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Rock-Mantled Slopes

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Geomorphology of Desert Environments

Desert hillslopes below the angle of repose are dominated by the weathering characteristics of the underlying lithology, and specifically by the rate of production of fine material compared to the rate of removal. The previous chapter considered hillslopes underlain by massive rocks, or those in layered rocks dominated by outcropping resistant layers. These lithologies are weathering limited, and give rise to hillslopes where a surficial layer of weathered material is thin or absent. On more readily weathered lithologies a more-or-less continuous layer of debris is found. This layer of debris is subject to pedogenic processes. This chapter deals with such hillslopes.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Geography, Sheffield Centre for International Drylands Research, University of Sheffield, Sheffield S10 2TN, UK

    Anthony J. Parsons

  2. Department of Geography, State University of New York at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY 14261, USA

    Athol D. Abrahams

  3. Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22904-4123, USA

    Alan D. Howard

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  1. Anthony J. Parsons
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  2. Athol D. Abrahams
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  3. Alan D. Howard
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Dept. Geography, University of Sheffield, Winter Street, Sheffield, United Kingdom S10 2TN

    Anthony J. Parsons

  2. Dept. Geography, State University of New York, Buffalo, NY 14261, USA

    Athol D. Abrahams

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Parsons, A.J., Abrahams, A.D., Howard, A.D. (2009). Rock-Mantled Slopes. In: Parsons, A.J., Abrahams, A.D. (eds) Geomorphology of Desert Environments. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-5719-9_9

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