Geography Blog: Mass wasting and Flash Floods in Rio

Rio de janerio is one of the most unique sites in the world. Most of Rio lies on a geological structure called Brazilian crystal basement. Rio is known for its mountains, hills and valleys caused by tectonic altercations. Since Rio sits atop mountains and hills it is accustom to mass wasting and flash floods.

Like learned in class mass wasting is the down-slope movement of an angular slope. Mass wasting comes in many types like falls, topples, slides, and flows. In the picture below the rock fell from its source at the top because of a steep slope in the mountain and Undercutting.

Many tourists and locals like to rock climb in Rio because of the Joints in the rocks. The joints are cracks in the rocks which can be caused by mass weathering.

Flash Floods

Since Rio is located in the tropical zone it is regularly hit with heavy Rainfall.

The majority of Rio homes are built on slopes and on top one another. Flash floods hit Rio and are devastating to the citizens because of the mass wasting of slopes. The houses are so close together which creates narrow streets and when rain hits it causes a catastrophic event!