Topic 4: UK's Physical Landscape Flashcards
What are the characteristics of Chalk?
- Younger form of limestone
- Very Porous
- Medium resistance
- Stronger than Clay
What are the characteristics of Limestone?
- Generally Resistant
- Permeable
- Found underground/rivers/caves
What are the characteristics of Clay?
- Soft and crumbly
- Shale when compacted
- Formed by muds deposited by rivers/sea
What are the characteristics of Granite?
- Formed from magma cooling deep underground
- Contains crystals of quarts
- Very Resistant
What are the characteristics of Slate?
- Formed from heated muds or shale
- Very Resistant
What are the characteristics of Schist?
- Formed by further metamorphosis of Slate
- Partly melted and solidified
- Very Resistant
What is the process of Abrasion?
Broken rocks scrape against the cliff.
What is Hydraulic Action?
Where air and water go into the cracks in rocks and are eroded away.
What is Attrition?
Rock fragments bang against each other making them more rounded.
What are the characteristics of Destructive Waves?
- High frequency
- High and steep
- Storms increase the erosional power
- Powerful backwash removes material
What are the characteristics of Constructive Waves?
- They deposit material (Deposition)
- They can build up beaches by depositing sand and gravel.
- Powerful swash carries material up the coast.
What is Mass Movement?
The shifting of rocks and loose materials down a slope.
When does Mass Movement happen?
When the force of gravity acting on a slope is greater than the force supporting it.
What are the three types of Mass Movement?
Slides, slumps and Rock Fall.
What is deposition?
When material is deposited by constructive waves and form landscapes such as: beaches, spits and bars.
