### id262791604 retaining walls are basically soil dams > A retaining wall is essentially a dam, except instead of water, it holds back earth. Soil doesn’t flow as easily as water, but it is twice as heavy. The force exerted on a retaining wall from that soil, called the lateral earth pressure, can be enormous. But that’s just from the weight of the soil itself. Include the fact that we often apply additional forces from buildings, vehicles, or other structures, on top of the backfill behind the wall. We call these surcharge loads, and they can increase the forces on a retaining wall even further. Finally, water can flow through or even freeze in the soil behind a retaining wall, applying even more pressure to its face. - [View Highlight](https://read.readwise.io/read/01fqy76kzvd3rxkt0vpypwxdn9) - [[Why Retaining Walls Collapse by Grady Hillhouse#id262791604 retaining walls are basically soil dams|View in Vault]]