Tectonic causes of landslides

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Abstract
The relationship between mass movements and tectonic lineaments is investigated in the Pliocene sand and clay terrains of Montepulciano (central Italy). Satellite images and aerial photographs show six families of lineament in southern Tuscany, all of which are present in the Montepulciano area. The orientation, location and density of these are related to corresponding attributes of morphological phenomena such as retrogressive slumps, drainage density and slope angle. Rose diagrams, stereographic plots and statistical analysis all reveal a close correspondence between slumping mass movements and the directions and spatial concentrations of fracture traces. Although slopes and valley trends respond more closely to Apennine (NW‐trending) and anti‐Apennine (NE‐trending) lineaments, the longitudinal axes of landslides are strongly orientated NNW to N, the direction of one of the most significant lineament groups in western central Italy and the local study area.