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Uk Geographical Issues > The UK's Physical Landscape > Flashcards

The UK's Physical Landscape Flashcards

1
Q

What are the three types of rocks?

A

Igneous
Sedimentary
Metamorphic

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2
Q

How are Igneous rocks formed?

A
  • Formed from volcanic activity, which means they’re all created at plate boundaries
  • Molten rock crystallises as it cools which can produce sparkly quartz within a rock
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3
Q

What igneous rocks are found in the UK?

A

Granite
- Formed underground from continental crust, regularly used in kitchen countertops

Basalt
- Lava flow that breaks onto the surface cools to basalt

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4
Q

How are sedimentary rocks formed?

A
  • Form gradually over time as dead organic matter and eroded rocks are transported out to sea
  • These sediments are deposited on the seafloor which over time accumulate and compress under pressure
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5
Q

What sedimentary rocks are found in the UK?

A

Chalk
- Made from plankton

Sandstone
- Formed from sand, and is the most common rock type in the world

Limestone
- Made from calcium carbonate, and formed from biological materials
- Highly vulnerable to chemical weathering

Conglomerate
- Large rocks and pebbles cemented together with sand and mud

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6
Q

How are metamorphic rocks formed?

A
  • Start off as sedimentary rocks, found close to tectonic activity
  • They are formed under extreme pressure and temperature
  • Metamorphic rocks are often banded, so they’re hard to erode, but can be split if force is applied between horizontal layers
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7
Q

What metamorphic rocks are found in the Uk?

A

Slate
- Formed from a mixture of clay, shale and volcanic ash
- Most common metamorphic rock in the Uk
Marble
- Formed from limestone
- Extremely resistant to erosion and very dense

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8
Q

What processes have evolved the Uk landscape?

A

Weathering and erosion
Glacial erosion
Slope processes
Rock falls
Landslides
Mudflow
Rotational Slip

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9
Q

What are upland landscapes?

A
  • Located in the North and West of England, Wales and Scotland
  • Areas that are usually higher above sea level
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10
Q

What are upland landscapes like?

A
  • Majority of the Uk’s Igneous and Metamorphic rock
  • Usually older and more resistant to erosion and weathering
  • Past tectonic activities have caused faults and uplifts here
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11
Q

What are lowland landscapes?

A
  • Located in the South and East of England
  • Located at lower levels to uplands
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12
Q

What are lowland landscapes like?

A
  • Sedimentary rocks such as clays and sands usually found here
  • Much younger than uplands
  • Sedimentary rocks erode very easily
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13
Q

What is an example of an Upland and Lowland landscape?

A

Upland- The Lake District
Lowland- The Weald, Sussex

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14
Q

What is the Lake District’s landscape like?

A
  • Full of high mountains and low valleys due to glacial and tectonic processes
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15
Q

What post-glacial river processes affect the Lake District?

A
  • The Lake District was once covered in glaciers which carved the landscape into deep U-shaped Valleys
  • Over time, the valleys filled up with water from lakes and now many small rivers flow through the valleys (Misfit rivers)
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16
Q

What weathering and slope processes affect the Lake District?

A
  • Many slopes surrounding the Lake District are covered in angular rocks called Scree
  • These landscapes have been created by freeze thaw weathering- as water in rocks freezes and expands, causing them to break off from the rock face, and due to the steep relief, fall to the bases of mountains
  • The Lake District is a very wet area which leads to frequent landslides
  • Rilling and Gullying (Erosion from water flowing into small channels on slopes) is also common
17
Q

What is the Weald’s landscape like?

A
  • Gently rolling hills that are located at much lower elevations than the Lake District
18
Q

What weathering and slope processes occur in the Weald?

A
  • The Weald used to be a large mound of layered rocks called an anticline, caused by tectonic uplift, however, over time, this mound has eroded away to create hills
  • This type of topography is known as Scarp and Vale topography
19
Q

What rocks are found in the Weald?

A

Chalk
- Resistant to weathering and erosion, only really affected by slow chemical weathering, when rainwater dissolves the calcium carbonate
- Chalk forms steep escarpments

Clays
- Soft and highly erodible
- Lay below the chalk to form low, flat vales

20
Q

What post-glacial river processes occur in the Weald?

A
  • When the climate was much colder, the ground over the Weald was completely frozen. Rivers flowed and created valleys and other river landforms
  • When the climate warmed, the frozen land began to melt and water from the rivers began to seep through the very permeable chalk. This has left dry valleys in the Weald
21
Q

What human activities affect landscapes?

A

Forestry
Settlements

22
Q

How does forestry affect landscapes?

A
  • Some regions have become more vegetated by plants and trees after humans have planted them, which results in new forests being created
  • However, many forests have been felled or replaced with non-native trees, to improve the timber industry.
23
Q

What are charities that help protect forests in the UK?

A

Forestry Commission
Woodland Trust

24
Q

How have settlements affected landscapes?

A
  • Land surrounding a village may be cleared and rotivated for farmland, clearing it of vegetation and some rocks
  • Rock quarries can may carve into highlands and reduce the relief of the land
  • Landslides are often cleared and used for building houses
  • Land is cleared and sometimes flattened for houses
25
Q

What high relief areas are found in the North of Britain?

A

Northwest Highlands
Cairngorms
Grampian Mountains

26
Q

What high relief areas are found in the middle of Britain?

A

Southern Uplands
Cheviot Hills
Lake District
North York Moors
Pennines

27
Q

What high relief areas are found in Wales?

A

Cambrian mountains
Brecon Beacons

28
Q

What high relief areas are found in the South of Britain?

A

Cotswold hills
Chiltern hills
Salisbury plain
South downs
North downs
Exmoor Dartmoor

29
Q

What high relief areas are found in Ireland?

A

Antrim mountains
Wicklow mountains

30
Q

Describe the rocks above the Tees-Exe line in the Uk:

A
  • Most rocks are older
  • Most resistant igneous and metamorphic rocks are found here
  • There are more faults, where upland areas where uplifted by tectonic activity
31
Q

Describe the rocks below the Tees-Exe line in the Uk:

A
  • Rocks are younger
  • More weaker sedimentary rocks, which erode easily
32
Q

What abrasion is caused by glaciers?

A

Abrasion
- As the glacier moves downhill, rocks that have been frozen into the base and sides of the glacier scrape the rock beneath, leaving scratches called striations

Plucking
- Rocks become frozen into the bottom and sides of the glacier

33
Q

How does a corrie form?

A
  1. Snow collects in a sheltered hollow on the side of a mountain, in summer, it doesn’t melt because it is high up, sheltered and cold
  2. Every winter, more snow gathers in the hollow, this becomes compacted and the air is squeezed out, leaving ice
  3. The back wall of the corrie gets steeper due to freeze thaw weathering and plucking
  4. Base of the corrie becomes deeper due to abrasion
  5. As the glacier gets heavier, it moves downhill, the glacier moves out of the hollow in a circular motion called rotational slip
  6. Due to less erosion at the front, a corrie lip is formed
  7. After the glacier has melted a lake forms in the hollow, called a corrie lake or tarn
34
Q

What are the features that a glacier causes?

A
  • Interlocking spurs created by river erosion are eroded at the ends to form truncated spurs
  • After the glacier has melted it leaves a U-shaped glacial trough, sometimes this fills with water to create a ribbon lake
  • Old tributaries which would have once fed into the valley are left hanging as hanging valleys

Uk Geographical Issues (10 decks)

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