Mass Wasting

Syllabus tag: KCSE | Geography | Form 3 | Topic 21 Mass Wasting

Lesson objectives

By the end of this topic, you should be able to:

• Define mass wasting and explain the factors influencing it.
• Describe the slow processes of mass wasting and their evidence.
• Describe the rapid processes and the features they produce.
• Explain the effects of mass wasting and the measures used to control it.

Summary

Mass wasting is the movement of weathered material downslope under gravity. Gravity is the force; water usually acts as the trigger and lubricant. It is slow — soil creep, solifluction — or rapid — landslides, mudflows, slumps. Its evidence includes tilted poles, bent tree trunks and terracettes.