Abstract
In order to evaluate the mechanism and soil characteristics of slip surface of earthquake-induced and rainfall/melting snow-induced landslides, we examined soil properties such as grain size distribution, consistency index and shear rate dependency of residual strength. Experimental results revealed that slip surface soils of rainfall/snowmelt-induced landslides contain high amounts of clay fraction and high plasticity property, and positive rate dependencies of residual strength are commonly recognized on these soils. On the other hand, negative rate dependencies of residual strength are observed on many samples of earthquake-induced landslides. These soil characteristics reflect common properties of slow-moving reactivated landslides and long-travelling rapid landslides, respectively, and can be used as indicators to elucidate the site properties of landslides with particular patterns of movement
