rockfall
Tumbling slope stones
A rockfall is a mass of rocks that has fallen from a cliff or mountainside, or the event of such falling.
The term appears in geological and mountaineering contexts: The trail was closed due to rockfall danger.
A single rockfall can range from a few tumbling stones to a catastrophic collapse of an entire slope.
Rapid mountain snow collapse
- bouldersLarge rounded stones
- debrisScattered broken fragments
- dangerExposure to harm
- impactForceful contact or consequence
risk · instability · precarious · rubble · warning · helmet · fatality · collision
Gradual wearing away
- weatheringAtmospheric breakdown of materials
- sedimentParticles settling in liquid
- screeLoose rock debris
- talusAnkle's main bone
gravity · cliff · outcrop · fracture · jointing · freeze-thaw · exfoliation · limestone
Large rounded stones
- stonesSmall hard earth fragments
- rubbleBroken building fragments
- fragmentsIncomplete broken pieces
- chunksThick, solid pieces
gravel · scree · talus · detritus · shattered · splintered · accumulation · cone
avalanche
Rapid mountain snow collapse
impact · risk · instability · precarious · rubble · warning · helmet · fatality · collision · unpredictable
erosion
Gradual wearing away
- weatheringAtmospheric breakdown of materials
- sedimentParticles settling in liquid
- screeLoose rock debris
talus · gravity · cliff · outcrop · fracture · jointing · freeze-thaw · exfoliation · limestone · sandstone
boulders
Large rounded stones
chunks · gravel · scree · talus · detritus · shattered · splintered · accumulation · cone · apron
tunnel
Enclosed underground route
- excavationAct of unearthing
- shaftNarrow vertical passage
- undergroundBelow ground or countercultural
blasting · ore · quarry · support · shoring · collapse · cave-in · headlamp · hardhat · miner
rope
Thick twisted fibers
harness · exposure · couloir · chimney · gully · traverse · ridge · alpine · summit · scrambling
- dangersdanger, peril, hazard, risk, menace
- hazardsfire hazard, fire hazards, toxin, contamination, tripping hazard
- natural disastersearthquake, tornado, hurricane, tsunami, volcanic eruption
- rocky terraincliffs, boulders, scree, outcrops, granite boulders
- Earth processesplate tectonics, erosion, weathering, volcanism, sedimentation
- collapsescollapse, bridge collapse, roof collapse, wall collapse, structural failure
rockfalluplift
Raise emotionally or physically
mountain building · orogeny · upheaval · volcanic eruption · elevation