Study of landforms and the processes shaping them, including tectonic deformation, erosion, transport and deposition.
Physical breakdown or chemical alteration of rock at or near the surface. Distinguish in-place weathering from transport by erosion. Chemical weathering changes mineral composition, whereas physical processes can fragment rock without requiring the same chemical transformations.
A numerical representation of surface elevation sampled over a horizontal grid or another spatial mesh. A hillshaded rendering highlights slope geometry but depends on artificial illumination direction. A digital elevation model also supplies the topographic phase needed in interferometric synthetic-aperture radar processing.
A roughly triangular planar mountain face bounded by incised valleys and a basal front. Repeated normal faulting, tectonic uplift and erosion can maintain arrays of triangular facets. Their geometry is suggestive but does not alone date an individual earthquake.
The boundary between a mountain block and adjacent lower terrain. Its geometry records interacting tectonic uplift, faulting, erosion and deposition. A straight front, triangular facets and displaced alluvial fans together can support an active normal fault interpretation.
An unusually straight valley, sometimes localized along weakened rock in a fault zone. Its alignment can suggest a fault trace, but erosion along bedding or other structural weaknesses can produce similar forms.
A channel system whose correlated reaches have been separated by fault slip. A fault-parallel connecting reach, abandoned reach or abrupt bend can reveal repeated strike-slip faulting. Reliable displacement measurement requires correlation of the same original channel rather than assigning every bend to tectonic displacement.
A downstream channel segment cut off from its former upstream catchment, for example by fault slip or stream capture. An abruptly terminating gully beside a fault is a candidate; a reconstructed upstream counterpart, stratigraphy or field evidence helps distinguish true beheading from an ordinary small drainage head.
A stream whose course changes direction where deformation displaces or obstructs its former route. Along a strike-slip fault, matching upstream and downstream channel segments can constrain shear sense and fault offset. A bend alone is not a unique tectonic marker: erosion, capture and pre-existing relief also alter drainage. A reliable offset estimate restores identified piercing features rather than equating all along-fault channel length to slip.
A ridge spur ending in a relatively planar face along a mountain front. Repeated normal faulting and incision of adjacent drainages can create triangular facets, but their preservation and geometry also depend on erosion and rock strength.
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Geomorphology is the scientific study of landforms and the processes that shape the Earth's surface. It encompasses the analysis of landform characteristics, formation, evolution, and the interactions between various physical and chemical processes that contribute to landscape development. Geomorphologists study both natural processes, such as weathering, erosion, sedimentation, and tectonic activity, as well as human-induced changes to the landscape.