LANDSLIDES: INVESTIGATION AND MITIGATION. CHAPTER 20 - COLLUVIUM AND TALUS

Physical and chemical weathering of bedrock produce disaggregated particles that accumulate on the land surface in the absence of erosional processes adequate to remove them. Gravitational forces cause these particles to move down the slope and accumulate as deposits called colluvium or colluvial materials. Relatively rapid physical fragmentation of bedrock exposed on cliffs produces large numbers of rock fragments ranging in size from small to very large (boulders). These fragments accumulate at the base to form a wedge-shaped deposit referred to as talus. This chapter discusses slope instability in colluvium, with examples of landslides that have occurred on colluvial slopes and discussion of characteristics affecting slope stability, including geomorphic factors, hydrology, vegetation, fire, and seismicity, followed by a discussion of slope instability in tallus. Also examined are subsurface investigation methods for site-specific determination of the engineering properties of colluvium and talus.

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    • Special Report 247 is also available in hardcover (ISBN 0-309-06151-2). Distribution, posting, or copying of this PDF is strictly prohibited without written permission of the Transportation Research Board of the National Academy of Sciences. Unless otherwise indicated, all materials in this PDF are copyrighted by the National Academy of Sciences. Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
  • Authors:
    • Turner, A Keith
  • Publication Date: 1996

Language

  • English

Media Info

  • Media Type: Digital/other
  • Features: Figures; Photos; References; Tables;
  • Pagination: pp 525-554
  • Monograph Title: LANDSLIDES: INVESTIGATION AND MITIGATION
  • Serial:

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Filing Info

  • Accession Number: 00722509
  • Record Type: Publication
  • ISBN: 030906208X
  • Files: TRIS, TRB, ATRI
  • Created Date: Jun 6 1996 12:00AM