One of the main tasks involved in the adequate planning of territory is to know and asses the degree of suitability of present and potential land uses based on the natural and socioeconomic attributes involved in its development that, in general, define the suitability of the territory for each specific land use. For the territorial planning of the northwest state of Chiapas, Mexico, a classification was developed of the potential geomorphic intensity by means of a typology sustained both on the level of lithological susceptibility of exogenous geomorphic processes and on the energetic conditions that are conditioned by slope. Such a classification allows for evaluating the intensity of the geomorphic modelling process with the aim of contributing to the analysis of land’s natural suitabilities for different land uses (agriculture, cattle grazing and forestry) and to identify critical zones susceptible to erosion linear and planar, mass removal, karstic-erosion, fluvial and lacustrine processes. The present work provides a methodology for accurate and quick evaluations of exogenous geomorphic intensity over extensive territories based on GIS software and geomorphological field inspections. The application of this methodology to the territory of northwest Chiapas resulted in the definition of 26 types of potential geomorphic intensity. The obtained results contributed to the planning of land use, in particular, for agriculture, cattle grazing and forestry, through the view of geomorphic optimization of socioeconomic activities.
