An analysis of river bar classifications known up to the 1960-s is given. The need for new classification is founded; it should take into account morphology, position relative to channel forms, other conditions of development, dynamic characteristics, which govern the regime of bars reformation, etc. The multi-level classification consisting of several blocks is proposed. With this classification every bar has its all-round characteristic, which helps to handle channel processes for practical purposes, in particular to ensure normal navigability.

The generalization of field research data concerning gully-balkas systems in the cities of the European part of Russia is presented. The four types of cities were distinguished according to the degree and the character of their interaction with gully-balkas systems: dependent on relief, semi-dependent (the populations numbers 100000200000), cities subduing relief (the population numbers up to 500000), cities downbearing relief. Factors of gullies formation and specificity of their manifestation in these types of cities are analysed.

Natural preconditions and hazard criteria of gullies formation on the slope catchment area were analysed. A stochastic conception of gully development and methodology of gully growth probability assessment have been put forward. Outer and internal links in the gully-catchment area system were taken into account. Essential and sufficient conditions of gully generation have been established.

The data on cryogenic deformation rates of a surface of the Kolyma River terrace under various frost- climatic and technogenic conditions are given. The mathematical model of cryogenic morphogenesis under the impact of the technogenic factors and climatic changes is offered. A man-induced component of the cryogenic deformations of a terrace surface may exceed natural component by 7-20 times under the strong external influences on a frozen ground. Thus rate of local destruction of frozen deposits with macro-ice content 20-40% may reach 15-24 m/year.

In the Lover Volga region the landslides are typical for the large bights of the Volga: Scherbakovskaya and Volgogradskaya ones. The landslides appear at the contact of confining and water-bearing beds and are brought about by river erosion and abrasion. In the Shcerbakovskaya bight the level of slumping coincides with Syzran gaizes and Maastricht clays. In the Volgogradskaya bight there are two levels of landslides formation: the upper one - Maikop jointed clays, the lower one - Khvalyn "chocolate" clays. There are ancient (prehistoric) landslides in the Lover Volga region, mainly connected with Khvalyn transgression of the Caspian Sea (Scherbakovskaya bight), old ("pretechnogenic") ones, submerged by Volgograd water reservoir, and recent (mainly technogenic) ones, on the reservoirs' shore and in the Volgogradskaya bight. The ancient and the old landslides were formed by natural processes and are not active in the last decades; the recent landslides of Volgogradskaya bight have mostly appeared in the result of economic activity.

The standard set of periglacial slope processes (scree, block stream, solifluction, etc.) and their manifestations in the quaternary deposits were studied thoroughly. The spatial-time dynamics of the processes is complicating by actual winter processes and by the results of the ancient cryogenic slope processes. Anisotropy of the slope processes is of special interest because of its peculiar morphologic effect; of the latter the asymmetry of small river valleys is the example.

Natural climatic and tectonic factors had a strong impact on the Mz-Kz development of fluvial relief of the region. During the dry seasons the chemical and physical weathering, different types of denudation, gravitational and aeolean processes are predominant, while fluvial processes play subsidiary role. Phased uprise of the Large Escarpment along the periphery of Southern Africa coming along with its axis displacement into the interior of the continent caused the formation of the deep incisions in the river valleys and strong erosion dissection of the neighbouring parts of the planation surface. The faults of the ancient and recent rifts have a significant impact on the morphology of the fluvial relief.

Geomorphological effect of exogenic processes on the coastal shallows of the Kama water reservoirs during the formation of seasonal mud flats is comparable in several years to activity of hydrophysical processes at normal lockup levels. Deflation-aeolian processes may cause the increase or decrease of the height of a shallow on separate sites by 0.25-0.40 m during the short periods of time (from one to three weeks). Influence of temporal melt-water currents on a surface of a coastal slope is usually leads to formation of gullies and ravines up to 1.5 m depth and more. Weathering, most notably manifested on abrasion surfaces build up by the dense low-plastic clay, results in the formation of the deep cracks, which are gradually extending under action of a deflation or up-wash and turning into crest-like forms up to 0.3-0.4 m height. The geomorphological effect of frost grounds manifests on the sandy- siltstone deposits underlaid by rocky debris. Owing to differences in a thermal capacity of large shatters and fine deposits there appear little hubbles on the surface of a shallow up to 0.3-0.5 m in diameter and 0.15-0.20 m in height. Depth of the plucking of the coastal slopes by gravitational displacement of an ice or by trash ice can reach 0.3-0.4 m and its width - 5-7 m.

The morphology of design stream section has a predominant impact on the transport of bottom sediments. The estimation of the validity of the basic formulas for calculation of sediment discharge, fulfilled on the basis of experimental data, showed that errors in calculations exceed hundreds of percent on the average with the maximum up to thousand of percent. The main reason of this - disregard of the effect of interactions of river-bed and floodplain flows and of specific features of these landforms. The authors suggest entering into these formulas the correction indexes, which correct the results by the factors of section morphology.

Pedestal mountains of Gobi type, distinguished by N.A. Florensov, are not arched, since there often is intramountain depression in their axial part, dividing the whole ridge into two separate having mutual pedestal. Small ridges - the mountains of the basins bottom, which undergo an initial stage of the Gobi type orogenesis, represent the earliest stage of pedestal mountains formation.

XXXI Plenary meeting of RAS Geomorphological Committee will take place in Astrakhan in 2011 on the base of Astrakhan State University.

17.07.2010 Dmitry A. Timofeyev had closed his days.