4.1 A

Question 1

What are the 3 main ways past tectonic processes have shaped the UK landscape ?

Answer 1

Active volcanoes- 520 million years ago the land that now makes up the UK used to be much closer to a plate boundary than it is now. Active volcanoes forced magma through the Earth’s crust which cooled to from igneous rocks, e.g. granite.

Plate collisions, which caused the rocks to be folded and uplifted, forming mountain ranges. Many of these areas remain as uplands, e.g. the Scottish Highlands, the Lake District and north Wales- the igneous granite is hard and more resistant to erosion. The intense heat caused by plate collisions formed hard metamorphic rocks in northern Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Plate Movements- UK position- Plate movements meant that 345-280 million years ago Britain was in the tropics and higher sea levels meant it was partly underwater- carboniferous limestone formed in the warm shallow seas. This can be seen in the uplands of Peak District (northern England), south Wales and south west England. The youngest rocks in the UK are the chalks and clays found in southern UK. They formed in shallow seas and swamps. Chalks and clays are softer rocks that are more easily eroded- they formed LOWLAND landscapes.

Question 2

What are the characteristics of granite?

Answer 2

I

Question 3

What are the characteristics of Carboniferous Limestone?

Answer 3

,

Question 4

What are the characteristics of Slate and Schist?

Answer 4

H

Question 5

What are the characteristics of Chalk and Clay?

Answer 5

G