Geomorphological Levels

a concept introduced by the Soviet geomorphologist K. K. Markov in 1948 to describe the interaction of exogenous and endogenous processes. If the crust of the earth were immobile, exogenous processes would give rise to a system of concentrically arranged spherical surfaces (levels), each of which would correspond to a predominant exogenous process. These levels would include an abrasion-accretion level, an erosion peneplain level, a snow-line level, a summit level, and others. These levels, called geomorphological levels, are deformed during their formation by movements of the earth’s crust, which occur with different intensity at all times and everywhere. The analysis of the origin, age, and subsequent deformations of geomorphological levels is one of the fundamental methods of geomorphology and neotectonics.