The driving force, due to the weight of the soil, tends to move the mass of the soil along the slope. The drag force, due to the resistance of the soil along the base of the soil mass, or “slip surface”, tends to hold the soil mass in place. If the driving force is greater than the resisting force, the soil mass will slide along the sliding surface and a loss of slope stability will occur. The failure potential for a given mass of soil is quantified in terms of the factor of safety, which is defined as the resisting force divided by the driving force. If the factor of safety is greater than 1.0, the mass of the soil will not