La geomorfología en México, 1994

Man has always had knowledge of the Earth’s surface, or at least of its inhabited areas, but it was not until the end of the last century that geomorphology was acknowledged as a formal science. The study of geomorphology developed slowly at the beginning of this century and more quickly during the second half, as evidenced by three international geomorphological conferences held in 1985, 1989 and 1993 and by the creation of the International Association of Geomorphologists in 1989. As a part of Modern Science, numerous geomorphological studies in Mexico were completed at the end of the last and the beginning of this century. In the last 20 years, as a follow-up to the work that has already been done in this country, studies have been carried out in collaboration with foreign experts from leading research institutes, and several ones of research have been developed. The results have been fair, but considering the growing importance of this field which can be applied to solving problems, much work remains to be done.Son muchos los estudios que sobre el relieve de nuestro actual territorio se han venido realizando desde hace algunos cientos de años, incluso, algunos milenios. Esto se explica porque la superficie terrestre es el lugar que modificamos todos los días con construcciones urbanas, vías de comunicación, obras hidráulicas y otras edificaciones más.Como ejemplo de lo anterior, podemos hablar de una ciudad antigua, cuya construcción requirió de conocimientos geomorfológicos: Tenochtitlán. Esta ciudad estuvo asentada en islotes de un lago que en pocos años fue transformado en la capital del poderío azteca y hoy, es el lugar donde existe la mayor concentración humana del mundo