Abstract
Planar forms as individual geomorpic forms may be very extensive, but are rather rare on Earth, because they usually require long geologic time spans to form (millions or tens of millions of years). Nevertheless, there are typical planar forms according to climate provinces like the glacis or pediments in arid and semi-arid environments along the feet of mountains or mountain chains. The largest planar forms and the oldest ones are the peneplains (sometimes with inselbergs as remnants of a former more differentiated relief type). Their extension may reach several hundred kilometers across as in eastern Africa, but they also have been formed in other latitudes in former climates similar to the warm and semi-humid one of East Africa. Many of these are in a state of incision and destruction by rivers due to climate change and tectonic uplift, tilting and faulting.
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Further Readings
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Scheffers, A.M., May, S.M., Kelletat, D.H. (2015). Planar Forms and Plain Forming Processes: Pediments/Glacis, and Peneplains (with Inselbergs). In: Landforms of the World with Google Earth. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-9713-9_10
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-9713-9_10
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