rockslide

300px|thumb|Rockslide at Oddicombe Beach in Devon, UK thumb|Rockslides in Nigeria thumb|Landslips

A rockslide is a type of landslide caused by rock failure in which part of the bedding plane of failure passes through compacted rock and material collapses en masse and not in individual blocks. While a landslide occurs when loose dirt or sediment falls down a slope, a rockslide occurs only when solid rocks are transported down slope. The rocks tumble downhill, loosening other rocks on their way and smashing everything in their path. Fast-flowing rock slides behave similarly to snow avalanches, and are therefore sometimes referred to as rock avalanches.