Geomorphology
General Concepts | Victoria's Geomorphological Framework | Victorian Geomorphology Reference Group (VGRG) | History
Introduction
Geomorphology (often described as physiography in earlier times) has often been used in its broader context to classify land at a broad level in order to understand the land in terms of form and process. The Statewide Land Systems, first developed by Rowan (1990), used geomorphology in this context and provides a two tier hierarchical approach which was developed by Jenkin and Rowan (1987).
The top tier of this approach is the geomorphic zone, of which nine were designated to cover the State of Victoria eg. the Murray Basin Plains. The second tier of this scheme consists of twenty-nine geomorphic units (eg. riverine plain), which are subsets of the first tier zones and are portrayed at a scale of 1:1 million or 1:500 000. These geomorphic units provide the framework for the land systems that are patterns of land type. They are generally portrayed at a scale of 1:250 000 and often have subdivisions or components at a finer scale.
| This map provides an overview of the broad geomorphic divisions of south eastern Australia as portrayed by Hills (1975) at an approximate scale of 1:10 million. This map highlights the continuity of geomorphic divisions across State boundaries, particularly the Murray River Basin. |  Major Physical Divisions of South eastern Australia (adapted from Hills 1975). |
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© The State of Victoria, 1996 - 2008.
This document was last reviewed on 15/09/2008