ABSTRACT
This chapter deals with land classification, rivers, beaches, soil erosion, slopes, landslides, and subsidence. These components of geomorphology are selected as illustrative of the complex evolution of the science. Modern geomorphology is the composite product of legislative action, applied mechanics, and the ideas of natural history. Because each of these components is dynamic and subject to change, geomorphology is also dynamic and changing in its directions and emphasis. Geomorphology, as a science, has predominantly followed the lines of natural history and has been concerned with the interpretation of landforms in terms of the sequence of events which produced them. The dominant concern in the United States, insofar as geomorphology is concerned, has been with the development, value, and use of land. The advance of geomorphology has depended upon a need to develop an interpretation of a recognized feature, in a region in which there is a favorable environment for research and publication, and supported by an adequate base in theory.
