.

Catena 35 1999 99121

Facies and microfacies of slope deposits
Pascal Bertran
)
, Jean-Pierre Texier
Institut du Quaternarie, UMR 9933 du CNRS, Uniersite de Bordeaux 1, Aenue des Facultes, F-33405
Talence, Bordeaux, France
Received 5 June 1997; accepted 15 May 1998
Abstract
This paper reviews the facies and microfacies of the main types of slope deposits. Lamination
and sorting, when preserved, are good evidence for overland flow. Features due to deformation
.
folds, boudins, coatings and tails due to the rotation of clasts are associated with the early stages
of deformation in earth slides. Other mass-movements such as debris flows, rock avalanches, earth
flows, and to a certain extent, dry grain flows may be characterised by similar microscopic facies,

typically a poorly sorted, porphyric material. Porosity gives evidence for both liquefaction debris
. .
flows and frost-induced mass-movement solifluction . However, this criterion is thought to be

irrelevant for fossil deposits owing to the rapidity and scale of post-depositional changes wetting
.
and drying, freezing and thawing, bioturbation . At present, only a detailed analysis of both the
macro- and micromorphological characteristics of the deposits allows an accurate identification of
past slope dynamics. q1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Micromorphology; Slope deposits; Rockfall talus; Grain flow; Rock avalanche; Debris flow;
Periglacial solifluction; Earth slide; Earth flow
1. Introduction
Recently, work has focused on the transport processes and sedimentology of slope
deposits from various active depositional environments to improve the genetic interpre-

tation of fossil deposits. Whereas the facies are fairly well documented for example, see
.
Van Steijn et al., 1995 , the investigations on associated microfacies are sparse and
.
concern mainly solifluction review in Huijzer, 1993 . The aim of this paper is to present
a comparative review of the sedimentological characteristics that typify the main slope
mechanisms with a special reference to micromorphology. The results obtained so far
)
Corresponding author. Fax: q33-5-56-84-84-51
0341-8162r99r$20.00 q 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.
.
PII: S0341- 8162 98 00096- 4
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P. Bertran, J.-P. TexierrCatena 35 1999 99121 100
Fig. 1. Classification of slope processes.
are variable and probably not always representative. Therefore, this paper should be
considered a preliminary report.
.
Results have been obtained from 1 modern slope deposits from the French Alps, the
.
Bolivian Andes, southwestern France and Morocco, 2 Pleistocene deposits from
southwestern France and Portugal.
. .
The classification used here for transport processes Fig. 1 is based on Varnes 1978
.
and Pierson and Costa 1987 , reflecting the style and velocity of movement, and the
grain-size and rheological properties of the moving material. Modifications have been
made to accommodate certain criteria useful for facies analysis.
Large thin sections were prepared from blocks of sediments vacuum-impregnated by
.
a synthetic resin according to the method of Guillore 1980 . The terminology is adapted

.
from Bullock et al. 1985 .
2. Results
2.1. Low sediment concentration, interstitial fluidsair: rockfall deposits
In this case, rock clasts fall from a cliff as individual particles or highly dispersed
assemblages and come to the halt after rolling, bouncing andror sliding onto the talus.
On the steep upper segment of the talus, the debris then experiences rapid creep due to
the impact of falling stones, washing, temperature variations and trampling by animals
.
Rapp, 1962; Gardner, 1979; Francou, 1991 .
Unmodified rockfall talus is characterised by a coarse clast-supported to openwork
.
structure and the lack of, or a very crude, stratification Francou and Hetu, 1989 . This

kind of deposit usually constitutes only part of screes, and is interlayered with
mass-movement deposits such as debris and grain flows. The clast fabric is random or
displays a weak preferred orientation parallel to the slope, particularly near the apex of
.
the talus Caine, 1967; McSaveney, 1971; Bertran et al., 1997 .
Very few data on microfacies are currently available, mainly because of the coarse
texture and the lack of cohesion of the material. We have been able to obtain thin
sections from an active talus developed in limestones in southwestern France because of
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P. Bertran, J.-P. TexierrCatena 35 1999 99121 101
rapid cementation. Under a microscope the scree appears as a loose accumulation of

