Landslide Terminology

National Technical Guidelines and Best Practices on Landslides

Geological Survey of Canada Open File 6824

by Réjean Couture

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Table of Contents
  1. Introduction
  2. Abbreviations
  3. Glossary
  4. Other Glossaries
  5. References

1. Introduction

The purpose of this glossary of landslide terms is two-fold:

  • to provide a useful compendium of terms used by the landslide community in Canada and elsewhere, and
  • to encourage a common language by all authors who are contributing to the national technical guidelines and best practices on landslides that are currently under development at Natural Resources Canada.

Several publications that include landslide terminology exist. For example, more recent publications include Cruden and Varnes (1996), Wise et al. (2004) and Fell et al. (2008). Cruden and Varnes (1996) is consistent with the terminology suggested by UNESCO's Working Party on the World Landslide Inventory (WP/WLI, 1993) and provides a historical perspective of landslide terminology. Wise et al (2004) is consistent with the hazard and risk terminology recommended by the Canadian Standards Association (1997) and is used by most landslide professionals in western Canada. Fell et al. (2008) suggests landslide susceptibility, hazard and risk terminology for use throughout the world.

2. Abbreviations

C: Consequence (due to a hazardous landslide).
P(H): Annual probability of a landslide or probability of occurence of a landslide.
P(HA): Partial risk (annual probability of occurrence of landslide impacting an element at risk at the site when the landslide affects this site).
P(S:H): Probability of spatial impact by the landslide on the property, taking into account the travel distance and travel direction.
P(T:S): Temporal spatial probability. For houses and other buildings P(T:S) is 1.0. For vehicles and other moving elements at risk 1.0<P(T:S)>0.
R(S): Risk (annual probability of loss)
V(L:T): Vulnerability of the individual or the element at risk; probability of loss or damage given the impact.

3. Glossary

4. Other Glossaries (other than in References below)

5. References

Canadian Standard Association (CSA), 1997. Risk management: guidelines for decision-makers, a national standard of Canada; CAN/CSA-Q850-97, 46p.

Cruden, D.M. and Varnes, D.J., 1996. Landslide types and processes; in Landslides: investigation and mitigation, (ed.) A.K. Turner and R.L. Schuster; Transportation Research Board, Special Report, 247, p. 36-75.

Fell, R., Corominas, J., Bonnard, C., Cascini, L., Leroi, E., and Savage, W.Z., 2008. Guidelilnes for landslide susceptibility, hazard and risk zoning for land use planning; Engineering Geology, v. 102, p. 85-98.

Wise, M.P., Moore, G.D. and VanDine, D.F. (ed.), 2004. Landslide risk case studies in forest development planning and operations; Land Management Handbook 56, BC Ministry of Forests, Research Branch, Victoria, BC, 119 p.

WP/WLI (International Geotechnical Societies' UNESCO Working Party on World Landslide Inventory), 1993. Bilingual landslide glossary; Bitech Publishers, Richmond, Brithish Columbia, 59 p.