Landforms

Defines landforms as natural features of Earth's solid surface and lithosphere, explaining their significance within Physical Geography. Introduces the primary process-based classification of landforms as tectonic, erosional, and depositional.

Surveys the development of geomorphological thought, from ancient descriptions and catastrophism to modern theories of uniformitarianism, plate tectonics, and process geomorphology.

Details the fundamental geomorphic processes that create landforms: endogenic (tectonic uplift, volcanism, folding/faulting) and exogenic (weathering, erosion, mass wasting, deposition).

Provides a systematic taxonomy of landforms, categorizing them by scale (first order to micro-scale), process (fluvial, glacial, aeolian, coastal, karst, volcanic), and structural origin.

Examines the practical applications of landform analysis in fields like environmental management, urban planning, civil engineering, mineral exploration, natural hazard assessment, and planetary science.

Discusses methodological challenges and key debates, including the equilibrium concept, the role of climate versus tectonics, landscape evolution models, and the Anthropocene's impact.

Explores frontiers like digital terrain modeling, cosmogenic nuclide dating, UAV-based surveying, landscape response to climate change, and comparative planetary geomorphology.