poorly sorted clasts with a monic to chitonic crf related distribution clean clasts or
. .
clasts coated by clay- to sand-sized particles Fig. 2 . We do not see any textural
features despite the strong porosity, probably because of the high rate of talus accretion.
2.2. Low to intermediate sediment concentration, interstitial fluidswater or waterqfine
particles: oerland flow deposits
The thickness of water flowing on slopes is generally some millimetres and the
conditions of particle transport are significantly different from those in fluvial environ-

ments. This results in poor separation of bedload and suspended particles Moss and
. .
Walker, 1978 . Additional processes may interact with the flow: i raindrop impacts
.
splash favour the detachment of particles and disturb the flow Moeyersons and De
. .
Ploey, 1976 ; ii sliding, fall or liquefaction of the walls of rills and gullies are
.
responsible for large sporadic sediment inputs De Ploey, 1971, 1974; Govers, 1987 ;
.
iii vegetation induces a forced sedimentation of particles and flow concentration
.
Faury, 1990 . As a consequence, the sediment load may quickly change within a single
flow event.
Overland flow deposits are usually moderately sorted, with marked spatial grain-size
.
variation. The clast fabric ranges from random to weakly oriented Bertran et al., 1997 .
Deposits typically show laminated lenses interstratified with massive deposits. The
lenses with obvious lamination and evidence of sorting represent areas where vertical or
lateral accretion due to dilute flows is rapid. Such deposits may be extensive, as for
.
Fig. 2. Loosely packed limestone clasts in a rockfall talus Lousteau, France . PPL.
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P. Bertran, J.-P. TexierrCatena 35 1999 99121 102
example downslope of large gullies. Massive deposits represent areas of hyperconcen-
.
trated flow accumulation Lowe, 1982; Wells and Harvey, 1987 or areas where
accretion is slow and post-depositional perturbations such as splash, bioturbation, and
freezing and thawing are strong. According to the morphology of the watershed, the
grain-size and the mechanical properties of the eroded material, hyperconcentrated flows
may be dominant and build thick faintly bedded cones.
Compaction and pedogenic modification tend to erase lamination and bedding within
fine-grained deposits. Gravel lenses and gravel sheets corresponding respectively to
former rills and residual pavements, or coarse-grained fans are often the only features
which survive. Agricultural practices also destroy the sedimentary features and create
.
massive homogeneous deposits Allen, 1992 .
In thin sections the laminated materials appear as juxtaposed mineral grains and
.
rounded to subangular soil aggregates Fig. 3 . The relative abundance of soil aggregates
.
Fig. 3. Laminated overland flow deposits in a small colluvial cone Vaise, France . Clay and silt particles
occur as sand-sized aggregates juxtaposed to quartz grains as well as secondary infillings in packing voids.
PPL.
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P. Bertran, J.-P. TexierrCatena 35 1999 99121 103
depends mainly on the structural stability of the parent material. Overland flow deposits
derived from the erosion of clayey or humic soils may be composed predominantly of
. .
aggregates Alberts et al., 1980 Fig. 4 , formed from faecal pellets of the mesofauna in
.
humic soils Mucher et al., 1972 . The crf related distribution ranges from monic clean

. .
sand or enaulic sand and soil aggregates to chitonicgefuric fine fraction forming
.
coatings and bridges between grains . The latter comes from clay and silt infillings
during decreasing flow stages or post-depositional modifications. Typically, such beds
alternate with massive, poorly sorted layers with a chitonic to single-spaced porphyric
.
i.e., matrix-support crf related distribution. They represent former structural crusts
.
Valentin and Bresson, 1992 , overland flowqsplash deposits Mucher and De Ploey,

