The Ith-Hils hilly land provides a typical example of cuestas and homoclinal ridges developed on a synclinal structure in Mesozoic rocks of alternating resistance. Folding and faulting of these rocks were associated with Late Cretaceous and Early Cenozoic tectonic activity which favoured the injection and upward movement of Late Permian salts along fault trajectories and contributed to tilting and warping of the overlying rocks. Thus, the area provides a typical example of the interplay of Saxonian tectonics and landform development which appears to apply also to other areas such as the Harz foreland. Structural control of landforms of the synclinal structure is expressed in hillslope forms and NW–SE-striking elongate ridges in resistant rocks, paralleled by valley zones in weaker rocks. Despite the close association between landforms and geological structure, crest flats and truncation surfaces point to a more complex landscape development path which appears to range back into the Paleogene. Quaternary glacial advances and periglacial conditions resulted in marked changes of the morphodynamics and left important imprints in the landscape. Human interference in landscape dynamics is indicated by quarrying and mining for limestone, sands and asphalt.