The notion of the age of relief has been differently treated by different investigators. To understand better the history of the development of relief in time, it is necessary to distinguish three main time categories: 1) the length of the relief formation (embracing a period from the beginning and up to the end of its formation, that is up to the beginning of the relict stage); 2) geological age of the relief (the moment of complition of the relief formation and its passing into a relict stage), and 3) the length of existence of the relict relief (a period within which the final form of relief lasts as a relict). The stage of relief formation and the stage of the existence of relict relief are limited by critical age boundaries; the first by the original and the main boundaries, the latter of which coincides with the geological age of relief, the second — by the main and the final stages. All the three time characteristics must be shown on maps by geological indices.

The classification is based on the subdivision of landforms into morphostructures and morphosculptures according to genesis of the surfaces limiting the landforms and neotectonic deformations of these surfaces. Morphostructures are subdivided into primary-tectonic, constructional and structural-sculptural landforms; morphosculptures — into destructive, accumulative and destructive-accumulative landforms. Each of the above-given categories is further subdivided into landforms of different order. Presented is «The general landform classification table» which includes all the main morphostructures and morphosculptures. Since every landform after being created becomes in its turn a factor of relief creation, «The general table» appears to be a peculiar matrix, which makes it possible to check the completeness of existing empirical classifications (for instance, classifications of river-valley types, coastal types, lake basins, etc) and to fill up the gaps in these classifications.

The present-day relief of Kamchatka is very young. Endogenlc factors — tectonics and volcanism — played a determining role in the formation of the modern mountain-relief, as they created the main mountain ranges of the peninsula. Essentially exogenic: factors have only modelled the relief which has been created by the most recent movements and volcanism.

The intensity and scale of exogenic processes in large storage reservoirs differ depending on their type. The storage reservoirs may be divided into three groups: a) plain storage reservoirs — with the hydrostatic head of about 15—25 m and the area of water table not less than several hundreds of square kilometers; b) storage reservoirs in mountain regions with the hydrostatic head of about 200 m and more; c) an intermediate group with the head of 50—100 m, which includes large storage reservoirs within plateaux constructed in deeply cut river valleys, as well as on plateaux with dissected relief and in submontane regions.
Considered are the regime and volumes of sedimentation in storage reservoirs of different groups. Due to a mass construction of storage water reservoirs in the USSR the sedimentation reaches great dimensions.

Due to a sharp increase of the plowing of sandy soils in recent years and the felling of forests, especially on the mountain slopes, in the Pre-Baikal and Trans-Baikal regions, the present-day destructive processes, such as deflation and slope processes, have intensified and become widespread. Areas of blown sands in places of cut down pine forests in inter-mountain basins have considerably increased. The process of gully formation has intensified, and there is an ever growing danger of mud-streams and land-slides in mountains.

Geomorphological levels (terraces) are described of the Middle and Late Pleistocene ages developed in the Turgai Hollow and correlative to the four geomorphological levels of the Irtysh valley. Of the four levels of the Hollow only one level (100 in) is through. The presence of this level, with a relatively small elevation in the central (interfluve) part of the Hollow (about 125 m) and with a natural southward slant of the surface on the southern strech, must be taken into account while designing the course of the Canal Ob — Irtysh — Syrd'arya — Amudarya.

Recent vertical movements of the European part of the USSR are compared with the isostatic anomalies; a frequency filtration of the fields of vertical movements and anomalies of gravity- has been carried out. The majority of well pronounced uplifts and subsidences do not indicate their connection with gravitational anomalies. The author comes to the conclusion that vertical movements were mainly caused by a compression or expansion of intrusive matter.

The use of a morphostructural analysis while prospecting for oil- and gas-bearing structures in the Nizhne-Anadyr Depression gives positive results. A close examination of the linear elements of relief and drainage system (megafructuring), with the use of geophysical data, shows that plutonic (intrusive) structures of the sedimentary mantle and the basement have their expession in the present relief of the Depression. Data obtained by the morphostructural analysis helps to define inherited and superimposed structures of the sedimentary mantle.

The study of small (from 1 to 1000 m) features of the bottom topography, which is very important fer geomorphological investigations, has become possible after the invention of oarrowbeam echo sounders which give a precise profile of bottom topography. The advantages of the narrowbeam echo sounding are shown by data obtained during the scientific expeditions on the r/v «Academician Kurchatov» and «Oceanographer».