. .
1977 with frequent scattered flakes of silt laminae Fig. 5 , or hyperconcentrated flow
.
deposits Fig. 6 .
Anthropogenic colluvium typically displays a biological porosity together with
.
fragments of reworked older soils, charcoal and ferruginised organic debris manure
.
Fig. 4. Soil aggregates in overland flow deposits derived from the erosion of an argillic horizon Morocco .
PPL.
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P. Bertran, J.-P. TexierrCatena 35 1999 99121 104
.
Fig. 5. Poorly sorted layer interstratified with laminated deposits from a colluvial cone Vaise, France .
Disrupted silty flakes are scattered within the whole layer, which may reflect overland flowqsplash action.
PPL.
.
MacPhail, 1992 . Sandy silt intercalations due to internal slaking and dusty clay
.
coatings are also characteristic of these deposits Jongerius, 1970; MacPhail, 1992 .
2.3. High sediment concentration, interstitial fluidsair: grain flows and rock aalanches
2.3.1. Grain flows
Grain flows correspond to dry cohesionless flows of debris on very steep talus slopes
.
Rapp, 1962; Whitehouse and McSaveney, 1983 . They are characterised by weakly
.
developed lateral levees, fine-grained channel-bottom deposits sieved material and an

elongated frontal lobe. Accumulation of grain flows typically produces stratified de-
posits with inverse grading, strong imbrication of clasts and slope-parallel preferred
.
orientation Hetu et al., 1995; Bertran et al., 1997 . Stratification and preferred orienta-

tion tend to disappear in the distal part of the talus, which is built by the stacking of
coarse lobes and by clasts falling in isolation. The dispersive pressures and the sieving
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P. Bertran, J.-P. TexierrCatena 35 1999 99121 105
Fig. 6. Massive sandy layer with an abundant fine matrix deposited by an hyperconcentrated flow over a
.
colluvial cone Vaise, France . PPL.
effect are responsible for the inverse grading and the fine-grained basal sole layer, which
may be some millimetres to several centimetres thick.
Grain flow deposits lack cohesion and are unsuitable for the manufacture of thin
sections. The microfacies in Pleistocene sole layers slightly indurated by secondary
carbonates are characterised by sand-sized grains scattered within a homogeneous fine
.
matrix open porphyric crf related distribution with a crystallitic b-fabric randomly
. .
distributed small crystals of calcite Fig. 7 . Secondary infillings of silt form thick
.
microlaminated coatings at the top of the sole layer Fig. 8 . A number of clast-sup-
ported fine-grained lenses which have been sampled are composed only of microlami-
nated accumulations of sand and silt. They are probably not directly related to the
emplacement of grain flows but correspond to banded accumulations formed by water
percolating through highly permeable deposits.
2.3.2. Rock aalanches

3 3
.
Rock avalanches are flows of very large volumes of rock material )10 m which
.
disintegrate during the process of sliding or collapse Hsu, 1975; Melosh, 1987 .

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P. Bertran, J.-P. TexierrCatena 35 1999 99121 106

Fig. 7. Massive poorly sorted layer corresponding to the basal sole of a grain flow on a steep talus Belesten,
.
France . PPL.

Deposits are fan- or tongue-shaped depending on the underlying topography Eisbacher,

.
1979 . Most accumulation occurs in the distal part of the avalanche, which frequently
.
displays a hummocky surface Goguel and Pachoud, 1972; Siebert, 1984 and a steep
front. This process may be of major importance for the morphogenesis of regions with
.
high seismic activity or in paraglacial areas Gardner, 1979; Whalley et al., 1983 .
The main diagnostic criteria are the presence of megablocks, a very angular shape of
the clasts, often with a jigsaw fit, an inverse grading of the clasts, a basal layer with an
abundant cataclastic fine matrix and often distinct sliding surfaces. Thrusting planes may

