Glossary

Nomenclature is important. Despite the efforts, in landslide recognition and mapping (Varnes, 1978; Cruden, 1991; Cruden and Varnes, 1996; WP/WLI, 1990, 1993, 1995), susceptibility and hazard assessment (Varnes and IAEG Commission on landslides and other mass movements, 1984; Aleotti and Chowdhury, 1999; Guzzetti et al., 1999; Partnership for Reducing Landslide Risk, 2004) and risk evaluation (Varnes and IAEG Commission on landslides and other mass movements, 1984; Einstein, 1988; 1997; Cruden and Fell, 1997; ISSMGE TC32, 2004; Partnership for Reducing Landslide Risk, 2004; Vandine et al., 2004; Wise et al., 2004; Glade et al., 2005), confusion exists on the use and application of many terms. This often results in difficulty in comparing the results of different investigators. The simplified glossary presented in this chapter does not have the ambition of solving the problem. In the following, some of the most important terms or expressions used in this work are listed. For each term a short explanation is provided and, where appropriate, reference is made to the relevant literature. Meaning of some of the language used in this work may not be the same as that found in the literature. ...