and held together by a series or system of cables or the like passing through internal passageways within each block the cables are anchored into the ground to retain the blocks in position application_number US 96459878 A description referring now to the drawings and more specifically to fig1 the soil erosion prevention block is illustrated in its entirety by reference designation 10 and is shown to comprise an upper surface 12 a lower surface 14 front and rear side surfaces 16 and left and right side surfaces 18 as the drawings indicate the side surfaces are dimensioned such that the height of the block 10 is less than 1 2 of the length of a side all surfaces are substantially flat in construction with the lower surface illustrated as being planar as opposed to the other surfaces which contain variations in contour it is to be understood that some of the surfaces may be angled relative to the other surfaces in the preferred embodiment the block 10 is constructed of concrete because of its cost and availability and because of the function the block is to perform the block 10 includes a plurality of first internal passageways or channels 20 passing vertically through the block from the upper surface 12 to the lower surface 14 so as to permit soil to be placed therein and foliage to grow therefrom as an aid in retaining the block in position as shown in the drawings the block 10 may include second internal passageways.