appear in the frontal area of the avalanche Yarnold, 1993; Topping, 1993; Blair and
.
McPherson, 1994; Bertran, 1996 . The texture varies according to the lithologies
involved so that rock avalanche deposits range from clast-supported, highly porous
debris to matrix-supported, slurry-like diamicton.
Few data on microfacies of rock avalanches are currently available. Thin sections
.
from a recent rock avalanche derived from a cliff fall in limestones and marls show: i
. . .
in situ fractured clasts jigsaw breccia not visible in the field Fig. 9 , ii a cataclastic
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P. Bertran, J.-P. TexierrCatena 35 1999 99121 107
.
Fig. 8. Microstructure of the basal sole of a grain flow deposit Belesten, France . Dots correspond to the basal
silty sand layer and black areas correspond to postdepositional silt accumulations.
sandy silt matrix showing limited mixing so that there are juxtaposed areas of different
. .
colour and grain-size Fig. 10 , iii abundant plant fragments derived from the forest
. .
which previously covered the talus, and iv a high fissural porosity Bertran, 1996 . The
microfacies of the basal sheared layer is significantly different and is characterised by a
more homogeneous matrix and the lack of a jigsaw fit of the clasts. The b-fabric is
crystallitic. Thick secondary silt accumulations are visible in some voids and are
attributed to the strong run-off activity which followed the cliff collapse.
.
Fig. 9. In situ fractured clast in a rock avalanche Claix, France . PPL.
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P. Bertran, J.-P. TexierrCatena 35 1999 99121 108
.
Fig. 10. Angular clasts scattered in a silty matrix from a rock avalanche Claix, France . Note the juxtaposition
of areas with distinct colour and grain size and the small organic fragments. PPL.
2.4. High sediment concentration, interstitial fluidswater or waterqfine particles:
debris flows, solifluction, earth slides and flows
2.4.1. Liquefaction of the debris: debris flows
Debris flows correspond to flows of liquefied sediments. They are initiated by the
removal of loose debris accumulated in gullies or by the transformation of landslides
.
into a slurry following a rainstorm Johnson and Rodine, 1984; Blijenberg, 1993 .
The accumulation of lateral levees together with gullying in the upper segment of the

talus lead to the formation of crudely stratified deposits characterised by coarse

openwork lenses channel lags, external part of levees, pavements due to post-deposi-

.
tional run-off activity in a diamicton Bertran and Texier, 1994; Van Steijn et al.,
.
1995 . Further downslope, stacking of terminal lobes builds diamictic deposits with a
crude horizontal bedding and frequent buried paleosols and laminated overland-flow
deposits. These facies characterize cones formed by channelised debris flows in large
.
gullies Hubert and Filipov, 1989 . The clast fabric shows weak to moderate preferred
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P. Bertran, J.-P. TexierrCatena 35 1999 99121 109

orientation, the highest strength being found in the lateral levees Nieuwenhuijzen and

.
Van Steijn, 1990; Bertran et al., 1997 .
Some data on microfacies in debris flows have already been published by Van
. . .
Vliet-Lanoe 1985 , Bertran 1993 and Bertran and Texier 1994 . These only concern

.
cohesive debris flows Lowe, 1982 with significant amounts of silt and clay. Recent
deposits show a homogeneous fine-grained matrix, a porphyric crf relative distribution
.
and an undifferentiated or crystallitic b-fabric Fig. 11 . Plant debris may be abundant.
Voids are typically poorly interconnected irregular to rounded vesicles which reflect
.
liquefaction Fig. 12 . This porosity may rapidly disappear because of pedogenetic
activity due to soil fauna and flora, drying and wetting and freezing and thawing. When
debris flows are derived from sliding of clayey soils, remains of the soil may be
.
preserved as small rounded clay lumps or as mineral grains coated by clay Fig. 13 .
.
According to Van Vliet-Lanoe 1985 , the debris flows due to liquefaction of slope

deposits in periglacial environments display silt cappings disrupted and scattered within
the matrix of the flow. The microfacies are close to those observed in the dense basal
sole of grain flows as well as those from the lower layer of the rock avalanches.
2.4.2. No or partial liquefaction of the debris, no distinct sliding plane: periglacial
solifluction

Solifluction is a slow downslope displacement of sediments velocity from 1 to 10 cm

. .
a year . It involves the combined effects of two elementary processes: 1 frost-creep
.
due to alternation of frost heaving growth of ice lenses and resettlement of the soil
. .
melting of ice and 2 gelifluction caused by high porewater pressures occurring
during thaw consolidation and resulting in loss of soil strength and subsequent flow. The

Fig. 11. Poorly sorted debris with an abundant fine matrix in a debris flow derived from schists Vallon
.
Laugier, France . PPL.
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P. Bertran, J.-P. TexierrCatena 35 1999 99121 110
.
Fig. 12. Typical vesicular porosity in a muddy debris flow Coulaures, France . PPL.

