Arizona Geological Survey OPEN-FILE REPORT OFR 08-06

Arizona Geological Survey
Scarps (head scarps) An abrupt, steep slope of soil where slope failure occurred.
Slope Failure A generic term that applies to a wide range of sediment delivery mechanisms
from steep slopes to channels that usually involves rapid entrainment of relatively large
amounts of sediment into water flow. Types of slope failures range from landslides, which are
relatively slow moving, to avalanches and rockfalls, which move extremely quickly. Here, we
refer to shallow‐seated slope failures, which are of limited spatial extent and have thicknesses
of less than 10 feet and typically less than 3 feet.
Snout Terminal deposits of a debris flow that typically are poorly sorted and contain large
boulders.
Streamflow
Newtonian flow that typically contains less than 40% sediment.
Streamflow flood Although any flow in an ephemeral channel during a rising stage might be
considered a flood, here we consider a flood to be either the largest flow that occurs in a year
or a group of flows that are extremely high in the recorded history of a watercourse at a gaging
station.
Thalweg
The deepest part of a channel.
47