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‘Weathering is the process of alteration and breakdown of rock and soil materials at and near the
Earth’s surface by chemical decomposition and physical disintegration’ (Geological Society
Engineering Group Working Party Report, 1995).
There are many methods and scales for describing the weathering of rock masses.
This post is aimed at the overall description of a rock mass, a description of weathering which
addresses both changes in the rock material and in the discontinuities is preferred.
While primarily applicable to rock masses it is intended that the effects of weathering on other
geological materials such as alluvial and volcanic deposits also be routinely included in
descriptions.
Based on the descriptions of weathering effects and products, the rock mass can be classified
according to a general weathering scale (See Table below). Other scales may be used to aid
classification and communication, particularly if the weathering environment is uncommon (e.g.
desert/alpine).
In very general terms the boundary between a rock mass being more ‘rock like’ than ‘soil like’ is
the boundary between moderately weathered and highly weathered.