respective role of the two processes varies according to granulometry Harris et al.,
.
1993, 1995 and the amount of available water determined by the occurrence or absence
.
of a water table at depth Benedict, 1970; Matsuoka, 1996 . Movement is distributed
throughout the whole soil mass and there is no distinct sliding plane.
.
Fig. 13. Silty clay coating around a clast in a debris flow originating from an earth slide Aubagne, France .
PPL.
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P. Bertran, J.-P. TexierrCatena 35 1999 99121 111
Solifluction landforms comprise tongue-shaped lobes, terraces and sheets. The related
.
deposits display two main lithofacies: i a massive or crudely stratified diamicton,

stratification being sometimes marked by buried organic soils nonsorted turf-banked

lobes, sheets or terraces: Benedict, 1970; Matthews et al., 1986; Repelewska and Pekala,
. .
1993 , ii stratified deposits composed by alternating diamictic and openwork beds
.
stone-banked lobes and sheets: Francou, 1990; Bertran et al., 1995 . Among all the
macroscopic diagnostic criteria proposed by the authors, the most reliable are a

well-developed preferred clast orientation parallel to the slope Brochu, 1978; Nelson,
.
1985; Bertran et al., 1997 and the occurrence of a platy structure together with

deformation features like folds or downslope overturning of strata Benedict, 1970; Van
.
Vliet-Lanoe and Valadas, 1983; Van Steijn et al., 1995 .

The microfacies of solifluction deposits have been the subject of a number of studies

Harris and Ellis, 1980; Harris, 1981, 1987; Van Vliet-Lanoe, 1982, 1985, 1987; Bertran

. .
et al., 1995 . Platy structures due to the growth of ice lenses are widespread Fig. 14 .
They are replaced by granular structures in the upper part of clay-rich soils. The melting
.
Fig. 14. Platy structure due to ice lensing in the upslope part of a solifluction lobe La Cumbre, Bolivia .
Depth of the samples5 cm. PPL.
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P. Bertran, J.-P. TexierrCatena 35 1999 99121 112
of ground ice and summer rainfalls in areas where the vegetation cover is lacking or

sparse may lead to oversaturation and to the collapse of the soil aggregates Harris,
.
1983; Van Vliet-Lanoe, 1985 . Subsequently, a surficial vesicular layer is formed Fig.

.
15 . Features due to eluviation become very important and within a solifluction lobe, a
.
downslope gradient of eluviation usually develops Bertran et al., 1995 . The distal part
.
exhibits well-developed silt cappings on gravels and a washed sandy matrix Fig. 16 .
Fine particles are translocated and accumulate at depth, particularly near textural
.
discontinuities Van Vliet-Lanoe, 1985; Bertran, 1993; Bertran et al., 1995 . When ice

.
lensing interferes with accumulation, silts are incorporated in the whole matrix Fig. 17 .
In areas where freezing is shallow, for example in tropical mountains, the translocated
clay and silt form microlaminated coatings on voids. The b-fabric is undifferentiated or
crystallitic. Sometimes it may be weakly striated due to oriented clay domains around
.
aggregates Van Vliet-Lanoe, 1985 .

Fig. 15. Vesicular structure due to the partial collapse of cryogenic aggregates in a solifluction lobe depth of
. .
samples5 cm La Cumbre, Bolivia . Because of the lack of liquid precipitation in the area Bolivia, 5200
.
m , this microstructure does not reflect crusting due to the impact of raindrops but likely indicates an
.
oversaturation of the soil due to water release following the melting of ice lenses gelifluction . PPL.
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P. Bertran, J.-P. TexierrCatena 35 1999 99121 113
.
Fig. 16. Silt coatings on gravels in the frontal zone of a solifluction lobe same lobe as Figs. 14 and 15 .
Because of a stronger eluviation and a subsequent lower frost susceptibility of the soil than in the upslope zone
.
of the lobe, velocity is about 3 times weaker frost-creep .
.
Van Vliet-Lanoe 1982, 1985, 1987 has proposed a classification of microstructures

in relation to the type of movement. Frost-creep should be characterized by a platy

