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landslide science definition
- The rapid downward sliding of a mass of earth and rock. Landslides usually move over a confined area. Many kinds of events can trigger a landslide, such as the oversteepening of slopes by erosion associated with rivers, glaciers, or ocean waves; heavy snowmelt which saturates soil and rock; or earthquakes that lead to the failure of weak slopes.
- The mass of soil and rock that moves in this way.
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