ABSTRACT
Classification is a necessary, but early, stage in the development of any science (Grigg 1967), but regional classification presents such special taxonomic problems to the spatial sciences that concern for it has had a particularly long history. The most satisfactory classifications are those conducted with a specific purpose in mind, rarely serving two purposes equally well. In this respect, the difficulty of defining the role of the study of landforms within physiography, geomorphology, geology and geography (see chapter 4) has created problems of definition and purpose which have led to the proliferation of landform classification and regionalization. In addition, not least among the challenges facing regional taxonomy are those associated with the definition of spatial individual units and how to group these units into regional classes, the hierarchical scales of which are distinct but do not impose any progressive change in the fundamental basis of the classification.
