Avalanches

People

Heavy rain

Skiers and snowboarders

Stress acting quickly on snow

Snow piling on extremely steep terrain

Global climate change

By completely leveling the slopes of mountains

By melting all the snow on mountainslides

By preventing huge snowpacks from forming

By destroying trees and rocks that can hurt people in avalanches

Avalanches involve snow, landslides usually don't

Avalanches happen on slopes, landslides happen on flat terrain

Avalanches are usually caused by changes in precipitation; landslides are usually caused by changes in temperature

Avalanches always have natural causes; landslides are usually caused by human activity

Friction

Drag

Atmospheric pressure

Gravity

A 15-degree slope

A 45- degree slope

A 65- degree slope

An 85-degree slope

Ice, rocks, and debris can get mixed into avalanches

Many ski resorts take anti-avalanche precautions

Avalanches are scarier than earthquakes

Avalanches are distinct from mudslides

Slope inclination and direction

Snowpack conditions

wind and temperature

dense snow layers

Ground surface conditions

An avalanche is a rapid flow of snow down a slope

the trigger of an avalanche is only natural and causes the sudden rupture of the snow pack

All avalanches have a trigger, a starting point, a slide path and run out zone.

The debris deposit is the accumulated mass of the snow avalanche once it has come to rest and may contain ice, soil, rocks and vegetation