Test 1
Grades were “Fair”,
But ADD 10 POINTS to Your Score
(Don’t Count on it for Next Test!)
Grades After “Curve”
A/B = 88
B/C = 75
C/D = 62
D/F = 50
Evidence Why You Should
Attend Class Regularly
# of Quizzes Taken
3
2
1
0
Avg. Grade
1999
2000
69.23
60.36
58.46
56.17
71.05
59.88
57.16
59.33*
Quiz Attendance (a proxy for overall attendance) explains
a full letter grade difference in Test 1 scores!
* Only 3 tests, so probably not Significant
Question of Time - Quiz
• If you plotted all of geologic time on a time
line as long as the circumference of the
Earth (25,000 mi or 40,000 km), what
distance would represent 1 year?
• What distance would represent 75 years?
• What distance would represent 1 semester
(4 months)?
The Whole Earth Time Line
• Circumference of the Earth is 25,000 mi
(40,000 km)
• What distance would represent 1 year?
• Divide Distance by # of Years
(4,600,000,000 yr)
• Easiest if We Use Metric Units
The Whole Earth Time Line
40,000 km / 4,600,000,000 yr =
distance represented by 1 year?
40,000,000 m / 4,600,000,000 yr =
4,000,000,000 cm / 4,600,000,000 yr =
0.87 cm / yr
(0.34 inch / year)
The Whole Earth Time Line
0.87 cm / yr
(0.34 inch / year)
X 75 yr = 65 cm
(Lifetime = 25.7 inches)
X 0.33 yr = 0.29 cm
(Semester = 0.7 inch)
Don’t Write This Down!
40,000,000,000,000 microns /
(4,600,000,000 yr X 365 day/yr X 24 hr/day)
= 0.99 micron / hour
This Lecture would be just over 1 micron
long on the Whole Earth Time Line.
The paper you are writing on is about 100
microns thick
Geology 1 (Kite)
Quiz 4 15 Feb 2000
Fill out the landslide classification chart on the next slide:
Put a  next to the two most deadly types of landslides
worldwide.
Put a $ next to the most costly types of landslides in the
Appalachians.
Put a Flying WV next to all landslides common in the
Appalachian region
Which 2 States lead the US in Landslide damage per
person?
Which 2 States lead the US in Total Landslide Damage?
What are the causes of Landslides?
This Quiz MUST BE TURNED IN TODAY (15 February,
2000) for any credit.
Landslides Rock
“Soil”
Debris
Type of Motion
Fall
Topple
Planar Slide
Rotational
Slide
Flow
Avalanche
Earth
Last Time We Learned...
Best Way to Break Rock:
Create Tension Within.
Cement Leached Out by
CaCO3 Dissolution
• NOx or SO2 or CO2 + Water = Acid
Acid + Calcite = Ions in Solution
Cement Leached Out by
CaCO3 Dissolution
• NOx or SO2 or CO2 + Water = Acid
– Acid + Calcite = Ions in Solution
Cement Leached Out by
CaCO3 Dissolution
• NOx or SO2 or CO2 + Water = Acid
– Acid + Calcite = Ions in Solution
Role of Rock Type
• Bedding, Foliation, Joints
= Avenues for Weathering
• Spheroidal Weathering .
Weathering “Front”
Weathering “Rind”
Speroidal Weathering
Role of Rock Type
• Porosity: % Void Space
• Permeability: Ability for
Fluid to Penetrate
• Particle Size:
–Volume v. Surface Area .
Temp
Weathering
“Facies”
Very
Slight
Strong
Chemical
Rainfall
SOILS
• Soils (Engineering):
Unconsolidated Earthy
Materials
• Soils (Soil Science, Geology)
Unconsolidated Earthy
Materials that Support Life
Transported Soils vs. Residual Soils
Wind Deposits
Stream Deposits
Glacier Deposits
Beach Deposits
in Situ Weathering
of Bedrock
Soil-Forming Factors
•
•
•
•
•
Climate
Organisms
Relief (Topography)
Parent Material
Time .
Soils Vary a Great Deal From Region to Region
Soil Orders - USA
Ye Olde Soil Horizons
A - Topsoil
B - Subsoil
C - Unaltered Unconsolidated Material .
Ye Olde Soil Horizons
A - Topsoil
B - Subsoil
C - Unaltered Unconsolidated Material
Modern Soil Horizons
O - Organic Mat at the Surface
A - Topsoil: Removal of Clay, Iron, etc.
B - Subsoil: Accumulation of Clay, Iron,
Humus, etc.
C - Barely Altered Unconsolidated Material
R - Solid Bedrock .
Modern Soil Horizons
O
A
B
C
R
Mass Movement = Mass Wasting
=colluvial processes
=slope processes
=slope failures
=LANDSLIDES
Strength of Slope =
Cohesion + Strength of Material
• Strength of Material Varies with
Moisture
• Poor Drainage: Slope Instability .
Angle of Internal Friction
Stable Angle of Slope for a Material .
