Mass movements in Hilly areas (with examples from Nigeria)

ABSTRACT

In mountaimous areas of great relief, mass movements occur regularly as the result of the normal cyclic landscape development process. However, mass movements also occur in areas of lower relief, i.e. in areas of less geomorphic activity. An extreme case of this type has been found in the development of cracks in a flat savannah area of Nigeria which has generally been ascribed to purely hydrological causes. Nevertheless, it can be shown that the development of the cracks occurs along the shear lines of the neotectonic stress field, so that geotectonic processes represent the "ultimate" cause of the mass movements here as well.(AU)