Mass wasting, also known as slope movement or mass movement, is the geomorphic process by which soil, sand, regolith, and rock move downslope typically as a solid, continuous or discontinuous mass, largely under the force of gravity, frequently with characteristics of a flow as in debris flows and mudflows.

What is meant by mass wasting?

Mass wasting is the movement of rock and soil down slope under the influence of gravity. ... Rock falls, slumps, and debris flows are all examples of mass wasting. Often lubricated by rainfall or agitated by seismic activity, these events may occur very rapidly and move as a flow.

What is the best definition for mass wasting?

: the process involving movement of mantlerock that is controlled directly by gravity and that includes such gradual movements as creep and solifluction and such rapid movements as produce rockfalls, landslides, and mudflows.