.
structure and a well-sorted squeletan initial frost-creep or by assymetric aggregates
.
with cappings of fines which thicken downslope frost-creep sensu stricto . Gelifluc-
tion should generate rounded aggregates or mineral grains coated by microlaminated
silts owing to the rotation they undergo during motion. Several objections can be made
to this proposal.
.
1 Frost-creep and gelifluction are intimately associated in natural solifluction
landforms. Their relative importance depends on several factors and particularly on
granulometry. Laboratory experiments show that gelifluction is only responsible for a
.
minor part of movement in sandy sediments Harris, 1993; Harris et al., 1995 .
Nevertheless, silt coatings around grains are typical of the sandy textured, slowly
moving frontal zone of solifluction lobes. They are also often mentioned in Pleistocene
.
soliflucted granitic sands Van Vliet-Lanoe and Valadas, 1983; Bertran, 1989 . The

adoption of Van Vliet-Lanoes classification would mean that the microstructure ob-

served in sands would imply gelifluction, which is in direct contradiction to experimen-

tal data and field measurements.
.
2 The rate of particle rotation during flow depends on its shape and the amount of
.
displacement Ildefonse et al., 1992; Jesek et al., 1996 rather than on the speed of
movement. Accordingly, the rounded or slightly elongated grains in the samples studied
.
were embedded with silt whereas flattened grains for example schistose clasts were
only capped on their upper surface. Both features may be associated within a single thin
section. Therefore, coatings around grains would be specifically related to rounded or
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P. Bertran, J.-P. TexierrCatena 35 1999 99121 114
.
Fig. 17. Microstructures in a stone-banked solifluction lobe La Mortice, France .
subrounded clasts and reflect strong eluviation together along with displacement during
solifluction sensu lato.
Solifluction structures are commonly well preserved in relict deposits, but frequently
differ from those observed in present-day active environments. This is due to the
superimposition of successive frost structures during the progressive accumulation of
sediments. For example, vesicular structures are rare in relict deposits and the rounded
cryogenic aggregates either are integrated into lenticular aggregates or disappear owing
to compaction. Likewise, it is generally difficult to identify simple cryopedogenic
profiles characterized by an increase in thickness of the platy structure and a fining of
textural pedofeatures with depth.
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P. Bertran, J.-P. TexierrCatena 35 1999 99121 115
.
Fig. 18. Brecciated microstructure from an earth slide in varved silts Trieves, France . PPL. `
2.4.3. No or partial liquefaction of the debris, distinct sliding planes: earth slides and
earth flows
Earth slides and flows are mass displacements where movement concentrates along
basal and internal shear planes. The sliding mass breaks into a few blocks or disinte-
.
Fig. 19. Ductile deformation of silt and sand laminae in an earth slide Trieves, France . Note the tails `
indicating the rotation of the coarse grain. PPL.
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P. Bertran, J.-P. TexierrCatena 35 1999 99121 116
grates more completely and flows slowly. Earth slides are triggered by increase of shear
stress due to factors such as suppression of basal support or overloading, or by decrease
in soil strength brought about by high porewater pressures, weathering, and slow creep.
In periglacial environments, sliding replaces classic solifluction in clayey materials
.
Harris, 1987; Hutchinson, 1991 . Slides are also promoted by thawing of ice-rich

permafrost skinflows, active layer glides: Lewkowicz, 1992; Harris and Lewkowicz,
.
1993a,b .
The main field features which typify such movements in sections are the occurrence
of branching slickensided slip planes, brecciated structure composed of sedimentary

clasts in a homogeneized matrix Hutchinson, 1970; Brunsden, 1984; Harris and

.
Lewkowicz, 1993a,b or deformation of the former bedding in the form of folds,
stretching or boudinage. When disintegration of the mass is weak, the main diagnostic
.
criterion is often the upslope tilting of the bedding. Harris and Lewkowicz 1993a,b
have also described injections and flame-like structures due to liquefaction at the bottom
of active layer glides on permafrost.
.
Fig. 20. Scattered silt and clay lumps in a homogeneous matrix from an earth flow Trieves, France . This `
sample comes from a secondary flow developed on the top of the earth slide shown in Figs. 15 and 16. PPL.
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P. Bertran, J.-P. TexierrCatena 35 1999 99121 117
.
Available microscopic data about earth slides are scarce. Blondeau 1976 reports
laboratory experiments on the microstructure of soil samples under a shear stress. Slow
creep gives rise first to decrease in size of the voids, then to their complete closure. If
the strain leads to failure, the intergranular bonds are broken, the clay domains orientate
and microcracks appear. The strength of clay orientation increases with time from the
application of the strain. In the case of a heavy load leading to rapid failure, the strength
of clay orientation is weak and microcracks form quickly.
Thin sections in clay-rich earth slides reveal a heterogeneous material characterized

