Earth Hazards: Landslides

- Text adapted from USGS Hazards: Landslides page

Landslides are termed the sleeper of all the geologic hazards. Though incited by snowmelt, rain, poor excavation, or earthquakes, they sometimes startle the unsuspecting homeowner with the ferocity of their rapid movement, or the slow stretching of the once peaceful terrain.

Landslides constitute a major geologic hazard because they are widespread, occurring in all 50 States, and cause $1-2 billion in damages and more than 25 fatalities on average each year. Landslides pose serious threats to highways and structures that support fisheries, tourism, timber harvesting, mining, and energy production, as well as general transportation. Landslides commonly occur with other major natural disasters, such as earthquakes and floods. They exacerbate relief and reconstruction efforts, and expanded development and other land use has increased the incidence of landslide disasters.

Links with the square icon connects to USGS sites.
Links with the globe icon connects to non-USGS sites. We are happy to provide this link for your convenience. Please be aware that we cannot guarantee the accuracy of non-USGS sites.

Featured Sites

USGS National Landslides Program
Provides links to various reports, publications, and various information.

Debris-Flow Hazards in the United States
This USGS fact sheet provides background information on a fast-moving type of landslide.

Landslide Images
View photos of landslides.

 Debris-Flow Hazards in the United States
Learn what causes debris flow and how it affects us.

 Landslides
Learn the basics of landslides and recent landslide events.

 Landslide Images
View photos of landslides.

 Features That May Indicate Catastrophic Landslide Movement
How to watch out for possibilities of landslides.

 Landslide Hazards in Glacial Lake Clays - Tully Valley, New York
This factsheet describes the landslide hazard at Tully Valley, New York.

 The Mountain That Moved
Brochure about several largest landslides in the world. (In PDF format.)

 Hazards Fact Sheets
Documentations and reports of natural disasters.

 Popular Beach Disappears Underwater in Huge Coastal Landslide
Fact sheet documents how a landslide happened.

 Animated Map
This map shows the combined effect of all six hazards--earthquake, volcanic, landslides, flooding, hurricane, and tornado. Watch as the distribution of each is added to the previous hazards.

 Geographic Distribution of Major Hazards in the US
Six theme maps showing high risk or relatively frequent actual occurrences of hazards (floods, earthquakes, landslides, hurricanes, tornadoes, and volcanic eruptions.)

 Hazards
Links to various hazards reports, including earthquake, volcanoes, flood, landslides, wildfire, wildlife diseases, geomagnetism, and coastal storms and tsunamis.

 E-cards of Natural Disasters
Send e-cards on images of volcanoes, earthquakes, tsunamis, and landslides.

 Windows to the Universe
Fun and intriguing site about the earth and space sciences.

 Park Geology Tour of National Parks
Learn geology through online tour of national parks.

Volcanoes | Earthquakes | Floods | Landslides

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