What can you conclude from the fact that the states in the U.S. ...

[tiara099]

What can you conclude from the fact that the states in the U.S. having the lowest landslide severity are
  all either in the central part of the country or are in coastal areas? What will be an ideal response?

Question 2

What distinguishes the term landslide from other phenomena included under the general heading of
  mass wasting? What will be an ideal response?

[smrtceo]

Answer to Question 1

Slope plays a critical role in determining landslide severity in a given state. The states with low
severity tend to be those that are not mountainous.

Answer to Question 2

This term basically excludes very fast moving and very slow moving types of mass wasting. It does
not include, for example, debris avalanches, nor does it include soil creep. First of all, landslides are
moderately rapid falls, slides, and flows. Second, they have well-defined boundaries both laterally and
at depth. They commonly have, for example, a slide plane at their base. Large debris avalanches
illustrate the difference. A common source of origin for these is the collapse of a mountain face in
virtual free fall. At the base of the mountain, the mass fluidizes on impact and then flows at high
velocity over the land surface. A landslide tends to shear or slide at least initially, and water invariably
plays an important role in this. Although flow is an important mechanism in landslides, it is not the
same phenomenon as fluidization in debris avalanches

[tiara099]

Great answer, keep it coming

[AngeliqueG]

Excellent