This blog provides a commentary on landslide events occurring worldwide, including the landslides themselves, latest research, and conferences and meetings. The blog is written on a personal basis by Dave Petley, who is the Wilson Professor of Hazard and Risk in the Department of Geography at Durham University in the United Kingdom.

This blog is a personal project that does not seek to represent Durham University.

Tuesday, 30 March 2010

Is a lavafall a landslide?

The Mountain Cat Geology blog has an astonishing image of a lavafall in Iceland following the recent eruption (click on the image for a better view in a new window):

I wonder whether this is technically a landslide, given that it is a mass movement consisting entirely of rock?

2 comments:

Roy said...

If a lava fall is to be grouped in mass movements of any such, I believe it would most likely resemble a flow. This is if you agree that the displaced matter, in this case, lava; resembles the mechanics of a viscous liquid.

Lockwood said...

Fun idea, but I think "rock" by definition is a coherent solid... lava, falling or otherwise, is neither.