Understanding Geomorphic Processes - NCERT Geography Class 11

What is Geomorphic Processes?

Let me first tell you the meaning of the word Geomorphic. Let's break the word, we have "geo" and then we have "morphic". Geo basically means earth, that's why geography is the study of earth and morphic means shape or form. So Geomorphic means how was the earth formed or how did the earth acquired this shape.


You see there are two kinds of forces that acts on earth and it is constantly making it change. One is endogenic forces and the other is exogenic forces. One is internal and the other is external.

Different layers of the earth

If you are aware of this above picture that shows the different layers of earth, in this mantle which is just below the crust is filled with molten rocks knows as magma. And magma is continuously moving in circular pattern, this movement of magma in the mantle creates convection currents and this is what causes the plates which includes oceanic as well as continental crust to move. Earthquakes are caused because of this, then volcanic eruption takes place because of this, so all these are endogenic forces that arises from within the earth's interior.


Now the other one that is the exogenic forces, this acts on the earth’s surface from outside. For examples, sunlight – it constantly heats up the earth’s surface, then we have rain which is responsible for weathering of rocks, then we have wind – that takes the soil from one place to another, then we have ice, glacier when it melts it is again responsible for carrying the soil from one place to another. So in a nutshell we can say, the actions of exogenic forces result in wearing down and filling up the earth’s surface.

Exogenic forces are sunlight, wind, water, rain, ice etc.

There is a video version of this topic as well.