rockfall

noun rock·fall \ ˈräk-ˌfȯl \

|Updated on: 12 Aug 2018

Definition of rockfall

: a mass of falling or fallen rocks

Recent Examples of rockfall from the Web

That powerful outburst occurred after rockfalls caused the collapse of the Pu'u 'Ō'ō crater at the summit of Kilauea, which had been puffed up like a soufflé filled with red-hot lava.

— Fox News, "Kilauea volcano could launch 10-ton ballistic boulders in dramatic explosion," 11 May 2018
With the lava in Halema'uma'u, the walls surrounding the dwindling lake are now steep and unstable, and rockfalls are inevitable, said Don Swanson, a geologist with the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, said at a news conference yesterday.

— Fox News, "Kilauea volcano could launch 10-ton ballistic boulders in dramatic explosion," 11 May 2018
The observatory said that a large rockfall into a lava lake in the volcano’s crater on Wednesday triggered an explosion that created a column of ash.

— amy harmon, New York Times, "He Couldn’t Save His Car and ‘Star Wars’ Mailbox From the Lava," 9 May 2018
Sulfur dioxide, rockfalls and explosions are the main hazards, the agency says.

— angela fritz, Washington Post, "Watch the lava lake overflow in Hawaii’s Kilauea volcano," 25 Apr. 2018
And changing conditions — such as rockfall that blocks a trail — could leave hikers trapped in the wilderness. Search and rescue efforts, authorities say, would be expensive and dangerous.

— OregonLive.com, "Don't do it: 45 people cited for entering Columbia gorge fire area," 18 Jan. 2018
Many of the accidents, the report noted, were preventable, but around 10 percent came from rockfalls.

— National Geographic, "Fatal Rockslide in Major National Park—What You Need to Know," 28 Sep. 2017
There were 58 rockfalls in Yosemite in 2016, which was slightly lower than in previous years, according to the National Park Service.

— Alaska Dispatch News, "1 dead, 1 injured in enormous rockfall on Yosemite’s El Capitan," 28 Sep. 2017
Gediman said the slides were not an unusual occurrence in Yosemite, which sees about 80 rockfalls a year, but most do not cause injuries or deaths.

— dan whitcomb, Alaska Dispatch News, "Yosemite rock slides cause another injury, roads rerouted," 29 Sep. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'rockfall.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.