The Department of Geomorphology and Paleogeography was founded in 1950 (before 2000 – Department of Geomorphology). The main research areas of the department are: regional geomorphological and paleogeographic analysis (prof. Yaroslav Kravchuk, prof. Andrii Boguckyi, prof. Lida Dubis, Doc. Yaroslav Khomyn, doc. Miroslav Ivanuk, doc. Roman Gnatiuk, doc.Andrii Yatsyshyn); engineering geomorphology (prof. Jaroslav Kravchuk, docc. Vitalii Brusak, doc. Pavlo Horishnyi, doc. Halyna Bairak, Yurii Zinko, doc. Oksana Koltun); paleogeography of the Pleistocene (prof. Andrii Bohutskyi, doc. Roman Dmytruk, doc. Andrii Yatsyshyn); dynamics of modern relief forming processes (prof. Yaaroslav Kravchuk, doc. Yaroslav Khomyn, doc. Vitalii Brusak, Yurii Zinko, doc. Roman Hnatyuk); interpretation of aero– and satellite images for the study of the relief (prof. Yaroslav Kravchuk, doc. Halyna Bairak) environmental design (prof. Yaroslav Kravchuk, doc. Vitalii Brusak, senior lecturer Yurii Zinko, doc. Roman Hnatiuk, senior lecturer Svitlana Blagodyr); Historical and Geographical Research (prof. Yaroslav Kravchuk).
The Department’s major: “Geography” specialization 7.070504 Geomorphology, Paleogeography of Pleistocene. “
After defending a specialist’s thesis graduates gain the qualification “Geographer-geomorphologists. Teacher,” after a master’s thesis defense graduates gain the qualification “Master in the field of geomorphology and paleogeography.”
The faculty of the department comprises 14 lecturers, 2 research fellows and 5 representatives of training and support staff. On the department functions: educational laboratory of thematic mapping; Research Laboratory of Engineering and geographical nature conservation and tourism studies (RL-51) ; specially-equipped classrooms of geomorphology and paleogeography and of geomorphological map.
Professor P. Tsys had done a lot to restore the prestige of the L’viv school of geomorphologists, which has successfully operated since the creation of the first Department of Geography and the Institute of Geography (1882-1883 academic year) at Lviv University. Professor P. Tsys and his students were also respectful to the achievements of Polish and Ukrainian geomorphologists who conducted the study of the terrain on the territory of Polissya, Volyn and Podilia and the Carpathians.
Among the scholars of this period the leaders of the Institute of Geography of different regions should be noted (A. Reman – 1983-1910, E. Romer – 1911-1933, A. Tsirhofer – 1933-1939, Ya. Polianskyi – 1939-1941). Hryhorii Velychko defended his thesis in Lviv University – he was the first Doctor of Geography among Ukrainian’s (1889), who proposed the natural geographical division of the Carpathians and coined the term “beskyd” to describe a certain mountain type.
Papers of a renowned Ukrainian geographer, academician Stepan Rudnytskyi are associated with this period. In a series of books devoted to the analysis of the relief in the basin of Dnister and Tysa, S. Rudnytskyi has made scientific conclusions regarding the existence of alignment surfaces at different hypsometric levels, icing problems of Siansko-Dniesterskyi watershed, forming volcanic terrain of Vyhorlat-Hutynskyi strands and others that are relevant today.
In 1939, Yurii Polianskyi was the head of the Institute of Geography at the University of Lviv. At that time he was known in scientific circles as geomorphologists, geologist, archaeologist, in particular due to his work “Podilski studies, terraces forests and morphology of Galician skirts over the Dnister”.
A wide range of geomorphological research carried geographers-geomorphologists of Institute of Geography in the 20-30 years of the twentieth century, under the leadership of Professor E. Romer on the study of the Carpathians and Volyn-Podilia areas. E. Romer conducted a detailed morphological and structural analysis of rock groups of the Eastern Carpathians, developed a genetically-chronological approach to study the Dnister valley, highlighted some of the problems associated with icing of Carpathians and others.
At this time collaborators and students of E. Romer conducted a large amount of research work. In particular, S. Pavlovskyi explored the origins of the Carpathian river valleys, A. Tsirhofer worked on the problems of paleomorphology of Podillia, Yu. Chizhevskyi studies the genesis of Dnister valley and geomorphological regionalization of the Precarpathians, H. Teiseir worked on problems of apical surface of the Carpathians and surface leveling of the Precarpathians, A. Malitskyi stydied gypsum karst of Pokuttia, Kulchytskyi S. and A. Yan worked on problems of genesis and age skirts of the northern edge of the relief etc.