Section C- Physical Landscapes In The Uk 🏞 Flashcards
Where are UK’s 🇬🇧 upland are located ?
What form of rocks 🪨 do they have ?
North and west
Ingenious- granite and metaphoric - slate rocks 🪨 that are resistant to erosion
Where are the UK’s 🇬🇧 low land areas found and what rocks do they form ?
Softer sedimentary 🪨 rocks that erode more easily
Whta flood plain is found in Glasgow and what are its properties ?
river Clyde lower valley - flat ground
What is mechanical ⚙️ weathering ? What’s one type ?
Breaking down rocks 🪨 without changing it’s chemical composition
Freeze-thaw weathering
- when temp alternatives from 0•c water 💦 pushes and fills crack of rocks
Freezes - expands applying pressure on rock 🪨
Water thaws releasing the pressure and rock contacts
The repeat of this process widens the cracks causes rock to break off
What is chemical weathering ? What’s one type?
Breaking down a rock by chasing its chemical composition
Carbonation weathering - happens when it’s warm and wet-
Rain water contains carbon dioxide which makes a weak carbonic acid
This reacts with the calcium carbonate in rocks casing it to corrode
What is mass movement? When does it happen?
The shifting of rocks and loose material down a slope eg. Cliff
When gravity is acting upon the slop is greater than the force supporting it
What does mass movement cause coasts to do?
Retreat rapidly
When Is mass movement more likely to occur ? Why?
If sediment it full of water 💧- water acts like a lubricant and makes material heavier
What can be created when material shifts?
A scrap - steep cut in the side of the Slope
What are the three kinds of mass movement?
Slides 🛝- when material shifts in a straight line down a slope
Slumps - when material rotates down a curved slope
Rockfalls - when material breaks up and falls down a slope
What are the two types of waves 🌊 and what do they do ?
Constructive- build beaches 🏖 low frequency low and long
Swash is more powerful that their backwash so material is deposited
Destructive- erode beaches 🏝 High and steep high frequency and has stronger backwash than swash so material is removed
How are waves 🌊 formed ? How are storm ⛈ surges formed?
When fetch blows over a sea the greater the fetch the more powerful the wave
Sea levels temporarily rise causing strong winds to push water on shore
What are the 4 processes and of erosion?
Hydronic action - water rushes into rocks causing rocks to break
Abrasion- rocks rubbing against Escher until they decrease in size
Attrition- rocks be knocking into each other causing them to chip away
Solution - sediment dissolving into water
Explain longshore drift
- Waves 🌊 follow prevailing wind
- Swash carry’s sediment up the beach at an oblique angle
- Backwash carries sediment down the beach at right angles ,
- producing this zig zag motion across the coast
What are the 4 processes of transportation ?
Traction - big boulders and stones being pushed along the sea bed
Saltation- small pebbles bouncing along the sea bed
Suspension- small pebbles being carried across the sea
Solution- soluble stones like limestone being carried along the water
What is deposition and when does it occur ? What does it tend to do if it’s greater than erosion?
Dropping material
The water carrying sediment loses energy and slows down
Builds coasts
The amount of sediment that is deposited on an area is increased when…
There’s lots of erosion else where on coast so more material is available
Lots of material is transported into the area
What are the courses of the river ?
Upper - Steep
Middle - medium
Lower- gentle
What do rivers form?
Channels and valleys as they flow downhill
What do rivers do ?
The erode the landscape and transport deposited material to the mouth when it’s dropped
Describe the upper course of a river
Steep v - shaped valley narrow and shallow
Describe the lower course of a river
Gentle slope very wide and steep
Describe the middle course of a river
It’s a medium gradient gently sloping wider and deeper than upper
What is vertical erosion? Where is it most dominant? What causes it?
Dominant at upper course
Erodes vertically forming v shaped Valleys
High turbulence causes particles to scrape along the river bed causing a downwards erosion
What is lateral erosion?
Dominant in the middle and lower course of river
Widens the river Valley during the formation of meanders
Why does a river lose energy during deposition?
Amount of eroding material increased
What is becoming more shallower
Volume of water increased
River coming to the mouth
How does particle size affect the deposition?
The bigger the particle sizes get the more likely deposition is going to occur
Smaller pebbles are transported further into the rivers mouth
than larger boulders during the position
How do water falls form ? How does this lead to a gorge?
When water flows over hard rock to softer rock
Soft rock is eroded by hydraulic action, leaving a step
More water erodes soft rock , leading to a steep drop
WATERFALL formed ✅
Hard rock is under cut by erosion
It becomes unsupported and collapses
Hard rock falls and swirls eroding soft rock by abrasion forming a plunge pool
Over time more undercutting of hard rock occurs causing the river to retreat forming a gorge
What does lateral erosion lead to ?
Interlocking spurs - river lacked power to erode laterally do the river had to wind around hills
Explain how meanders are formed
Current is faster in the outside bend because the chanel is deeper - less friction to slow it down - so erosion takes place in the outer bends forming river cliff
Current is slower in the inside bend - shallower so there is less friction - slip of Slops form as material is deposited here
Where are meanders found ?
Middle and lower course
How are ox 🐂 bow 🙇♂️ lakes formed ?
Erosion causes outside bends to come closer together
Until the neck is formed - really small land left
The river breaks through land when there is a flood and the river flows on the shortest course
Deposition cuts off meander forming an ox-bow lake
What is a flood plain ?
Flat areas of land that flood - wide valley floor
How are flood plains formed ?
When river floods water slows down causing it to lose energy and deposit all the material that it’s carrying- builds up flood plain
What do meanders do when they migrate ?
Widen laterally
Where do meanders migrate ?
Down steam
What are levees? How are they formed
Natural embankments along edges of rivers
During floods material deposited closer to the river channel - when it loses energy
Overtime deposited material builds up goring levees
What are estuaries ?
Tidal areas where the river meets the sea
Where are Estuaries found?
Found at rivers mouth 👄 where land is the widest 
What does tidal mean?
River level rises and falls
How are estuaries formed?
Water flows over the bank of river depositing slit and sand onto the valley floor
When the tidal reaches its highest point the river loses energy and deposited material
Over time the mud buildup causing mud flats to form
At low tide the mud flats are exposed
