ABSTRACT
Slope failures are geological events that are controlled by physical processes. Slope stability analyses, whether by limiting equilibrium or numerical methods, require a basic understanding of these processes. This includes a proper definition of the geotechnical properties of the rock mass, including the properties of the unfractured blocks of rock that occur between the structural defects that cut through the rock mass and
the defects themselves, and an outline of the properties of the groundwater that may permeate the rock mass.
