ABSTRACT
The word geomorphology derives from three Greek words: gew (the Earth), morfh (form), and logoV (discourse). Geomorphology is therefore ‘a discourse on Earth forms’. It is the study of Earth’s physical landsurface features, its landforms – rivers, hills, plains, beaches, sand dunes, and myriad others. Some workers include submarine landforms within the scope of geomorphology. And some would add the landforms of other terrestrial-type planets and satellites in the Solar System – Mars, the Moon, Venus, and so on. Landforms are conspicuous features of the Earth and occur everywhere. They range in size from molehills to mountains
to major tectonic plates, and their ‘lifespans’ range from days to millennia to aeons (Figure 1.1).
