Which principle suggests that current geological processes can provide insight into past events?

Uniformitarianism is the principle that asserts that the geological processes we observe happening today, such as erosion, sedimentation, and volcanic activity, have also occurred in similar ways throughout Earth's history. This principle implies that by studying current geological activities, scientists can infer how the Earth looked in the past and the processes that shaped it. It supports the idea that the same natural laws and processes that operate today also operated in the past, providing a continuity that helps geologists reconstruct historical events and the formation of various geological features over time.

This concept is foundational to modern geology and helps geologists to understand the geological time scale, evolution of landscapes, and the development of life by linking past and present processes.