Continent and ocean are the largest land forms on the earth’s surface. Mountain, plateau and plain are the land forms of the Second Order; and the innumerable land forms formed on them by the external forces are the land forms of the Third Order. None of these land forms are permanent on the earth’s surface.
As a land form develops by endogenetic forces, the process of its destruction begins by exogenetic forces. Tethys Sea was once there, where the Himalayan Mountains stand today. Mountains on getting eroded, transform into the form of plateaus and plains; and the plains, on getting submerged, transform into the form of oceans.
In this way, the cycle of the development of land forms keeps moving continuously. There is enough complexity in the development of land forms. All continents and oceans are made by small and large 20 Tectonic Plates. With the movement of these tectonic plates, tectonic actions take place on their edges, which develop different types of land forms.
The concept of Tectonic Plates has helped in the explanation of occurrences like mountainization, earthquake, volcano and continental drift. In the same way, the concepts of Geomorphic Cycle and Erosion Cycle have paved the way for the understanding of processes related to the development of innumerable land forms of the Third Order.
