Gravity Erosion
If you push off the top of a snowy hill on a sled, you’ll fly downhill. This successful sledding event is a direct effect of gravity. Similarly, soil can move downhill by the effects of gravity. Sometimes it happens quickly and sometimes it happens slowly.
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The rapid falling of materials downhill is called slumping. Slumps occur most when the land is very steep and saturated with water after heavy rainfalls. |
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Slow downhill movement of soil is called creeping. We cannot observe soil creep in action, but we can see the effects of it, such as in this picture. Notice the bent trees that result from the soil underneath them slowly drifting downhill. |
