Snowdonia National Park and the Lake District

Question 1

Where is the Snowdonia National Park? What is unique about it?

Answer 1

• north-west Wales
• contains the highest mountain range in England and Wales
• rugged terrain includes lakes and fast-flowing river and wide tracts of ancient woodland and heath

Question 2

What animals are present in SNP?

Answer 2

• rich diversity of habitats, provides homes for a range of birds, these include:
  
  • coast and estuary birds, e.g. cormorants
  • forest birds, e.g. wood warblers
  • moorland and mountain birds, e.g. sparrowhawks
• over 40 species of land mammal
  
  • e.g. badgers, deer, hedgehogs

Question 3

What plants are present in SNP?

Answer 3

• equally diverse range of plants species
• High up slopes
  
  • arctic-alpine species ahve evolved to cope with extreme conditions, e.g. Snowdon llily
• lower down the slopes
  
  • mountains fringed by woodlands

Question 4

What human activities occur in SNP?

Answer 4

• Snowdonia National Park was created in 1951 to conseve the biodiversity of the region
• home to 25,000 people
  
  • many of whom work on the land
• attracts several million visitors
  
  • e.g. for climbing, cycling, hiking, and watersports

Question 5

What are the purposes of the SNP park authority?

Answer 5

• conserve and enhance the natural beauty, wildlife, and cultural heritage of the area
• promote opportunities for the understanding and enjoyment of the special qualities of the park
• enhance the economic and social well-being of communities within the park

Question 6

What is special about the Dinorwig power station?

Answer 6

• pumped-storage hydroelectric power station
• to preserve natural beauty, it is built deep inside the mountain Elidir Fawr, inside tunnels and caverns
• reduced impact, whilst proving demand for energy

Question 7

What is unique about the lake district?

Answer 7

• largest national park
• contians Scafell Pike, England’s highest mountain, and Wastwater, its deepest lake
• terrrain consistant of moorlands and fell
• contains 16 lakes dammed by glacial moraines (soil and rock debris) around the end of the last ice age
• the dales and fringest of the lakes provide a rich variety of habitats including areas of ancient woodland

Question 8

What animals are present in the Lake District?

Answer 8

• varied range of landscapes provide home for a range of wildlife
• e.g. water voles, toads and number of species of bats, to red deer
• birds of prey e.g. golden eagle and osprey
• native species under threat
  
  • e.g. red squirrel and vendace, a species of fish that is only found in the region which is on the IUCN endangered list

Question 9

What plans are present in the lake district?

Answer 9

• central fells
  
  • habitats that exst above the tree line
  • rare in UK and support a diverse range of arctic-alpine plant communities
  • speciealised trees evolved, e.g. dwarf juniper
• lower regions
  
  • sundew, one of UK’s few carnivorous plants, insects trapped by sticky mucilage, enzymes secreted to digest the insect, releasing its nutrients for the plants

Question 10

How are human activities in the Lake District controlled?

Answer 10

• similar to Snowdonia
• conserve region while enabling access for many millions of visitors each year
• through the active management of the countryside, e.g. replanting native tree species, this fragile ecosystem is being secured for years to come