The UKs Evolving Physical Landscape Flashcards
1
Q
EROSION
A
The wearing away of the landscape.
2
Q
STRATA
A
Layers of rock
3
Q
GLACIATION
A
Huge glaciers(blocks of ice) that erode the landscape.
4
Q
IGNEOUS
A
Rocks formed from lava and magma.
5
Q
SEDIMENTARY
A
Rocks formed from sediments deposited from rivers or the sea.
6
Q
METAMORPHIC
A
Sedimentary rocks that were heated and changed under pressure to form a new type of rock.
7
Q
WEATHERING
A
The breakdown of rocks by the weather.
8
Q
DISCORDANT ROCKS
A
If the rock strata is at right angles to the coast it means it is discordant.
9
Q
CONCORDANT COASTLINE
A
If the strata is parallel to the coast then it is concordant.
10
Q
HEADLANDS
A
This is where a more resistant rock is sticking out in to the sea.
11
Q
STACKS
A
This is a more resistant headland that has been eroded to be left remaining in the water. It was previously a natural arch that got eroded.
12
Q
FETCH
A
The distance of water between two bits of land.
13
Q
SWASH
A
Waves that go up the beach.
14
Q
BACKWASH
A
The movement of water back down the beach after the waves break on the beach.
15
Q
CONSTRUCTIVE WAVES
A
Waves that have a strong swash and weak backwash. They build up the beach as a gentle sloping beach.
16
Q
DESTRUCTIVE WAVE
A
A wave that has a very strong backwash that creates a steep beach.
17
Q
ABRASION
A
For coasts, a type of erosion that is where bits of rock scrape along the cliff like the action of sandpaper and get thrown against the cliff.
For rivers the scratching and scraping of a river bed and banks by the stones and sand in a river
18
Q
HYDRAULIC ACTION
A
This is a type of erosion which is the power of the waves against the cliff. Water is forced into cracks and the air in the crack is put under pressure creating a mini explosion.
19
Q
ATTRITION
A
Rock falls off the cliff into the water and collide against each other in the sea or river. They get smaller and smaller in size.
20
Q
SOLUTION
A
This is a type of erosion where the rock chemically reacts with water.
21
Q
WAVE CUT PLATFORM
A
This is a level piece of rock that is left where the cliff once existed. It has rock pools in it often and gets covered in high tide.
22
Q
LONGSHORE DRIFT
A
The transportation of sediment along the coastline. The direction is determined by the wind direction.
23
Q
DEPOSITION
A
This means the dropping of sediment
24
Q
BAR
A
A stretch of sand across the bay, which is caused by longshore drift.
25
SPIT
A stretch of sand out from the coastline, usually with a curved end.
26
SALT MARSH
Salt tolerant vegetation growing on mud flats in bays or estuaries.
27
SAND DUNE
Onshore winds blow sand inland forming a ridge of sand parallel to the shoreline.
28
COASTAL MANAGEMENT
This is the way in which the coastline is protected from erosion.
29
SUB AERIAL WEATHERING
This is where there is weathering or mass movement (rock falls, landslides) on a cliff.
30
CLIFF SLUMPING
This is where the cliff collapses down into the sea.
31
HARD ENGINEERING
These are traditional, man made types of sea defence like sea walls, revetments, grounds.
32
GROYNES
A type of sea defence made from wood or concrete that sticks out perpendicular to the coastline into the sea.
33
RIP RAP (rock armour)
Blocks of limestone, granite that are put at the bottom of a cliff. The wave power is lost on these rather than at the bottom of the cliff.
34
GABIONS
A type of sea defence that is a cage of small stones. Waves hit these rather than the bottom of the cliff.
35
HOLD THE LINE
A type of coastal management where there are sea defences stopping erosion.
36
STRATEGIC RETREAT
Gradually letting the coastline erode and moving businesses and people away from the coast.
37
DO NOTHING
A type of sea defence where there is no action at all and councils let there be erosion. You do defences where there is a need.
38
SOFT ENGINEERING
This is natural sea defences that are not man made. These would be beach nourishment or planting vegetation or offshore breakwaters.
39
SALTATION
In a river material may bounce along the bed of the river downstream.
40
SOLUTION
In a river some material maybe dissolved and transported downstream.
41
TRACTION
In a river some material may roll along the bed of the river downstream.
42
SUSPENSION
In a river some material may be held in suspension within the river as it goes downstream.
43
UPPER COURSE
This is the top part of a river nearer to the source.
44
V SHAPE VALLEY
This is the shape of a valley along a river.
45
RIVER CLIFF
This is the feature on the outside of a river bend formed by lateral erosion.
46
MEANDER
A bend in a river.
47
THALWEG
This is the fastest flow in the river. When it is straight the thalweg is in. The middle.
48
FLOOD PLAIN
This is the flat piece of land either side of a river.
49
SLIP OFF SLOPE
This is the depositional feature on the inside of a river bend where the energy of the river is low.
50
BRADSHAW MODEL
This is the model that looks at different aspects of the river like velocity, discharge, size of sediment etc.
51
DISCHARGE
This is the amount of water going past a certain point in the river at a certain moment. It is measured in cubic meters per second.
52
LONG PROFILE OF THE RIVER
This is the actual length of the river from the source to the mouth of the river.
53
CROSS PROFILE OF THE RIVER
This is the shape of the river or valley from one side to another.
54
STORM HYDROGRAPHS
This is a type of graph that shows how a river reacts to a rainfall event. It has rainfall and also discharge of the river on the graph.
