GEOMORPHIC
PROCESSES
• ENDOGENETIC
• EXOGENETIC
• Earth’s crust and its surface are constantly evolving (changing) due to various forces emanating
from below (endogenic forces) as well as above the surface of the earth (exogenic forces).
• These forces cause physical and chemical changes to the geomorphic structure (earth’s surface).
• Some of these changes are imperceptibly slow (e.g. weathering, folding), some others are gradual
(e.g. erosion) while the remaining are quite sudden (earthquakes, volcanic eruptions).
• Geomorphic: relating to the form of the landscape and other natural features of the earth’s
surface.
• Geomorphic agents: mobile medium (like running water, moving ice masses or glaciers, wind,
waves, currents etc.) which removes, transports and deposits earth materials.
• Geomorphic processes: physical and chemical processes that take place on the earth’s surface
(folding, faulting, weathering, erosion, etc.) due to endogenic and exogenic forces.
• Geomorphic movements: large scale physical and chemical changes that take place on the earth’s
surface due to geomorphic processes.
• Endogenic Geomorphic Movements
• The large-scale movements on the earth’s crust or its surface brought down by the forces emanating
from deep below the earth’s surface are called as endogenic geomorphic movements or simply
endogenic movements (endo: internal; genic: origin; geo: earth; morphic: form).
• The geomorphic processes that are driven by the forces emanating from deep below the earth’s
surface are called endogenic geomorphic processes (folding, faulting, etc.).
• The force behind Endogenic Movements
• The ultimate source of energy behind forces that drive endogenic movements is earth’s internal heat.
• Earth’s internal heat is a result of mainly radioactive decay (50% of the earth’s internal heat) and
gravitation (causes pressure gradients).
• Differences in temperature and pressure (temperature gradients or geothermal gradients and
pressure gradients) among various layers of the earth give rise to density differences and these
density differences give rise to conventional currents.
• Convectional currents in the mantle drive the lithospheric plates (crust and upper mantle) and the
movement of the lithospheric plates (tectonics) is the cause behind endogenic movements.
• The Earth’s rotation (Coriolis effect) can influence where convection currents travel.
• The destination of convection currents determines the nature and location of the endogenic
movements.
• Classification of Endogenic movements
• Endogenic movements are divided into diastrophic movements and
sudden movements.
• Diastrophism refers to deformation of the Earth’s crust.
• Diastrophic movements are gradual and might stretch for thousands
of years.
• On the other hand, sudden movements like earthquakes and volcanic
eruptions occur in a very short period.
• Diastrophic movements are further classified into epeirogenic
movements (Radial, continent forming ― subsidence, upliftment) and
orogenic movements (Tangential, mountain building ― folding,
faulting).
• Diastrophism
• Diastrophism refers to deformation of the Earth’s crust due to diastrophic
movements (deforming movements) such as folding, faulting, warping
(bending or twisting of a large area) and fracturing.
• All processes that move, elevate or build up portions of the earth’s crust
come under diastrophism. They include:
• orogenic processes involving mountain building through severe folding
(crust is severely deformed into folds) and affecting long and narrow belts of
the earth’s crust;
• epeirogenic processes involving uplift or warping of large parts of the earth’s
crust (simple deformation);
• earthquakes and volcanism involving local relatively minor movements;
• plate tectonics involving horizontal movements of crustal plates.
• The most obvious evidence of diastrophic movement can be seen where
sedimentary rocks have been bent, broken or tilted.
• Epeirogenic or continent forming movements
• Epeirogenic or continent forming movements are radial movements (act along the radius of the earth).
• Their direction may be towards (subsidence) or away (uplift) from the centre.
• They cause upheavals or depressions of land exhibiting undulations (wavy surface) of long wavelengths and little folding.
• The broad central parts of continents are called cratons and are subject to epeirogeny, hence the name continent forming
movements.
• Uplift
• Raised beaches, elevated wave-cut terraces, sea caves and fossiliferous beds above sea level are evidence of upliftment.
• In India, raised beaches occur at several places along the Kathiawar, Nellore, and Tirunelveli coasts.
• Several places which were on the sea some centuries ago are now a few miles inland due to upliftment.
• For example, Coringa near the mouth of the Godavari, Kaveripattinam in the Kaveri delta and Korkai on the coast of
Tirunelveli, were all flourishing seaports about 1,000 to 2,000 years ago.
• Subsidence
• Submerged forests and valleys, as well as buildings, are evidence of subsidence.
• In 1819, a part of the Rann of Kachchh was submerged as a result of an earthquake.
• Presence of peat and lignite beds below the sea level in Tirunelveli and the Sundarbans is an example of subsidence.
• The Andamans and Nicobars have been isolated from the Arakan coast by submergence of the intervening land.
• Orogenic or the mountain-forming movements
• In contrast to epeirogenic movement, the orogenic movement is a more complicated deformation
of the Earth’s crust, associated with crustal thickening (due to the convergence of tectonic plates).
• Such plate convergence forms orogenic belts that are characterised by “the folding and faulting of
layers of rock, by the intrusion of magma, and by volcanism.
• Orogenic or the mountain-forming movements act tangentially to the earth surface, as in plate
tectonics.
• Tension produces fissures (since this type of force acts away from a point in two directions), and
compression produces folds (because this type of force acts towards a point from two or more
directions).
• Sudden Movements
• Sudden geomorphic movements occur mostly at the lithospheric plate margins (tectonic plate
margins).
• The plate margins are highly unstable regions due to pressure created by pushing and pulling of
magma in the mantle (convectional currents).
• These movements cause considerable deformation over a short period.
• Earthquakes
• Earthquakes occur when the surplus accumulated stress in rocks in the earth’s interior due to folding,
faulting or other physical changes is relieved through the weak zones over the earth’s surface in the
form of kinetic energy (seismic waves).
• Earthquakes may cause a change in contours, change in river courses, shoreline changes, glacial
surges (as in Alaska), landslides, soil creeps, mass wasting etc.
• Volcanoes
• Volcanism includes the movement of molten rock (magma) onto or towards the earth’s surface
through narrow volcanic vents or fissures.
• A volcano is formed when the molten magma in the earth’s interior escapes through the crust by
vents and fissures in the crust, accompanied by steam, gases (hydrogen sulphide, sulphur dioxide,
hydrogen chloride, carbon dioxide etc.) and pyroclastic material (cloud of ash, lava fragments carried
through the air, and vapour).
• Depending on the chemical composition and viscosity of the lava, a volcano may take various forms.
• STRUCTURES PRODUCED BY ENDO GENETIC FORCES
• FOLDS: due to compressional forces
• Symmetrical
• Asymmetrical
• Monoclinal
• Isoclinal
• Recumbent
• Overturned
• FAULTS: is a rupture and fracture of rocks strata due to strain. Surface along which a rocky body
has broken and been displaced.
• Normal fault (tension)
• Reverse fault (compression)
• Transverse fault
• Landforms caused by Faults:
• Rift valley or Garben : block bw two normal faults is subsided
• Horst or block mountain: block between two normal faults is raised
