Abstract: On the basis of analyzing the external and internal influential factors of landslides in the Three Gorges Reservoir area, we put forward two classification schemes for the landslides triggered by reservoir. First, by statistical analysis and mechanical analysis on over 2000 landslides in the Three Gorges Reservoir area, especially the landslides larger than 1million m³, we classified the landslides into clayey loess landslide, debris landslide, and rockslide in terms of material composition and geological structure. We also analyzed the deformation characteristics responding to reservoir water storage for each category. The second classification scheme is based on landslide mechanism triggered by reservoir. By comprehensive analysis on 151 landslides deformed or collapsed since the impoundment of reservoir, we classified the landslides into three categories which are respectively caused by reservoir water floating, ground water pushing and reservoir water softening.

Key words: Three Gorges Reservoir area, reservoir-triggered landslides, landslide classification, geological structure, mechanism analysis