Structural control in the evolution of granite landscape

Abstract

Granite landscapes owe much of their diversity to the variations within the rock itself. Intrusions differ in terms of mode of emplacement, texture, mineralogy, fracture patterns and deformation history, and these geological factors control both the shape of individual landforms and the evolution of large-scale landform assemblages. Rock control is also evident in the course of slope processes acting on rock slopes and in weathered terrains. Structural control usually assumes a hierarchical pattern. Regional landscapes tend to reflect lithological and large-scale structural variations, whereas individual landforms develop under pervasive influence of fracture systems. The primacy of rock control explains why adjacent granite landscapes can be fundamentally different, and why those in contrasting morphoclimatic zones can be very much alike