RESIDUAL LANDFORM

also called Relict Landform, landform that was produced as the remains of an ancient landscape, escaping burial or destruction to remain as part of the present landscape. Residual landforms are often the result of changed climatic conditions, but they may be due to volcanism or to crustal uplift and downwarping. Examples of residual landforms are extinct volcanic cones, inactive stone rivers from climates on the fringe of glaciers, disconnected and abandoned parts of drainage systems, abandoned strandlines from more humid climates, fixed sand dunes from drier climates, marine terraces from high sea levels, and plunging sea cliffs from lower sea levels. The percentage of residual landforms in a given landscape and the importance placed on relict landforms by different geomorphologists may vary tremendously.