## 5 Discussion
\begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c c c c} \hline \hline
**Influencing Factors** & **Principal Component 1** & **Principal Component 2** & **Principal Component 3** & **Principal Component 4** \\ \hline elevation & 0.705 & 0.337 & 0.233 & 0.191 \\ slope angle & 0.029 & 0.092 & 0.978 & 0.042 \\ slope orientation & 0.014 & 0.041 & 0.040 & 0.986 \\ distance to rivers & 0.059 & 0.975 & 0.104 & 0.038 \\ rainfall & 0.883 & 0.112 & 0.087 & 0.095 \\ geological unit & 0.789 & 0.024 & 0.046 & 0.084 \\ \hline \hline \end{tabular}
\end{table} 
Table 2: Loading Coefficient Matrix of different influencing factors. Figure 11: Maps show the relationship between elevation, slope, and distance to river. (**a**) The relationship between elevation and distance to river; (**b**) the relationship between slope angle and distance to river. 10 landslides, accounting for 10.53% of all landslides within a distance of 2400 m from the rivers; for slope angles ranging from 10\({}^{\circ}\) to 40\({}^{\circ}\), most landslides were observed within a distance of 400 m to rivers, at 41, accounting for 43.16% of total numbers. With the increase in the distance to rivers, the number of landslides gradually decreased, and the proportion decreased. Overall, when the slope angle is <10\({}^{\circ}\) or >40\({}^{\circ}\), the probability of landslides occurrence is low. For the range with slope angles between 10\({}^{\circ}\) and 40\({}^{\circ}\) and closer to the river, there is a higher likelihood of landslides occurring. Therefore, effective protective measures should be taken in these areas to prevent the occurrence of landslides. Moreover, potential geological disasters are widespread in the Zhaotong area, with the vast majority of areas threatened. By analyzing the distribution of 3646 potential geological disasters in the Zhaotong area, it was found that Yiliang County has the highest number of potential geological disasters, with 646, accounting for 17.72% of all potential geological disasters in the area. It is followed by Qiaojia County, Yongshan County, and Daguan County, with the top four counties accounting for more than half of all potential geological disasters. The landslide density map of potential geological disasters was obtained through kernel density analysis as shown in Figure 12a. The most concentrated occurrences of potential geological disasters are observed at Shuifu County, followed by Yiliang County and Daguan County. Comparing the potential geological disaster density (PGDD) with the landslide point density (LND) in Figure 12b, it can be observed that the distribution of potential geological disasters is generally consistent with that of landslides. The areas most threatened are Shuifu County and Yiliang County, while the least threatened areas are Weixin County and Zhenxiong County. Figure 12: Maps show the relationship between landslide distribution and population distribution. (**a**) Potential geological disaster density (PGDD); (**b**) comparison of PGDD and LND; (**c**) population density (PD); (**d**) comparison of PGDD and PD. It is essential to analyze the population distribution in the Zhaotong area due to the dense population with a population second only to Kunming City in Yunnan Province. The population density map shows that the most densely populated area is Zhaotong City, followed by Daguan County, Zhenxiong County, Yiliang County, and Weixin County (Figure 12c). By comparing the potential geological disaster density (PGDD) with the population density (PD) in Figure 12d, it can be observed that PD in most areas shows an opposite trend to PGDD. However, Yiliang County and Daguan County are regions with high landslide threat, and they also have relatively dense populations. Therefore, close attention should be paid to the potential geological disasters in these areas. When abnormal phenomena are detected, timely responses can be made to mitigate casualties and property losses.