Геоморфологические исследования Лестера Кинга, профессора университета в Натале, уже давно приобрели известность. Этому в значительной степени способствовало то обстоятельство, что, начиная с первых своих работ, посвященных рассмотрению ряда геоморфологических явлений и процессов в различных странах южного полушария, Л. Кинг стремится к широким обобщениям при объяснении наблюдаемых им фактов. Не ограничиваясь данными, полученными в результате непосредственного изучения той или иной территории, он, как правило, привлекает большой материал о рельефе других районов, зачастую, на первый взгляд, совершенно несходных с районом полевых исследований.

A geomorphic hazard results from any landform change that adversely affects the geomorphic stability of a site (Schumm, 1988) and that intersects the human use system with adverse socioeconomic impacts (White, 1974).

This book is about the study of landforms, a science commonly called geomorphology or physiography, and it differs from almost all other books on the subject in the vast time-scale that is considered.

Every year millions of people visit Yosemite Valley, and they encounter stunning scenery that can overwhelm their senses. This experience is as true today as it was when the valley was discovered. The first recorded discovery of Yosemite Valley by western civilization was made by Major James D. Savage’s Mariposa Battalion, which, pursuing “hostile Indians” up the Merced River drainage, entered the valley on March 27, 1851. Early rumors about the valley had not prepared the men for the overpowering view now before them (Figure 1). <...>

This book discusses new insights concerning the influence of the climate upon the earth’s relief, in particular upon the continents. It has been found that this climatic, this exogenic influence is much stronger than any endogenous influence. Endogenous forces, as any geologic map will show, are distributed randomly over the entire earth, while the exogenic influence of climate follows strict rules in its distribution from the pole to the equator, both today as in the past. Their distribution and intensity make climatic influences the best basis upon which to found a system of geomorphology, such as the one presented here.

This book is intended primarily for the student of African geomorphology. Its originality lies in the fact that, with the exception of certain glacial and periglacial features, the examples are drawn entirely from Africa. More than ten years have passed since I first discovered to my amazement that throughout large parts of Africa most physical geography textbooks and much teaching involved the use of European or North American examples. Now, while there is an enormous volume of literature on African geomorphology in various academic journals and research bulletins, these are frequently inaccessible to students or else are published in foreign languages. It is my belief, therefore, that there has long been a need in schools and colleges for a basic text utilising this vast fund of knowledge. I hope that, in part, the present book may satisfy this need.

'The Encyclopedia of Geomorphology" appears as the first alphabetic, encyclopedic treatment of the science of Geomorphology—the analytic physiography of the Earth's surface. It is numbered, for convenience in cross-referencing, as Volume III of the "Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences'* series that Reinhold is publishing under the present editor. At this time eight volumes either have appeared or are in preparation. Each volume is completely autonomous and runs from A to Z within its own subdisciplines.

Problems of slope stability, instability, and the associated mass movement processes of slope failure, represent research themes common to both geotechnical engineers and geomorphologists, although their perspectives clearly differ. While the engineering concern is generally site specific and limited by project design-life considerations to time periods of less than 100 years, for the geomorphologist longer term slope stability and slope evolution, involving a mixture of slope processes operating over tens of thousands of years, constitute a major area of enquiry (e.g. Kirkby, 1984).