When Jenny named the fine factors of soil formation in 1941, he used the terms relief and topography interchangeably. With current use, they are not the same. Relief - difference in elevation between the tops of hills and the bottom of valleys. Topography - the shape and physical features of the land. Landscape - the portion of the land surface that the eye can comprehend in a simple view.
Soils are a three dimensional feature on the landscape.
They result from processes that occurred on that particular landscape. Landform - physical recognizable features of the earth that together make up the land surface. Geomorphic surface - a part of the surface of the land that has definite geographic boundaries and is formed during a given time period. Erosional surface - a land surface shaped by the action of erosion. Constructional or depositional surface - a land surface formed as a result of upbuilding such as accumulation by deposition.