The Pacific and another plate of the Earth's crust smashed together (sort of, it took awhile) to push up the Rocky Mountains. On the East side of the Mountains an ancient ocean dried up and left lots of sandstone. Oh and glaciers sculpted the mountains down as well.

By reading a Southern California field geology manual and some other items, I learned that I live in a sink, even though it's called a valley. It's part of the basin and range system. The mountains on either side of our sink are upthrusts of crust, we are sinking portions of crust. I live on alluvial fill (sediment) that has gathered in these low parts from the mountains around. I had to read to learn this. When I moved here I was curious about my new home.

volcanic,
sinking grounds and plate pushing up mountains.
waterflow.

First volcanoes, but they are old. Then folding caused by meeting of two tectonic plates at current coastline. Glacial ice covering mountains to east formed deep river canyons, and the rivers have since brought large quantities of silt downstream, creating broad valleys composed of deep layers of sediment. The sheer volume of water cut the channel that became the Golden Gate and San Francisco Bay, with a wide edge of silt forming vast wetlands.

New Orleans had (at one time before the levees) constant build up of river sediment from the Mississippi.

The most important geologic process here was glaciers. Next would be rivers.

The area where I live was caused by uplifting of the earth's crust and some glacier erosion.

Geological Processes and Events: Slip-strike earthquakes, ocean-wave action, rain, volcanic activity,

Other Events: The introduction of homo sapiens in large numbers

Mountainous upthrust due to tectonic interaction,
followed by glacial, then melting.

Volcano a few hundred million years ago, plus erosion.

Method? Er, geological and landform maps?
Ask your local agriculture extension agent.
Or the nearest developer; landforms make a big difference for building.

Plate techtonics and erosion.

Retreat of ice cover during last ice age (10k years ago) carved our Passaic and Hackensack Rivers, made the Great Falls, scoured Hudson County real good, created Newark Bay's basin... I could go on and on. The Appalachians form a very old mountain range from an even older fault line collision now long gone. Not too much tectonic activity, so it's mostly been ice retreating that made the most visible effects to this day.