Page "Erosion" Paragraph 29

Mass movement is an important part of the erosional process, and is often the first stage in the breakdown and transport of weathered materials in mountainous areas.

It moves material from higher elevations to lower elevations where other eroding agents such as streams and glaciers can then pick up the material and move it to even lower elevations.

Mass-movement processes are always occurring continuously on all slopes ; some mass-movement processes act very slowly ; others occur very suddenly, often with disastrous results.

Any perceptible down-slope movement of rock or sediment is often referred to in general terms as a landslide.

However, landslides can be classified in a much more detailed way that reflects the mechanisms responsible for the movement and the velocity at which the movement occurs.

One of the visible topographical manifestations of a very slow form of such activity is a scree slope.