a site. In
particular, the name will be that of the locality where the landslide happened with a specific
characteristic type.

B6) Type of climate[edit]

These criteria give particular importance to climate in the genesis of phenomena for which
similar geological conditions can, in different climatic conditions, lead to totally different
morphological evolution. As a consequence, in the description of a landslide, it can be interesting
to understand in what type of climate the event occurred.

B7) Causes of the movements[edit]

In the evaluation of landslide susceptibility, causes of the triggers is an important step. Terzaghi
describes causes as "internal" and "external" referring to modifications in the conditions of the
stability of the bodies. Whilst the internal causes induce modifications in the material itself
which decrease its resistance to shear stress, the external causes generally induce an increase of
shear stress, so that block or bodies are no longer stable. The triggering causes induce the
movement of the mass. Predisposition to movement due to control factors is determining in
landslide evolution. Structural and geological factors, as already described, can determine the
development of the movement, inducing the presence of mass in kinematic freedom.

Types and classification[edit]

In the following table shows a schematic landslide classification adopting the classification of
Varnes 1978 and taking into account the modifications made by Cruden and Varnes, in 1996.
Some integration has been made by using the definitions of Hutchinson (1988) and Hungr et al.
2001.
Type of material

Type of movement Bedrock Engineering soils

Predominantly fine Predominantly coarse

Falls Rockfall Earth fall Debris fall

Topples Rock topple Earth topple Debris topple

Rotational Rock slump Earth slump Debris slump

Few units Rock block slide Earth block slide Debris block slide
Slides
Translational
Many
Rock slide Earth slide Debris slide
units

Lateral spreads Rock spread Earth spread Debris spread

Rock flow Earth flow Debris flow

Flows Rock avalanche Debris avalanche

(Deep creep) (Soil creep)

Combination in time and/or space of two or more principal types of

Complex and compound
movement

Falls[edit]

Location: Castelmezzano – Italy. Landslide type: Rock fall

Description: "A fall starts with the detachment of soil or rock from a steep slope along a surface
on which little or no shear displacement takes place. The material then descends mainly through
the air by falling, bouncing, or rolling" (Varnes, 1996).

Secondary falls: "Secondary falls involves rock bodies already physically detached from cliff and
merely lodged upon it" (Hutchinson, 1988)

Speed: from very to extremely rapid

Type of slope: slope angle 45–90 degrees

Control factor: Discontinuities

Causes: Vibration, undercutting, differential weathering, excavation, or stream erosion

Topples[edit]

Location: Jasper National Park- Canada Landslide type: Topple

Description: "Toppling is the forward rotation out of the slope of a mass of soil or rock about a
point or axis below the centre of gravity of the displaced mass. Toppling is sometimes driven by
gravity exerted by material upslope of the displaced mass and sometimes by water or ice in
cracks in the mass" (Varnes, 1996)

Speed: extremely slow to extremely rapid

Type of slope: slope angle 45–90 degrees

Control factor: Discontinuities, lithostratigraphy

Causes: Vibration, undercutting, differential weathering, excavation, or stream erosion

Slides[edit]

"A slide is a downslope movement of soil or rock mass occurring dominantly on the surface of
rupture or on relatively thin zones of intense shear strain." (Varnes, 1996)

Location: Canada Landslide type: Rock Slide

Translational slide[edit]

Description: "In translational slides the mass displaces along a planar or undulating surface of
rupture, sliding out over the original ground surface." (Varnes, 1996)

Speed: extremely slow to extremely rapid (>5 m/s)

Type of slope: slope angle 45–90 degrees

Control factor: Discontinuities, geological setting

Causes: Vibration, undercutting, differential weathering, excavation, or stream erosion

Location: Lauria – Italy Landslide type: Slide

Location: Lauria- Italy Landslide type: Wedge failure

Rotational slides[edit]

Description: "Rotational slides move along a surface of rupture that is curved and concave"
(Varnes, 1996)

Speed: extremely slow to extremely rapid

Type of slope: slope angle 20–40 degrees[1]

Control factor: morphology and lithology

Causes: Vibration, undercutting, differential weathering, excavation, or stream erosion

Spreads[edit]

"Spread is defined as an extension of a cohesive soil or rock mass combined with a general
subsidence of the fractured mass of cohesive material into softer underlying material." (Varnes,
1996). "In spread, the dominant mode of movement is lateral extension accommodated by shear
or tensile fractures" (Varnes, 1978)

Speed: extremely slow to extremely rapid (>5 m/s)

Type of slope: angle 45–90 degrees

Control factor: Discontinuities, lithostratigraphy

Causes: Vibration, undercutting, differential weathering, excavation, or stream erosion

Flows[edit]
Location: Pozzano (Castellammare di Stabia) – Italy. Landslide type: Debris flow

