Lab Exercise 7: Mass Wasting

This map shows the elevation of forest falls, California. All the areas that are covered in black indicate the area above a 30 degree slope. These areas are prone to slope failure when saturated. Mass wasting in this area is caused by ground composition and amount of rain fall. By mixing loose soil and high rain levels makes this are more susceptible to mass wasting.

This image above shows 24 shapefiles of Doppler radar data, each representing a snapshot in time of rainfall measurements taken at five-minute intervals during an intense storm that took place in Forest Falls, California, on July 11, 1999. The lightest precipitation is represented by green and the heaviest is shown in red. White dots represent no precipitation. After gaining this information we watched as the precipitation shifted over time and watched what area was effected the most. After watching the pattern change we got a better understanding of the hillside and what areas are more likely to be effected by mass wastage. Soil depth would give you an idea of what the ground composition is made of and how it is able to stay in place. Knowing how much plants and vegetation are in the area would help. After reviewing the map the safest part on the maps would be at the peaks of these mountains. There are not a lot of area that is safe.