Angle of Internal Friction
• Qtz Sandstone = 90o
Angle of Internal Friction
Shale = 45o
or 1:1 Slope
Angle of Internal Friction
• Old Landslide Deposits = 5-25o
Angle of Internal Friction
• Clay = 1-15o
Shear Strength/Shear Stress
=Factor of Safety
Type of Motion
Landslides Rock
“Soil”
Debris
Earth
Debris Fall
Earth Fall
Fall
Rock Fall
Topple
Rock Topple Debris Topple Earth Topple
Planar Slide Rock Slide
Debris Slide
Earth Slide
Rotational
Slide
Rock Slump Debris Slump Earth Slump
Flow
Rock Flow
Debris Flow
Earth Flow
Avalanche
Rock
Avalanche
Debris
Avalanche
Earth
Avalanche
Basic Landslide Classification
Type of Motion
Material
Rock
“Soil”
Debris
Earth
Material
Rock: Bedrock
Soil: Unconsolidated Material
Debris: >20 % Big Stuff (>2 mm)
Earth: <20 % Big Stuff (>2 mm)
Landslides
Rock
“Soil”
Debris
Type of Motion
Fall
Topple
Planar Slide
Rotational
Slide
Flow
Avalanche
Earth
Types of
Landslides
Landslides Rock
“Soil”
Type of Motion
Debris
Earth
Fall
Rock Fall
Debris Fall
Earth Fall
Topple
Rock Topple
Debris Topple Earth Topple
Planar Slide Rock Slide
Debris Slide
Earth Slide
Rotational
Slide
Rock Slump
Debris Slump
Earth Slump
Flow
Rock Flow
Debris Flow
Earth Flow
Avalanche
Rock Avalanche Debris Avalanche Earth Avalanche
Landslides
Fall
Topple
Landslides Topple
Landslides - Rock Fall
Fall
70 ton Boulder: “Mon” Blvd., 10 March 1994
Landslides Rock
“Soil”
Type of Motion
Debris
Earth
Fall
Rock Fall
Debris Fall
Earth Fall
Topple
Rock Topple
Debris Topple
Earth Topple
Planar Slide Rock Slide
Debris Slide
Earth Slide
Rotational
Slide
Rock Slump Debris Slump Earth Slump
Flow
Rock Flow
Avalanche
Rock Avalanche Debris Avalanche Earth Avalanche
Debris Flow
Earth Flow
Landslides
Planar Slide = “Slide”
Rotational Slide = “Slump”
Landslides
Planar Slide = “Slide”
Rotational Slide = “Slump”
Landslides
Planar Slide = “Slide”
Rotational Slide = “Slump”
“Slump”
Slump in California
“Slump”
La Conchita,
California
Slump
Slump, La Concita, California
Hurricane Georges (1998)
Slump, Puerto Rico
Seattle
Shoreline
Where
Would You
Be Safe?
Landslides Rock
“Soil”
Type of Motion
Debris
Earth
Fall
Rock Fall
Debris Fall
Earth Fall
Topple
Rock Topple
Debris Topple
Earth Topple
Planar Slide Rock Slide
Debris Slide
Earth Slide
Rotational
Slide
Rock Slump
Debris Slump
Earth Slump
Flow
Rock Flow Debris Flow Earth Flow
Avalanche
Rock
Avalanche
Debris
Avalanche
Earth
Avalanche
La Guaira, Venezuela: Dec 1999
La Guaira, Venezuela: Dec 1999 15,000 to 100,000 Dead
November 1985
Debris Flow Track,
Twin Run,
Pendleton Co., WV
Superelevation of Debris Flow, Twin Run
Kanawha City Debris Flow: 3 Dead 1973
Mt. St. Helens Lahar, 1982
Seattle
Mount Rainier, WA
Lahar
(= Debris Flow &
Debris Avalanche)
Hazard in the
Seattle Area
This Image:
http://vulcan.wr.usgs.gov/Imgs/J
pg/Rainier/Outreach/screen_pos
ter_lahar_haz.jpg
Mt. Huascaran, Peru, 1970
How Fast?
>300
km/h
17,000 dea
Armero, Colombia, near Nevado del Ruiz Volcano, Nov. 1985
23,000 Dead
Type of Motion
Landslides Rock
“Soil”
Debris
Earth
Debris Fall
Earth Fall
Fall
Rock Fall
Topple
Rock Topple Debris Topple Earth Topple
Planar Slide Rock Slide
Debris Slide
Earth Slide
Rotational
Slide
Rock Slump Debris Slump Earth Slump
Flow
Rock Flow
Debris Flow
Earth Flow
Avalanche
Rock
Avalanche
Debris
Avalanche
Earth
Avalanche
Creep Start Here 17 Feb
Creep
Creep
Creep
Creep
Creep
Landslides by U.S. Region
• California
• West Virginia
40% of U.S. damage
13% of U.S. damage
U.S. Landslide Risk
WV Has 1st or 2nd Highest
Landslide Damage Per Capita
• $100-300 /person/yr
• About Same as UTAH
Main Regional Problems Are
• Road Failures
• Building Damage
• Construction Cost Over-Runs
Regional Causes of Landslides
• Steep Topography
– Mountains
– Incision by Rivers
• Materials
– Red Shales - Expansive Clays
• Stupid or Ignorant People
– Oversteepening of Slopes
– w/o Geotechnical Consulting
Solutions to Landslide Problems
• Don’t Be Stupid
• Seek Geotechnical Help From
Geologists or Civil Engineers