Distinctive Landscapes Flashcards
What are landscapes?
The visible features that make up the land
What makes a landscape distinctive?
Landscape elements
What are the four main groups of landscape elements?
Natural/Physical
Biological
Human
Variables
What are some natural/physical elements?
Mountains, Valleys, Coastline, Rivers, Lakes, Plains
What are some biological elements?
Vegetation, Habitats, Wildlife and Animals bred and used by Humans
What are some Human elements?
Buildings, Man-Made structures, infrastructure (roads etc.)
What are some variable elements?
Weather, Cloudscapes, smells, sounds
What is a natural landscape?
A landscape mainly without human activity
What is the distribution of Lowland areas in the UK?
Mostly south and east
What is the geology of lowland areas?
Generally softer rocks such as clay or chalk
What is the relief of lowland areas?
Flat, gentle hills
What is the climate of lowland areas?
Warmer and Drier
What is human activity like in lowland areas?
Most urban areas a here. Most factories and manufacturing industries
What is the distribution of Upland areas?
Mostly in the north and west
What is the geology of upland areas?
Generally harder rocks such as slate and granite
What is the relief of upland areas?
The land is steep
What is the climate of upland areas?
Colder and wetter (Can drop below freezing)
What is human activity like in upland areas?
Sheep farming, quarrying and tourism
How do glaciated areas form?
When powerful ice caps covered much of the UK in the last ice age
What are Geomorphic Processes
Processes that happen on the surface of the Earth and shape our landscapes.
What are the Geomorphic Processes?
Weathering, mass movement, erosion, transportation and deposition.
What is Mechanical Weathering?
The physical breaking down of rock without changing it chemically
What is Freeze-thaw weathering?
Repeated cycles of freezing & thawing of water in cracks in rocks causes expansion and contraction, eventually causing the rock to break away
What is Salt Weathering?
When seawater evaporates from cliffs, the salt is left behind. This grows, eventually breaking apart the rock.
What is Chemical Weathering?
The breakdown of rock by changing it chemically
What is Carbonation?
Carbon dioxide dissolved in rainwater reacts with calcium carbonate (chalk and limestone) to form calcium bicarbonate, which is carried away by the waves
What is Biological Weathering?
The breakdown of rock by living things
What is Plant Root Weathering?
Roots grow into & expand within cracks in the rock, breaking them apart
What is Weathering?
The breaking down of rock in its original place
What is Erosion?
The wearing away and removal of rock
What is Abrasion?
Rocks carried within water scrape away at the cliffs or river channel
What is Attrition?
Rocks carried within water smash into each, becoming smaller, rounder and smoother
What is Hydraulic Action?
Air within cracks in rock is compressed by water. When the water leaves, the air expands, creating a force which wears away the rock.
What is Solution? (Erosion)
River and seawater is slightly acidic due to dissolved CO2. This can dissolve some rocks like chalk and limestone
What is Quarrying/ Pounding?
The sheer force of the water wearing away rock
What is Deposition?
When the river or waves leave sediment behind
How does deposition occur in Rivers?
Occurs when the river loses energy and slows. When volume of water falls - When the energy falls (inside of a bend)
How does deposition occur in Coasts?
Constructive waves deposit sediment Gravity settling in the water
What is Transportation?
The movement of eroded material
What is Traction?
When Rocks are pushed and rolled
What is Saltation?
When Small particles of rock are bounced along
What is Suspension?
When Fine particles are held in the water and carried
What is Solution? (Transportation)
When Soluble materials are dissolved and carried
What is Slumping?
When a cliff collapses on a curved path
What is Mass Movement?
The movement of material downwards due to gravity
What is Sliding?
When a cliff collapses on a straight path
Where can you find Headlands & Bays?
Where rocks of varying resistance lie at right angles to the sea
What rock makes up Headlands?
More resistant rock (Chalk and Limestone)
What rock makes up Bays? Why?
Less resistant (Clay and Sand) as erosion rates are greatest at first
What is a beach?
A depositional landform made of pebbles or sand found between the low-tide mark and the storm-tide mark
How are Beaches formed?
They are formed by constructive waves (stronger swash than backwash so adds material)
Why are sandy beaches flat and wide?
Because the weak backwash can take the fine sand particles back down the beach
Why are Shingle beaches steep and narrow?
Because the weak backwash cannot take the shingles back down the beach, so they build up
How are Cracks formed?
By hydraulic action
How does a crack grow into a cave?
By hydraulic action and abrasion
At what angle do wind and waves approach the shore?
45°
At what angle is the swash?
45°
At what angle is backwash? Why?
90° due to gravity
What is a Long Profile of a river:
The change in gradient with distance. It starts off steep but reduces with distance from source, and has a CONCAVE profile
What can Longshore Drift create?
Spits
