explores the shape of the land, and the various processes (that is, mechanisms) which are responsible for that shape. At first glance interpreting the shape of the land in terms of the dominant process might seem obvious and simplistic, but there are so many interacting systems (tectonic activity, climate, rock types, biological processes, chemical processes, erosional processes of wind, wave, and running water) that the exercise of relating process to form is not always an easy one. Clearly, geomorphology is an interdisciplinary science, so you will have a chance to apply much that you have learned in other Earth Science courses to geomorphology.

We will begin with a broader framework for geomorphology (linking process activity with geologic, tectonic, and climatic settings, and time). Then we will dive into Earth's active processes: mass movements, rivers, waves, wind, and ice.