Triggering factors of landslides in Campos do Jordao city, Brazil

This paper focuses on the identification and analysis of the mechanisms and triggering factors of some landslides which have occurred in Campos de Jordao city, Brazil. The methodological procedures were based mainly on the recognition of the weathering profiles, recording of the landslide features, elaboration of the map of unconsolidated materials and slope and mass flow direction charts. In addition, an analysis of the rainfall data of the last 23 years was carried out. The translational type was the most common landslide that occurred, with failure surfaces between the sandy silt and sandy clay layers. Most landslides occurred in areas with slopes steeper than 300. The rainfall data analyzed also showed that the distribution is a more important triggering factor than the amount of precipitation, such that landslides occur preferentially in the period from December to January.