landformation

Landformation, or landform formation, refers to the processes that shape the Earth's surface into recognizable features such as mountains, valleys, plateaus, plains, dunes, and coastlines. Landforms result from interactions between internal tectonic energy, surface processes, and climate over timescales ranging from years to millions of years. The study of landformation is a central topic in geomorphology and related Earth sciences.

Endogenic processes, driven by internal energy, include tectonic uplift, folding, faulting, volcanism, and magmatic intrusion, which raise terrain and create structures. Exogenic processes involve weathering, erosion by water, ice, and wind, and sediment deposition. Glaciation, river action, coastal dynamics, wind, and mass wasting also shape the landscape. The balance and sequence of these processes determine landform development.

Controls include lithology and rock structure, climate, sea level, and tectonic setting. Erosion removes material from highs and transports it to basins, while deposition builds surfaces. Landforms form and change at rates varying from rapid to geologic timescales.

Common landforms include mountains and plateaus formed by uplift; valleys carved by rivers; plains from deposition; dunes shaped by wind; karst landscapes from dissolution of soluble rocks; and coastal features such as beaches, deltas, estuaries, and arches produced by waves and tides. Glacial features like moraines and drumlins reflect past ice activity.

Study methods include field mapping, stratigraphy, remote sensing, GIS, dating techniques, and modeling to reconstruct processes and histories.

Human activities—mining, dam construction, urbanization, deforestation, and coastal modification—can alter rates and patterns of landform change, with lasting environmental consequences.