GEOMORPHOLOGY IN THE WORKS OF VASILY VASILYEVICH DOKUCHAEV

V.V. Dokuchaev developed five main issues of geomorphology that relate to a quantitative study of modern geomorphological processes: 1) the problem of landscape latitudinal and altitudinal zonality in the glacial and postglacial periods; 2) ideas about the formation of river valleys and 3) the development of gullies and balkas (small dry valleys), 4) regional geomorphology and geomorphologic mapping, and 5) the age of the relief, the staging and cyclicity of relief formation. According to V.V. Dokuchaev, geomorphology – a component of one of the most interesting disciplines in the field of modern Earth sciences – the doctrine of “… complex and diverse relationships and interactions, as well as laws governing their long term changes that exist between … living and dead nature, between: a) surface rocks, b) shape of the earth, c) soils, d) surface and ground waters, e) the climate of the country, e) plant and animal organisms (including, and even mainly, the lowest) and man – “the majestic final creation””. V.V. Dokuchaev anticipated the main idea of V.M. Davis on the successive change of erosion cycles and stages in the evolution of landforms, formulated a connection in the development of valleys, balkas, gullies and rivers. He managed to show that the similarity of these landforms is especially great in spring, that, possibly, some rivers could and even should have emerged in the same way as gullies currently form. In his opinion, on the western slope of the Ergeni (the upland in the south of the Russian Plain), where the balka valleys are not as numerous as on the eastern slope, they are not parallel to each other, but, on the contrary, they are joining together and striving to form large rivers that are going to River Don and partly to the western Manych. Very interesting and important is the statement of V.V. Dokuchaev that some ravines under favorable conditions can and should cross water-divides and eventually evolve into real rivers.

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2. Dokuchaev V.V. Sposoby obrazovaniya rechnykh dolin Evropeyskoy Rossii (Methods of the European Russian river valleys formation). SPb.: Tip. Deklerona I Evdokimova (Publ.), 1878. 221 p.

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4. Markov K.K. Osnovnye problemy geomorfologii (Main problems of geomorphology). Moscow: OGIZ (Publ.), 1948. 343 p.

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6. Dokuchaev V.V. K voprosu o pereotsenke zemel Evropeyskoy I Aziatskoy Rossii. S klassifikatsiey pochv (Towards the issue of revaluation of land in European and Asian Russia. With soil classification). SPb.: Tip. Deklerona I Evdokimova (Publ.), 1898. 163 p.

7. Dokuchaev V.V. K ucheniyu o zakonah prirody. Gorizontalnye I vertikalnye pochvennye zony (Towards the study of the zones of nature. Horizontal and vertical soil zones). SPb.: Tip. Deklerona I Evdokimova (Publ.), 1899. 28 p.

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11. Sokolov N.N. On the relief of the Kostroma Volga region. Tr. Pochv. In-ta. 1930. Iss. 3–4. P. 39–52. (in Russ.)

12. Dokuchaev V.V. Nashi stepi prezhde I teper. Izdanie v polzu postradavshih ot neurozhaya (Our steppes are before and now. The publication in favor of the victims of crop failure). 2­nd edition. Мoscow: Selhozgiz (Publ.), 1936. 117 p.

13. Dokuchaev V.V. Russkiy chernozem (Russian chernozem). SPb.: Tip. Deklerona I Evdokimova (Publ.), 1888. 376 p.

14. Makkaveyev N.I. Ruslo reki I eroziya v ee basseyne (River channel and erosion in its basin). Мoscow: Izd­vo AN SSSR (Publ.), 1955. 353 p.

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