Investigating the landslide process, with emphasis on the landscapes of a part of Kurdistan province (Baneh county)

The major part of Iran's land is mountainous. One of the dangers that always threatens these areas is hillside instability. The occurrence of this phenomenon entails a great deal of damage to the hillside lands exploited by human beings every year. In this context, one of the most dangerous instabilities is the landslide phenomenon. Kurdistan province and specially the studied area (Baneh) as a part of the province, is one of the areas susceptible to landslide due to certain geological, topographic and climatic conditions along with human factors in some places.Gardaneh Khan, Savan, Sabadlu and finally Alut can be referred to as being amongst the most important of these landslides. Therefore, identifying the landslide process along with identifying, investigating and determining the causes of landslides in the regions of the country seems to be necessary. In this study, firstly, the nature of landslide phenomenon and their occurrence factors and then the introduction of landslides in Baneh city are discussed. At the surface of the study area, the role of lithologic factor such as sensitivity of loose formations, degradation of vegetation, fall of snow and rain, permeability, lateral digging of rivers with high flow rate, road construction, and proximity to the main faults (young Zagros fault and Piranshahr fault) are among the factors causing landslides.