> A snowslide is more commonly referred to by which term?And the answer: avalanche. Photo credit: Earth.Nautil[http://earth.nautil.us/article/496/how-a-snowflake-turns-into-an-avalanche]Common in snowy mountain ranges around the world, an avalanche normally occurson a steep mountain slope without a lot of trees. Mountain climbers, skiiers,and snowmobile drivers cause 90% of avalanche disasters, triggering snow and iceto rapidly fall down mountainsides.Avalanches come in many forms. "Sluffs" are cascades of loose snow that pick upspeed as they race down the mountain, while "slab" avalanches occur when largesections of snow-pack crack off and crash down the slope. Sluffs are oftentriggered by outdoor recreationists, and tend to be less intense or disastrous. Slab avalanches are far more deadly. When massive slabs of snow break loose froma mountainside, the mass of snow shatters like broken glass as it racesdownhill. These hazards can travel as fast as cars on a freeway– up to 100 milesper hour.As snow falls, it begins to build up layer upon layer. With enough time, thelayers will harden and bond to one another. However, when the layers form weakbonds, snow falls on an unstable foundation and can be easily triggered bymovement. The most unstable part of the slope is called the "starting zone"–aptly named for the tip-off point for the avalanche. Once it starts to slide, ittravels down the "avalanche track" (if you've ever noticed lines of fallen treeson a slope, it's likely from being unfortunately positioned on this track).Finally, the avalanche comes to a stop at the bottom of a slope, in the runoutzone, where the snow and debris pile up.To learn more about avalanches, and see a few in action, check out the videosbelow.