This book will open up a large body of data previously inaccessible or unknown to non-francophone geomorphologists, geologists and geographers. It provides an insight into the regional geomorphology of basement terrains in France and elsewhere which do not belong to the list of benchmark case studies, recurringly explained in mainstream textbooks. The essay style of the nine chapters, the permanent and holistic reference to landscapes of the real world, and the constant shuttle between field and laboratory studies help to remind students that the analysis of the geomorphic landscape is a humbling process of interpretation, requiring the collation of many strands of evidence. This is not always apparent in more linear textbooks on process geomorphology, where topics are dealt with in more detail but also more theoretically.
Planation Surfaces in Basement Terrains.- Morphostructural Units, Multi-storeyed Scenery and the Origin of Escarpments in Basement Terrains.- Structural Landforms in Basement Terrains.- Rock Resistance and its Influence on Landforms in Basement Terrains.- Chemical Weathering, Regolith and Climate in Metamorphic and Igneous Terrains.- Cryogenic Processes and Ice-related Restructuring of the Regolith in Metamorphic and Igneous Terrains.- Landscape Development in Tropical Shield Environments.- Landscape Development in Arctic, Sub-Arctic and Circum-Arctic Shield Environments.- Landscape Development in Metamorphic and Igneous Terrains of the Mid-Latitudes (with Special Reference to Western Europe).- Structural Predesign and Scaling Factors in Geomorphology: Lessons for the Study of Basement Terrains.