Geography Of The UK Flashcards
Relief - higher ground in the UK?
In the north, especially Scotland.
Wales has more higher group.
Main upland areas
Grampian mountains (far N scotland) Southern uplands (lower part of scotland) The Lake district The Pennines (belt down england spine) The Cambrian mountains (wals) Dartmoor Exmoor
Reflief - flat ground in UK?
South East
How were highlands create?
Created by uplift, caused by the collision of plates, volcanism/pushed up.
In the UK it is in distant geological past, as not tectonically active now. Explains why they are not very high.
How were lowlands create?
Not uplighted much or have been flattened down over time.
UK main river systems
The severn
The trent
The thames
What is a conurbation?
Combination of a number of towns or villages that have grown over time together.
For example, Greater London / West Midlands
Describe distribution of UKs largest urban areas
- Unevenly distributed
- Largest concentrations in the SE, in the midlands then the central area (in a ring around the Pennines)
- North east coast where youd find newcastle and sunderland
- In scotland = band stretching coast to coast from glasgow to edinburgh
Explain what UK population distribution tells us…
- Shows the places that are currently providing the things that people require to live
- Shows places that were historically successful - but now maybe in decline - eg northern part of britain - due to previous heavy industry
- SE = growing = current success (close to europe for easier trade connections.
- Relief and rivers factor
Types of winds across the UK
North = arctic = cold winds South = equator = warmer East = from land mass = drier West = atlantic ocean = wetter
Climates of areas across the UK
NW = cool summer, mild winters + heavier rain all year (wettness from the maritime winds NE = cool summers and cold winters + steady rain all year (drier winds) SE = warm summer and mild winter - light rain all year (es summer) SW = warm summers, mild winters, heavy rain all year (esp winter)
What cells affect the UK’s climate?
- Ferrel Cell
- Polar Cell
Polar and ferrel cell convergence.
How do jet streams affect the UK?
Fast, flowing air current
In UK they come from the equator up the west of the country, which is why it is so warm as other areas at our latitude would have much colder weather
What hazards affect the UK?
- Droughts
- Heat waves
- Floods
- Storms / blizzards and extreme cold
(Get both ends of the spectrums)
Is global warming increasing our extreme UK weather?
Most probably a link but cannot directly link individual events.
We know there is more energy in the atmosphere due to the warming earth = more intense storms as there is more energy.
Weather patterns could be affected.
Urban to rural population distribution
83% urban
17% rural
Why is UK urban population so high?
- Changes in the way we live. The industrial revolution meant that not as many are needed in agriculture + created opportunities in the cities
- As more people went to the cities = more opportunities there + more services to better levels = more appealing to others = more then move into the cities. = cities get bigger and bigger
- Natural increase
Uk consistently has a positive increase, particularly in cities.
Migration definition
Move in or between countries
Illegal immigrant definition
someone without premission or documentation to be in an country.
Immigrant definition
A person who arrives in a country with the intention of living there.
Emigrant definition
A person who leaves one country to live in another.
Urban to Rural definition
Moving from towns or cities to small villages or the countryside.
Seeing an increase in this in the UK (as with other developed countries).
Rural to Urban definition
Moving from small villages or the countryside to towns or cities.
Still happening in a fairly large scale.
What impact has the workforce has on migration?
People moved to the UK due to the jobs available:
In the past, the textile industry let to an increase in Asian and Indian immigration.
More recently, eastern Europeans have been coming over for agriculture. And NHS shortages have led to them employing from outside the UK to fill skill gaps.
What are the pressures created from immigration?
- Education - increased student number, competition for spaces and need for language support.
- Economy - Pressure on housing and job availability, but there are more benefits.
Is immigration balancing the population?
The UK has an aging population. Migrants traditionally have bigger families and more children which can counterbalane our aging population.
Positive impacts of urbanisation on education
- Centralises education
- Can do specialised teaching with better levels of training
- Creates centres for excellence
- Universities have seen positive effects
Positive impacts of urbanisation on sport
- More facilities that are available
- More training programmes for young people
- Easier access
Positive impacts of urbanisation on retail
More shops and shopping centres
Negative impacts of urbanisation in the UK
- Deprivation - particular areas or estates that are poorer
- Inequalities in housing and access to housing
- Dereliciton, esp. in areas with declining industry
- Inequalities in education as poorer areas will have worse results and this will affect employment opportunities
- Brownfield sites
- Inequalities in access to employment / healthcare
- Waste disposal
- Urban sprawl on the rural urban fringe, gov’t tries to control it but cities are slowly growing into the rural areas
What are reasons for counter urbanisation?
Older and wealthier people, who don’t need the ubran facilities as much and worry about crime/pollution/urban decay start to move out of urban areas.
Rural schools are sometimes considered better as they don’t suffer from the same issues as inner city schools.
Pressures from counter urbanisation?
- Pressure on services
- Affects transport and pollution
- Pushes up house prices in those areas, those that originally live there cannot afford to continue living in the area
- Services may do better though like pubs etc., which will mean more jobs
Gentrification
- Area gets cleaned up
- Wealthier people move in
- Prices rise and push out others that can no longer afford to live there
Domitory Villages
People live and sleep there but dont work there (usually commute to another place for work).
Dont use the service there = they go into decline.
Increase car use to access work.
Counter urbanisation effect on cities?
- House prices might become more affordable
- Less pressure = might be able to get the spaces they want at schools etc / heath services etc
- But if lots of migration out = service decline / less people of working ages = tax revenue falls = councils cant afford to support the ares
- Ageing population
Primary sector
Working with raw materials - farming, mining etc
Secondary sector
Manufactoring and making things.
Tertiary sector
This work involves providing a service.
Quaternary sector
This is working with high tech.
Employment Structure
Term to describe the amount of people employed in each of these sectors
Why has the UK employment structure changed?
- industrialisation led to mechanisation and then automation (e.g. automated call centres)
- Increasing wealth led to a growth in service industry
- globalisation meant UK factories struggled to compete and raw materials were cheaper from abroad.
- lack of investment in manufacturing meant other countries overtook us
- UK centre for new tech
- Political control - nationalisation meant a lack of investment, but then privatisation in the 80s
The post industrial economy
- Replacement of secondary with tertiary and quaternary
- Cant compete with bulk manufacturing but we can with new tech + high level manufacturing, e.g. boeing, as we have the skills and educational base to support them.
How sustainable is UK economy?
- Enviro sustainability
Use brownfield sites = not destroying greenfield sites + cleaning up those areas - Socially
Higher employment rates for graduates - Economically
Land is cheaper in town centres due to brownfield sites
North/South divide + why?
South = higher average standard of living, longer life expectancy and higher incomes
BUT More congestion and higher house prices
Why?
Decline in heavy industries. When went into decline in the north nothing replaced them like it did in the south
Rising unemployment and dereliction in the north meant more migration to the SE for jobs.
How to fix the north/south divide?
Investments
Improve transport/infastructures
Northern power house
