ABSTRACT
The ascent of internal energy originating in the Earth’s core impels a complicated set of geological processes. Deep-seated processes and structures in the lithosphere (the relatively rigid and cold top 50-200 km of the solid Earth), and ultimately processes in the core and mantle, influence the shape and dynamics of the toposphere (the totality of the Earth’s topography). The primary surface features of the globe are in very large measure the product of geological processes and, in particular, tectonic processes. Tectonics (from the Greek tekton, meaning builder or mason) involves the structures in the lithosphere, and notably with the geological forces and movements that act to create these structures. This primary tectonic influence on the toposphere expresses itself in the structure of mountain chains, volcanoes, island arcs, and other largescale structures exposed at the Earth’s surface, as well as in smaller features such as fault scarps.
