Education

Landslides are dangerous and very difficult to predict. Some landslides may provide clues that they are about to happen; others may happen suddenly without any warning signs.

Landslides occur in all 50 states and territories and they affect lives, property, infrastructure, and the environment.  Understanding when, where, and how landslides occur can help to reduce the risk of living with these natural hazards.  

The USGS Landslide Hazards Seminar is a speaker series that brings together landslide researchers, academics, students, applied scientists, and others to share their work in a long format. Topics range from deep dives into numerical models to broad overviews of landslide hazards of a state. The 50-minute presentations are presented live on regular Wednesdays at 3:00 PM Mountain Time. 

If you live on or below a slope, here are some simple steps you can do to identify a landslide hazard and reduce your landslide risk.

Landslides pose significant risks to public health and safety, local economies, and home and business owners

Landslides occur when forces that form them overcome forces resisting their formation. This can happen quickly, such as during an earthquake or rainstorm, or slowly, as happens from stream or shoreline erosion, melting of permafrost in a warming climate, or gradual weakening of hillslope materials.

Landslides occur in every state and U.S. territory including the Appalachian Mountains, the Rocky Mountains, the Pacific Coastal Ranges, and some parts of Alaska and Hawaii. Any area composed of very weak or fractured materials resting on a steep slope can and will likely experience landslides.

Landslides occur in all 50 states and territories, and they affect lives, property, infrastructure, and the environment. Landslides are the downslope movement of earth materials (rock, debris, and soil) at rates that range from inches per year to tens of miles per hour. Some landslides can move faster than a person can run and can happen with no notice or can take place over days, weeks, or longer

Science briefs about new landslides research written for non-scientists.

Landslide and debris flow warning signs, what to do before, during, and after. 

Fact Sheets

Geological Surveys, city and county governments, and professional consultants may have specific landslide information for your area. The American Association of State Geologists (AASG) maintains a directory of all State Geological Surveys.