Landslides in the Thick Loess Terrain of North-West China

A lavishly illustrated study of landslides and debris flows on the Loess Plateau of north-central China where dense rural population and human activity has greatly increased landslide hazard. The Loess Plateau lies in the middle reaches of the Yellow River and there are a number of cities housing more than a million people. Landslides are triggered by heavy rainstorms and earthquakes have been a recurrent hazard in the loess terrain for over two millennia. The contributors to this book set out with a number of goals including: establishing the role of bedrock relief in landsliding studying the nature of the hydrological system within the loess slopes characterising the modes of failure of the loess fabric producing a dynamically-based classification of loess landslides 'ultimately' establishing criteria for a simple warning system for loess slope failure, together with an advisory scheme for local population response to landslide warnings. This book includes over forty colour maps unique in their content and coverage, showing for the first time the detailed distribution of landslides in the thick loess terrain of eastern Gansu Province, North China.