by sedimentary clasts scattered in a dense matrix open porphyric crf related

.
distribution , with great variability of the deformation features at 1 cm scale: areas with
. .
angular to sub-rounded sedimentary clasts rigid deformation Fig. 18 are juxtaposed to
.
areas with boudinaged and stretched clay lumps ductile deformation . The b-fabric
ranges from undifferentiated or crystallitic to striated in sheared bands. Fissures related
to post-depositional wetting and drying are commonly observed.
Brecciated microstructure is characteristic of earth slides where deformation is weak.
Initial stages of deformation are also marked by features formed due to the rotation of
.
rigid inclusions such as tails around gravels Fig. 19 . Silty accumulations related to
drainage through fissures during sliding may also be deformed. In earth flows by
contrast, the homogenization of the material is more important and only few sedimentary
.
clasts survive within the matrix Figs. 20 and 21 .
.
Skempton et al. 1991 describe similar microfacies in clayey heads derived from
weathered argillites in England. The smooth and undulating sliding planes exhibit a
striated b-fabric. In the remaining earth slide mass, argillite clasts and small patches of
.
oriented clay are randomly distributed throughout speckled b-fabric .
.
In active-layer glides of the Canadian Arctic, Harris and Lewkowicz 1993b
observed stretchings, boudins and folds in bedded deposits. Deformation concentrated
mainly in thin undulating sand layers in which grains are oriented parallel to the shear
plane. The upper part of the active layer shows a prismatic to a polyedric structure due
to cryodesiccation.
Fig. 21. Schematic microstructures in earth slides, earth flows and debris flows. Black: porosity, grey:
undisturbed clay, dashes: oriented clay domains in the remoulded matrix.
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P. Bertran, J.-P. TexierrCatena 35 1999 99121 118
3. Discussion and conclusion
The foregoing descriptions clearly indicate that different slope processes can generate
similar microfacies. For example, a massive poorly sorted material with an open
porphyric crf related distribution and a crystallitic b-fabric may typify debris flow
deposits, rock avalanches and earth flows, as well as the basal matrix-rich layer of grain
flow deposits. It is therefore necessary to use several criteria such as macro- and
microscopic structures and granulometry for reliable diagnosis of the studied sediments.

Features due to deformation folds, boudins, coatings and tails due to the rotation of
. .
clasts are associated with the early stages of deformation earth slides . However, they
probably also characterise other kinds of materials as for example tills which have been
deposited under a similar strain pattern.
Porosity is a very unstable feature and thus can rarely be considered as a reliable
criterion. Cryogenic porosity may be an exception. This forms in fine-textured frost-sus-
ceptible sediments and is caused by compaction and cryodesiccation of soil aggregates
.
during growth of ice lenses Van Vliet-Lanoe, 1985; Harris, 1987 . Nevertheless,

cryogenic microstructures may develop rather quickly and their use as an indicator of
solifluction remains questionable. For example, a platy microstructure similar to that
found in solifluction deposits was observed within the levees and the lobe front of a still

recognizable debris flow in the French Alps, after ca. 40 years of frost action.
Post-depositional processes can deeply alter original microstructures and thus severely
complicate analysis and dynamic interpretation. Most of the time, sedimentation is
discontinuous and numerous processes such as biologic and anthropogenic activity,
freezing and thawing, run-off and surficial creep can modify the deposits in varying
degrees between successive sedimentary events. When modifications are important,
macroscopic scale evidence seems to provide the most useful evidence for interpretation
of slope deposits. Indeed, sedimentary structures such as the morphology and spatial
distribution of gravel lenses or the sorting of pebbles are often preserved and can be
used most effectively for this purpose.
We believe that there is a need for much more information about the associated facies
and microfacies of contemporary slope deposits. Likewise, there is a need for a
programme of laboratory experiments designed to better understand the significance and
the formative conditions of the microstructures.
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