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PROBLEMS OF GEOMORPHOLOGICAL MAPPING Geographical Studies No. 46, Warszawa 1963

INTRODUCTION

The aim of geomorphology is to examine the relief of the earth’s sur-face. The relief of the earth’s surface is a very important element of the geographical environment. The knowledge of this environment, of its particular elements — i.e. also of the relief — is necessary not merely for the development of science but also for the rational control and the use madę of this environment by man. The object of geomorphology is twofold: 1) the examination of the relief to gain an idea of its develop-ment and of the rules of the reliefs development; 2) the examination of the relief to facilitate a better control and use madę of the geographical environment by man.

Geomorphological investigations carried out hitherto aimed at the acąuaintance with both the character of relief in a particular area and its geomorphological development. Unfortunately, they did not include all the forms occurring in the area investigated. They were limited to the research of certain selected forms (as river terraces, surfaces of planation, landslides, karstic landforms, glacial forms etc). These intestigations re-sulted in a literał description either of forms or of morphological regions supplemented by drawings, sketches and photographs. Those studies were sometimes, but not always, associated with maps showing the distribution of the selected forms. The landforms were plotted usually on a white background. They are, therefore, unrelated to the other surrounding forms.

Those geomorphological studies resulting from the investigation of certain selected forms do not give a complete picture of the relief and. they are, therefore, of limited value and of limited practical use.

Geomorphological studies carried out up to now have not been used in practical purposes. Geomorphologists seeking for connections with practice carry out investigations and studies next to geomorphology (i.e. geological, petrographical, soil and pedological studies).

Hence it follows, the geomorphological investigations cannot be restricted to the studying of certain elements of the relief, as well as to the description of forms and to the literał characteristics of the relief. All of the elements of the relief ought to be examined not merely from the qualitative aspect (origin, age) but also from the quantitative one (distribution, frequency, dimension and mutual relation of forms).

The investigation of all the forms occurring in a certain area compels us to plot them on a topographical map and to make use of the method of the geomorphological survey. Its result is the Detailed Geomor-