Among the more superficial mass-erosion phenomena, solifluction affects large swathes of slopes to varying depths up to a maximum of two metres, in the parts that most easily becomes waterlogged.
The water penetrates through the dense network of cracks that open in the clay-rich slopes during the dry season due to loss of moisture and contraction. When the rains resume, the strongly hygroscopic nature of the clays makes large surface areas become very malleable, almost fluid, and they slowly slide down the slope, even on low gradients. The phenomenon takes place along surfaces subparallel to the slope, coinciding with both the stratification planes and those dividing the soil from the substrate. This difference in permeability between the soil, which is rendered quite permeable by the cracks and by agricultural processes, and the substrate beneath it, which is generally quite solid and compact, is the main factor in determining the most widespread solifluction phenomena in given specific morphological and climate conditions.
The following links give access to files regarding the work within the region to identify areas subject to solifluction events, and the report, which we recommend should be read carefully, on the products and procedures used.
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