Location: Quindici – Italy. Debris flow deposits

Location: Quindici – Italy. Debris flow damage

Location: Sarno – Italy. Landslide type: Debris flow

A flow is a spatially continuous movement in which surfaces of shear are short-lived, closely
spaced, and usually not preserved. The distribution of velocities in the displacing mass
resembles that in a viscous liquid. The lower boundary of displaced mass may be a surface along
which appreciable differential movement has taken place or a thick zone of distributed shear
(Cruden & Varnes, 1996)

Flows in rock[edit]

Rock Flow[edit]

Description: "Flow movements in bedrock include deformations that are distributed among many
large or small fractures, or even microfracture, without concentration of displacement along a
through-going fracture" (Varnes, 1978)

Speed: extremely slow

Type of slope: angle 45–90 degrees

Causes: Vibration, undercutting, differential weathering, excavation, or stream erosion

Rock avalanche (Sturzstrom)[edit]

Description: "Extremely rapid, massive, flow-like motion of fragmented rock from a large rock
slide or rock fall” (Hungr, 2001)

Speed: extremely rapid

Type of slope: angle 45–90 degrees

Control factor: Discontinuities, lithostratigraphy

Causes: Vibration, undercutting, differential weathering, excavation or stream erosion

Location: Positano, Sorrentine Peninsula – Italy Landslide type: Rock avalanche

Flows in soil[edit]

Debris flow[edit]

Description: "Debris flow is a very rapid to extremely rapid flow of saturated non-plastic debris
in a steep channel" (Hungr et al.,2001)

Speed: very rapid to extremely rapid (>5 m/s)

Type of slope: angle 20–45 degrees

Control factor: torrent sediments, water flows

Causes: High intensity rainfall

Debris avalanche[edit]

Description: "Debris avalanche is a very rapid to extremely rapid shallow flow of partially or
fully saturated debris on a steep slope, without confinement in an established channel." (Hungr
et al., 2001)

Speed: very rapid to extremely rapid (>5 m/s)

Type of slope: angle 20–45 degrees

Control factor: morphology, regolith

Causes: High intensity rainfalls

Location: Castelfranci – Italy Landslide type: Earth flow

Earth flow[edit]

Description: "Earth flow is a rapid or slower, intermittent flow-like movement of plastic, clayey
earth." (Hungr et al.,2001)

Speed: slow to rapid (>1.8 m/h)

Type of slope: slope angle 5–25 degrees

Control factor: lithology

Mudflow[edit]

Description: "Mudflow is a very rapid to extremely rapid flow of saturated plastic debris in a
channel, involving significantly greater water content relative to the source material (Plasticity
index> 5%)." (Hungr et al.,2001)

Speed: very rapid to extremely rapid (>5 m/s)

Type of slope: angle 20–45 degrees

Control factor: torrent sediments, water flows

Causes: High intensity rainfall

Complex movement[edit]

Description: Complex movement is a combination of falls, topples, slides, spreads and flows
See also[edit]
 Causes of landslides
 Landslide
 Landslide mitigation

References[edit]
1. Jump up ^ https://pubs.usgs.gov/circ/1325/pdf/Sections/Section1.pdf

 Caine, N., 1980. The rainfall intensity-duration control of shallow landslides and debris flows.
Geografiska Annaler, 62A, 23–27.
 COATES, D. R. (1977) – Landslide prospectives. In: Landslides (D.R. Coates, Ed.) Geological Society
of America, pp. 3–38.
 Corominas, J. and Moya, J. 1999. Reconstructing recent landslide activity in relation to rainfall in
the Llobregat River basin, Eastern Pyrenees, Spain. Geomorphology, 30, 79–93.
 Cruden D.M., VARNES D. J. (1996) – Landslide types and processes. In: Turner A.K.; Shuster R.L.
(eds) Landslides: Investigation and Mitigation. Transp Res Board, Spec Rep 247, pp 36–75.
 Hungr O, Evans SG, Bovis M, and Hutchinson JN (2001) Review of the classification of landslides
of the flow type. Environmental and Engineering Geoscience, VII, 221–238.
 Hutchinson J. N.: Mass Movement. In: The Encyclopedia of Geomorphology (Fairbridge, R.W.,
ed.), Reinhold Book Corp., New York, pp. 688–696, 1968.
 Harpe C. F. S.: Landslides and related phenomena. A Study of Mass Movements of Soil and Rock.
Columbia Univo Press, New York, 137 pp., 1938.
 Keefer, D.K. (1984) Landslides caused by earthquakes. Bulletin of the Geological Society of
America 95, 406–421.
 Varnes D. J.: Slope movement types and processes. In: Schuster R. L. & Krizek R. J. Ed., Landslides,
analysis and control. Transportation Research Board Sp. Rep. No. 176, Nat. Acad. oi Sciences, pp.
11–33, 1978.
 Terzaghi K. – Mechanism of Landslides. In Engineering Geology (Berkel) Volume. Ed. da The
Geological Society of America~ New York, 1950.
 WP/ WLI. 1993. A suggested method for describing the activity of a landslide. Bulletin of the
International Association of Engineering Geology, No. 47, 53–57.

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