Compaction correction is a key part of paleo-geomorphic recovery methods. Yet, the influence of lithology on the porosity evolution is not usually taken into account. Present methods merely classify the lithologies as sandstone and mudstone to undertake separate porosity-depth compaction modeling. However, using just two lithologies is an oversimplification that cannot represent the compaction history. In such schemes, the precision of the compaction recovery is inadequate. To improve the precision of compaction recovery, a depth compaction model has been proposed that involves both porosity and clay content. A clastic lithological compaction unit classification method, based on clay content, has been designed to identify lithological boundaries and establish sets of compaction units. Also, on the basis of the clastic compaction unit classification, two methods of compaction recovery that integrate well and seismic data are employed to extrapolate well-based compaction information outward along seismic lines and recover the paleo-topography of the clastic strata in the region. The examples presented here show that a better understanding of paleo-geomorphology can be gained by applying the proposed compaction recovery technology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]