Mudflows initiated by natural processes

USA Today (Society for the Advancement of Education), June, 2006

Mudflows initiated by natural processes at old, inactive volcanoes are some of the most lethal geologic phenomena and contributed to the tragic mudslide in Guinsaugon, Philippines, explains Michael F. Sheridan, professor of geology at the University at Buffalo (N.Y.). "It really comes roaring down, like the speed of these toboggans you see in the Olympics.

The mud looks like liquid chocolate pouring down the valley, and the rocks they contain behave like marshmallows in hot cocoa, so big rocks can be brought downhill very fast."