Abstract

Landslides are mass movement of soil and rock. They have resulted in several hundred deaths in Canada, and caused billions of dollars in damage. There are different types of landslides: rock avalanches, caused by the failure and disintegration of a large rockmass with a rapid downslope movement of the debris into the valley. Rockslides are a mass of rock that slides, on short distance, on the detachment surface. Rockfalls are a small rockmass that disintegrates into many blocks falling, bouncing and rolling down a steep slope. Debris flow happens when surficial material is saturated with water, usually caused by heavy rains. There are also debris avalances. These occur on the slopes of volcanoes and are large rapid mass movements of volcanic rock, but they have not occurred recently in Canada.