mass movements, instability factors, shear strength, slope stability, factor of safety, erosion of riverbanks, root cohesion, seepage

Mass movements are one of the geodynamic processes that occur worldwide and cause significant changes in landscape. It is estimated that damage caused by mass movements are more than ten times greater than the ones caused by earthquakes. Landslides have occured for a long time and they concern both natural slopes and man-made engineering structures. The causes for mass movements are generally known, but the place and time of their occurence is hard to predict because of randomness of the natural phenomena that initiate the these processes. This chapter presents mass movements issues, their typology, and general test methods. Special attention was given to engineering tools used in slope stability evaluation.