Debris flows are made of a cohesive muddy matrix in which large dispersed particles are in suspension. In this study the bearing capacity of muds is investigated using penetration and centrifuge tests. For the penetration tests, solid wooden balls attached to a bar were used. The resistance offered by the mud to the penetration by the balls was evaluated. This resistance was related to the undrained shear strength of the mud, cu , the diameter (D) of the balls, and the closeness of the balls. It was determined that the closer a set of balls were to each other, the lower was the resistance offered by the mud. To evaluate how cohesive muds developed their bearing capacity, centrifuge tests were carried out on cylinders embedded in a soft clay matrix. The cylinders used had a diameter equal to 7 mm and a length equal to 2.5 cm. The cylinders were embedded in a soft mass of kaolinite clay having a water content of 30%, and a cu = 6 kPa. The soft clay mass with the embedded cylinders were placed in a box with transparent walls that allowed the recording of the deformation experienced by the clay surrounding the cylinders during the centrifuge tests. The box with the clay and the cylinders was subjected to acceleration equal to 200g. The centrifuge tests revealed that the clay around the cylinders developed a zone of slip surfaces on which the cu of the mud was mobilized. The cylinders with the slip zones moved as one piece through the mud. The combined cylinder-slip line zone had a diameter equal to 1.9d, where d is the diameter of the cylinders. When the cylinders were close to each other, their individual slip line zones overlapped causing a decrease in the bearing capacity of the mud.