Geomorphic events such as debris flows and avalanches are likely to increase in magnitude and frequency due to the influence of global warming. Such processes usually have an impact on the growth of affected trees. As a consequence, dendroecological techniques have been developed to determine the frequency of these events. It is, however, rarely possible to retrieve information on the type and intensity of the geomorphic event. A comprehensive wood anatomical analysis of reaction wood has the potential to obtain more complete information on this matter. This paper presents the wood anatomical analysis of four European tree species. In growth experiments the impacts of the most common geomorphic events were realistically imitated. It was shown that in all four tree species the treated trees exhibited significant growth reactions compared to the untreated reference trees. The treatments are significantly different only in some cases but trends in the data can be identified. The stronger the bending was the more severe reaction wood was formed. Additional treatments to the apex of the trees resulted in a weakening of the reaction wood formation. The results showed that the accuracy of dendrogeomorphic reconstructions profits from further wood anatomical investigations, which should be applied if an intraseasonal reconstruction is aimed for.