#geomorphology

• Anemogenous — Produced, generated, shaped, or structurally determined by the action of wind or air currents (such as aeolian landforms or surface sea waves). In rare or adapted medical imaging contexts, it can describe dynamic acoustic phenomena simulating air-like fluid turbulences.
• Aeolian corrasion — A geomorphological process of disintegration, fragmentation, and structural destruction of rocks under the direct and prolonged action of wind laden with abrasive sand or dust particles; natural aeolian corrasion or sandblasting.
• Anemomorphy — A morphological modification, shape anomaly, or structural adaptation acquired by a plant organism (or a geological body) under the direct, intense, and asymmetric influence of dominant winds. In botany, this phenomenon leads to asymmetric tree canopies known as flag trees.
• Anerosion — A rare form of evolutionary development or structural micro-relief characterized by the total absence or severe diminution of normal fluid or eolian erosion processes within a specific area. This static geological phenomenon is caused by the presence of extremely hard rocks or compact protective layers that block degradation and maintain the original landforms intact.
• Anticlia — A rare landform or minor anticlinal geological structure, representing an upward fold of the earth's crust, whose longitudinal axis presents a specific inclination or reverse curvature. In a geomorphological structural sense, the term is utilized isolatedly in old specialized treatises as a simplified graphical or conceptual variant for an anticline.
• Anticline — A landform or tectonic structure generated by the upward arching or folding of the earth's crust, taking the shape of a ridge or a convex fold, within whose core the oldest rock formations are found. As an adjective, it describes the structural elements, axes, or flanks belonging to such a geological fold.
• Apennine — The feminine form of apeninic (Apennine); pertaining to the Apennine Mountains or the surrounding regions of the Italian Peninsula, relating to the geological structure, flora, fauna, or climatic features of this European mountain range.
• The Ardennes — A vast mountainous and forested region, situated primarily in Belgium and Luxembourg, but extending into France and Germany; an old Hercynian mountain range structurally characterized by rolling plateaus, deep valleys carved by rivers like the Meuse, and dense deciduous and coniferous forests. In a historical and military sense, the Ardennes represent the theater of major battles in both World Wars, notably the famous Battle of the Bulge in the winter of 1944-1945.
• Arenization — The act of turning into sand and its result; a natural geological process of disintegration, weathering, or structural breaking down of solid rocks (especially granite or sandstone) under climatic, chemical, or biological factors, resulting in the formation of a granular sandy deposit. In pedology, it describes the degradation or transformation of soil texture through its excessive enrichment with coarse sand particles.
• Arenogeny — The origin, mode of formation, and historical evolution of sand deposits or sandy dunes and beaches within a specific geographical region. From a structural perspective, arenogenia studies the entirety of interactions between tectonic dynamics, petrographic weathering, and climatic factors that determine the emergence and expansion of fine silica particle networks in the Earth's crust.
• Archipelago — A group or chain of islands relatively close to one another, which often share the same geological origin (frequently volcanic or coralline) and are surrounded by the same marine or oceanic waters. Broadly, the term also designates the entire expanse of sea containing these islands, such as those in the Aegean Sea or Indonesia, representing a key concept in geopolitics and biogeography.
• Backdune — A sand dune formation located behind the foredunes or coastal dunes, being more stabilized by vegetation and less exposed to the direct action of strong marine winds.
• Backshore — The area behind the beach proper, located along marine or lacustrine coasts, beyond the line reached by waves during normal high tide; this structure often includes sand dunes, halophytic vegetation, and sedimentary deposits brought by wind or violent storms, playing a critical ecological role in stabilizing the shoreline.
• Arroyo — A geographical term of Hispanic origin utilized internationally to designate the dry, deep, and steep bed of a stream or torrent located in an arid or semi-arid region, which rapidly floods with water only after short, violent rainstorms. The phenomenon is characteristic of desert or steppe landscapes, frequently causing flash floods and intense linear soil erosion.
• Foreshore — A sector or strip of the coastal zone located at the boundary between land and sea, extending between the high-water mark during high tide (flood) and the low-water mark during low tide (ebb); the active swash zone. In an extended geological sense, the term can also describe a shallow submerged sandbar extending from the beach face toward the open sea, where incoming waves break continuously.