Landslides convert potential energy into kinetic energy and are thus important agents of topographic change and landscape evolution. They are deformations of Earth’s surface that reflect patterns of regional seismic, climatic, and lithospheric stress fields on sloping terrain. Landslides involve fracturing of the lithosphere ranging from microscopic rock fragmentation to giant submarine slope failures, thus spanning more than 26 orders of magnitude in volume. Here I synthesize major rate constraints on landslide distribution, size, and impacts that help gauge their relevance in the Earth system with a focus on the lithosphere, the hydrosphere, and the biosphere. Given sufficient size or frequency, landslides help sculpt local topography, trigger shallow crustal response, limit volcanic edifice growth, modulate bedrock incision as well as water and sediment flux in river systems, trigger far-reaching processes such as tsunamis or catastrophic outburst flows, condition rates of soil production, and alter hillslope and riparian habitats. Most importantly, landslides remain a significant hazard to people, housing, infrastructure, and land use in many parts of the world.