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mudflow

mudflow

1 4.0
A fast flow of water mixed with mud, rocks, and soil down a slope after heavy rain or a volcano
  • noun
  • /ˈmʌdˌfloʊ/
translation icon : flujo de lodo
  • In regions prone to volcanic activity, a mudflow can occur quickly, causing significant damage to nearby communities.

Examples

  • After the heavy rain, a sudden mudflow rushed down the mountainside, carrying trees and rocks with it.

  • Their world was what it was: hot, harsh, mostly parched and bare, scoured by rains that turned the rivers into mudflows and uncovered bedrock to the sky.

    Fiction book (1992)
  • Survival on the mudflow was higher for large trees.

    Academic text (1997)
  • "There was a huge mudflow somewhere in South America when I was in high school," Sandy remembered.

    Fiction book (2000)
  • On the mudflows, deciduous trees that established as seedlings provided 100% cover by 1994.

    Academic text (1997)
  • The mosaic that was created, however, was coarse-grained, with large, isolated patches and linear mudflows.

    Academic text (1997)
  • Although much of the understory vegetation and small trees were washed away by the mudflows, large trees that were taller than the surface of the flow survived.

    Academic text (1997)
  • Unconsolidated deposits of ash may eventually mix with water to become massive, quick-moving mudflows, called lahars, that can flow in small valleys.

    Academic text (2003)
  • Potential hazards other than flooding are: debris avalanches, mudflows, lava flows, hot gas surges, and ashfall.

    Academic text (2000)
  • Seismic activity in the Soufriere Hills volcano, beginning in 1992, resulted in an explosive eruption in July 1995, followed by a series of pyroclastic mudflows that destroyed and buried most of Plymouth, the island's capital, by 1998.

    Academic text (2003)

Synonyms

mudslide
vsmudflow
29 3.5

A large mass of mud that moves suddenly down a hill after heavy rain

is a rapid watery flow carrying mud, rocks, and debris down slopes

How Rapid

lahar
  • Specialized
1 9.9
mudflow
1 4.0
mudslide
29 3.5
landslide
  • Specialized
23 3.3
slip
8 1.0

Surface Forms

mudflow singular
mudflows plural

Morphology

mudflow = mud + flow (transparent) = mud + flow

A direct compound of 'mud' + 'flow' whose meaning (the flow of mud) is clear from its parts.

Etymology

The word mudflow is a simple combination of mud and flow, so picture a 'flow' or moving stream made of 'mud'. That's why mudflow means a fast movement of mud, soil and rocks down a slope, often after heavy rain or a volcanic eruption.