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Geology & Earth Sciences vocabulary · Landforms & Surface Processes

Landslide

Meaning in geology & earth sciences, with examples

/ˈlændslaɪd/nounCore term

In geology & earth sciences, landslide means: The sudden movement of a mass of rock, soil or debris down a slope, often triggered by heavy rain, earthquakes or construction work.

In Turkish: heyelan, toprak kayması

How it is used

Used in hazard reports, news and engineering geology. Landslides are triggered, block roads and bury houses. Specialists use the wider term 'mass movement' and name types such as rockfalls, slides and debris flows. Landslides are frequent in Turkey's Black Sea region.

Example sentences

  1. A landslide blocked the main road after three days of heavy rain.

  2. Cutting into the slope for the new road made it more prone to landslides.

Common collocations

  • trigger a landslide
  • landslide risk
  • landslide hazard map
  • a major landslide
  • erosionThe removal of soil and rock fragments from one place and their transport to another by water, wind, ice or gravity.
  • earthquakeA sudden shaking of the ground caused by rocks breaking and slipping along a fault, which releases energy as seismic waves.
  • weatheringThe breaking down of rock at or near the Earth's surface by physical, chemical or biological processes, without the pieces being carried away.
  • soilThe loose top layer of the land surface, made of weathered rock particles, organic matter, water and air, in which plants grow.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

More terms: Landforms & Surface Processes

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