Physical landscapes in the UK Flashcards
What are the 3 types of rock?
- Igneous rocks
- Metamorphic rocks
- Sedimentary rocks
Igneous rocks
- Earth’s oldest rocks
- Formed from lavas and deep magmas.
- They were once molten then cooled and chrystalised
- Most of these rocks are resistant to erosion
Metamorphic rocks
- Rocks that were heated and compressed during igneous activity.
- Heating and compression harden them and make them resistant.
- e.g. shale becomes slate; limestone becomes marble.
Sedimentary rocks
- Rocks formed from sediments eroded and deposited by rivers, the sea or on the sea bed.
- Some are resistant like limestone.
- Others crumble easily like shale.
Where are the Highland regions located in the UK?
- Mainly in the North and West of the UK.
- The tallest mountains are found in Scotland where Ben Nevis is located.
Where are the Lowland regions located in the UK?
- Located mainly in the East and South East of the UK.
- Lowland areas include Kent, Surrey, as well as Norfolk and Suffolk.
What are the 3 main reasons the UK looks the way it does?
1) Geology
2) Glaciation
3) Tectonic processes
How does Geology affect the land?
- North is mainly made up of harder rocks such as carboniferous limestone and schist. This rock is difficult to erode so therefore makes up the most mountain regions, like the Grampian mounts
- East Anglia and the South of the UK are mainly made up of softer rocks such as clay and sandstones. These rocks are easier to erode and therefore create flatter land.
How does Glaciation affect the land?
- The Lake District has high relief and has land forms such as u-shaped valleys. This is because this area was covered by an ice sheet during the last Ice Age. The glaciers eroded away the rock leaving behind these features.
- The Holderness is a lowland area made up of the sedimentary rock boulder clay. This was deposited when the ice sheet melted. This is a soft rock that is easy to erode creating lowland.
How to Tectonic Processes affect the land?
- Many of the mountain ranges in the UK were created by uplift from plate collision, when the African plate collided with the Eurasian plate.
Concordant
In agreement, consistent. e.g.
a)
b)
a)
A concordant coastline has the same geology all the way along the coast.
Discordant
Disagreeing or incongruous e.g.
a) b) a)
A discordant coastline is where the geology alternates between strata or bands of hard and soft rock
Order of headland erosion
Crack, Cave, Arch, Stack, Stump.
What are the 2 types of wave?
Constructive and destructive.
Constructive wave fact file
- Strong swash
- Weak backwash
- Gentle beach gradient
- Long wave length/frequency
- Low wave height
- Low energy
Destructive wave fact file
- Weak swash
- Strong backwash
- Steep beach gradient
- Short wave length
- High wave height
- High energy
What creates waves?
Wind at sea.
Size of energy of the waves depend on what 3 things?
1) Strength of wind
2) How long the wind has been blowing
3) Distance wind has blown (fetch)
Which part of England has the largest fetch?
South West Cornwall
Which type of wave deposits material on the shoreline?
Constructive
Which type of wave removes material from the shoreline?
Destructive
What is long shore drift?
- Longshore drift occurs when wave breaks at an angle on the coast due to the direction of the prevailing wind.
- Sediment moves up the beach (swash) and then back down the beach (back wash) in a straight line due to gravity.
- This means that over time a pebble will be transported along the beach.
How does a spit form?
- Longshore drift transports sand along the coast in the direction of the prevailing wind.
- The coastline changes shape and waves begin to lose energy.
- Sediment starts to build up through deposition at the proximal end and the spit grows out into the sea.
- The spit is exposed to changes in wind and wave direction which cause the end to hook back towards the land.
Example - Spurn Head.
How does a tombolo form?
- Longshore drift transports sediment in the direction of the prevailing wind.
- When the coastline changes shape because of a bay the process forms a spit.
- When this spit joins the mainland with an island it forms a tombolo.
Example - Chessil Beach