  In this paper we address the problem of identifying contracting systems among
dynamical systems appearing in mechanics. First, we introduce a sufficient
condition to identify contracting systems in a general Riemannian manifold.
Then, we apply this technique to establish that a particular type of
dissipative forced mechanical system is contracting, while stating immediate
consequences of this fact for the stability of these systems. Finally, we use
the previous results to study the stability of particular types of Contact and
Nonholonomic systems.
