Landforms and Physiography

Abstract

Landforms are recognizable topographic features on the surface of Earth with a distinct shape and position in the landscape, local relief, geologic composition, age, and processes of formation, maintenance, and change. During the early twentieth century, the term “physiography” was coined as a contraction of the words “physical geography,” and soon came to mean regional geomorphology. A number of textbooks on physiography dominated the literature and teachings in geomorphology for the first half of the twentieth century. The mapping of landforms has changed from paper mapping, through computer mapping, to virtual reality. The availability of digital elevation models ( DEMs ) has led to an area of research known as geomorphometry. Ecoregion mapping has extended the concept of physiography to truly include the elements of the landscape interacting with landforms.