Landslides Essay, Research Paper

Landslides, a amazing yet deadly element of nature. Triggered by the rain s of spring and winter, and the destruction of trees and hill sides. Logging, erosion, development, and precipitation are some of the causes of a landslide. Builders are also a cause of landslides, ignoring the danger fact of building on a steep hill side, they put money before the lives of innocent people. If we can cause landslides, we can stop them. Logging is a big contributor to a landslide. The roots of trees hold soil and dirt together. They soak up water from rain or snow, which keeps the soil less saturated with water. By cutting these trees down, we increase the chance of a landslide on a steep hill. When a tree is cut down, it eventually decomposes, leaving the roots weak and useless towards holding soil in place. If a tree dies it won t continue to drink precipitation, which is well known in Oregon. Planting more trees on hillsides would cut down the chance of landslides on bare hillsides. Erosion is another cause of landslides. When soil gets extremely saturated or loose, gravity takes its toil and a landslide forms. Again, if there s nothing holding the soil together, it starts to slide. As stated in the previous paragraph, planting more trees would cut down the chance of a landslide. The roots from a tree would hold the soil more tightly and make the soil less saturated.

Development is another contributor to landslides. It not only costs a lot for damage repairs, it also takes the lives of innocent, un-knowing people who put their trust in the builder of their home to make it as safe as possible. Building on a hillside is very dangerous, the house may slide and crash into objects below, causing thousands of dollars in damage, and maybe even death. A solution to this would be to build on flat land, instead of on a hillside. Yes, the view may be great, but is the view as important as your own life? Landslides are very dangerous and even deadly. Every year hundreds of people die from landslides. There are many ways to prevent a landslide from happening, it s just that no one has taken action towards it. Planting trees or building on flatter land are solutions to stopping landslides. Practically everything that gets in the path of a landslide is destroyed, but we can stop this, just from some simple steps, we can decrease the chances of a landslide occurring.