In the Andes Mountains of South America, entire towns of thousands of people have been buried suddenly when snow fell from high on a mountain side, melted on impact, and then mixed with loose materials that traveled downhill as a viscous fluid. This type of catastrophic event is known as a

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The described event of snow mixed with loose materials flowing down as a viscous fluid is characteristic of a debris avalanche. Lahars involve volcanic ash and debris mixed with water, slumps occur when a mass of earth or rock moves downhill along a curved surface, rock falls involve the free fall of individual rocks, and slides involve a relatively coherent mass of earth or rock moving down a slope.

In the Andes Mountains of South America, Entire Towns of Thousands