55
ANTECEDENT RAINFALL
This is how much rainfall has occurred before a storm. It relates to the amount of moisture already in the ground.
56
THROUGHFLOW
This is the movement of water through the soil towards the river.
57
PERMEABLE
This is a rock or soil that allows water to pass through it.
58
IMPERMEABLE
This is a rock or soil that does not allow water to pass through it.
59
INFILTRATION
This is where water goes downwards through the soil.
60
INTERCEPTION
This is where the water is stopped forming hitting the ground - such a being intercepted by leaves.
61
ARTIFICIAL LEVEES
These are artificial bank either side of a river that try to stop a river from flooding.
62
AFFORESTATION
The planting of trees.
63
ALLUVIUM
all deposits laid down by rivers, especially in times of flood. Also known as silt.
64
ANTICLINE
A dome of folded rocks forming an arch
65
ARCH
A curved passage through a headland created when a cave which was eventually broken through by erosion
66
BANKFUL
The discharge or contents of a river which is just contained within its banks. This is when the speed, or velocity, of the river is at its
greatest.
67
BEACH
An area of sand or pebbles along the shore of a body of water
68
BEACH PROFILE
The shape of a beach resulting from how waves break
69
BERM
A deposited sand formation
70
CARBON DATING
It uses radioactive testing to find the age of rocks which contained living material
71
CAVE
A large hole, either underground or in the side of a hill or cliff, often created when waves force their way into cracks in the cliff face
72
CHANNEL
The bed and banks of a river
73
CONCORDANT
It is when coasts follow the ridges and valleys of the land, so the rock strata is parallel to the coastline
74
COST-BENEFIT ANALYSIS
It means looking at all the costs of a project, social and environmental as well as economic, and deciding whether it is worth going ahead
75
DELTA
A low-lying area at the mouth of a river where a river deposits so much sediment it extends beyond the coastline
76
DIP SLOPE
A gentle slope following the angle of rock *strata, found behind escarpments
77
DISCORDANT
It is when coasts alternate between bands of hard rocks and soft rocks, so the rock *strata is at right angles to the coast
78
DREDGING
Digging out drainage ditches and rivers to make them artificially deeper
79
ESCARPMENT
A continuous line of steep slopes above a gentle dip slope, caused by the erosion of alternate strata
80
EVAPORATION
The changing of a liquid into vapour or gas. Some rainfall is evaporated into water vapour by the heat of the sun
81
FAULT SCARP
When faults form a steep edge
82
FAULTS
Large cracks caused by past tectonic movements
83
FETCH
The length of water over which the wind has blown, affecting the size and strength of waves
84
FLOODPLAIN
Flat land around a river that gets flooded when the river overflows
85
GROUNDWATER FLOW
The movement of water through rocks in the ground
86
HELICOIDAL FLOW
a continuous corkscrew motion of water as it flows along a river channel
87
HOLISTIC
(coastal management) takes into account all social, economic and
environmental costs and benefits.Tthis means looking at the
coastline as a whole instead of an individual bay or beach
88
HYDROGRAPH
A graph showing the amount of water in a place at different times
89
INFILTRATION
The soaking of rainwater into the ground
90
INTEGRATED COASTAL ZONE MANAGEMENT
the holistic management of coasts
91
INTERCEPTION ZONE
The capture of rainwater by leaves and branches. Some
| evaporates again and the rest drips from the leaves to the soil
92
INTERLOCKING SPURS
Hills that stick out on alternate sides of a V-shaped valley, like the teeth of a zip
93
JET STREAM
High level winds at around 6-10km that blow across the Atlantic towards the UK
94
LEVEES
Naturally formed or artificially built embankments beside rivers
95
LOWLAND LANDSCAPE
An area of flat land that is at, near or below sea level, which in the UK usually consists of younger and less resistant sedimentary rocks
96
MARINE PROCESSES
Wave-related processes that contribute to coastal erosion
97
MASS MOVEMENT
The movement of material downslope, such as rock falls, landslides or cliff collapse
98
MEANDER
A naturally occurring sharp bend in a river
99
MIDDLE COURSE
The journey of a river from its source in hills or mountains to mouth is sometimes called the course of the river. The course of a river can be divided into three main sections a) upper course b) middle
course and c) lower course
100
OX-BOW LAKE
A lake formed when a loop in a river is cut off by floods
101
PREVAILING WIND
The most frequent direction the wind blows in a certain area
102
RECURVED END
The hooked end of a spit
103
SCARP AND VALE TOPOGRAPHY
Erosion which has left alternate strata of more and less resistant rock forms a landscape known as scarp and vale topography
104
SHORELINE MANAGEMENT PLAN
An approach which builds on knowledge of the coastal
environment and takes account of the wide range of public interest to avoid piecemeal attempts to protect one area at the expense of
another
105
STORM HYDROGRAPH
A graph which shows the change in both rainfall and discharge
from a river following a storm
106
STORM SURGE
A rapid rise in the level of the sea caused by low pressure and
strong winds
107
STRATA
Distinctive layers of rock
108
SURFACE RUNOFF
Rainwater that runs across the surface of the ground and drains into the river
109
TERMINAL GROYNE SYNDROME
When the last groyne along a coast prevents longshore drift from bringing material to other areas, causing erosion problems further down the coast
110
UPLAND LANDSCAPE
An area of high land, in the UK consisting of resistant igneous, metamorphic and sedimentary rock
111
UPLIFTED
In geology, raised or pushed up as a result of tectonic activity
