Distribution and features of landslides in the Tianshui Basin, Northwest China

Landslides in Tianshui Basin, Gansu Province, Northwest China, severely affect the local population and the economy; therefore, understanding their evolution and kinematics is of great interest for landslide risk assessment and prevention. However, there is no unified classification standard for the types of loess landslides in Tianshui. In this study, we explored the landslide distribution and failure characteristics by means of field investigation, remote sensing interpretation, geological mapping, drilling exploration and shearwave velocity tests, and established a database of Tianshui landslides. Our analysis shows that shear zones in mudstone usually develop in weak intercalated layers. Landslides occur mainly along the West Qinling faults on slopes with gradients of 10° to 25° and on southeast- and southwest-facing slopes. These landslides were classified into five types: loess landslides, loess–mudstone interface landslides, loess flow-slides, loess–mudstone plane landslides and loess–mudstone cutting landslides. We discussed the evolution and failure process of each landslide type and analyzed the formation mechanism and motion characteristics of large-scale landslides. The analysis results show that the landslides in the study area are characterized by a gentle slope, long runout and high risk. The relationship between the runout L and the vertical drop H of the large-scale landslides in the study area is L > 4 H . There are good correlations between the equivalent friction coefficient of largescale landslides and their maximum height, runout, area and volume. The sliding zone of large-scale landslides often develops in the bedrock contact zone or in a weak interlayer within mudstone. From microstructure analysis, undisturbed mudstone consists mainly of small aggregates with dispersed inter-aggregate pores, whereas sheared clay has a more homogeneous structure. Linear striations are well developed on shear surfaces, and the clay pores in those surfaces have a more uniform distribution than those in undisturbed clay.