1GB2: The UK’s Evolving Physical Landscape Flashcards
(21 cards)
What is the cheshire plain?
An area of low flat land formed by the deposition of materials eroded by glaciers
Very fertile - mainly used for dairy farming
What are the grampian mountains?
Part of the Highlands
Home to Ben Nevis
Steep, Rocky
Barely populated
What is snowdonia?
Glaciated upland area
Formed from rock from extinct volcanoes
Contains steep mountains —> snowdon, glaciated valleys
What are the downs and the weald?
A lowland area with a wide valley situated between the parallel hills
Used to be covered in forest but now mainly agricultural
What is igneous rock?
Formed when molten rock (magma) from the mantle cools down and hardens
Rock forms crystals as it cools
Usually hard
Granite
What is sedimentary rock?
Formed when layers of sediment are compacted together until they become solid rock
What are the 2 types of sedimentary rocks in the UK?
carboniferous limestone and chalk - formed from tiny shells and skeletons of dead sea creatures
Limestone is hard but chalk is soft
Clays and shales are made from mud and clay minerals
Very soft
What is metamorphic rock?
Formed when other rock are changed by heat and pressure
New rocks become harder and more compact
Which 3 past tectonic processes shaped UKs current landscape?
Active volcanoes
Plate collisions
Plate movements - UKs position
How have ‘active volcanoes’ shaped the UKs landscape?
Active volcanoes forced magma through the Earth’s crust which cooled to make igneous rocks
How have ‘plate collisions’ shaped the UKs landscape?
Caused rocks to be folded and uplifted forming mountain ranges
Intense heat and pressure caused by these collisions formed hard metamorphic rocks
How have ‘plate movements’ shaped the UKs landscape?
350 million years ago, Britain was in the tropics and higher sea levels means it was partly underwater
Carboniferous limestone formed in the warm shallow seas
Chalks and clays are the youngest rocks in the UK and formed in shallow seas and swamps - form lowland landscapes
Granite characteristics
Very resistant and forms upland landscapes
Lots of cracks which aren’t evenly spread
Impermeable - creates morrlands (large areas of waterlogged land and acidic soil)
Slate and schist characteristics
Slate generally very hard and resistant to weathering but easily splits into thin slabs
Often formed rugged upland lansacapes
Impermeable - waterlogged acidic soil
Carboniferous limestone characteristics
Rainwater slowly eats away at limestone through carbonation weatering
Limestone is permeable so limestone areas also have dry valleys and resurgent rivers
Chalk and clay characteristics
Chalk is harder than clay
Chalk is permeable
Clay is very soft and easily eroded
What is weathering?
The breakdown of rock into smaller pieces
Can be; mechanical, chemical or biological
What is erosion?
Wears away rock
What is post glacial river processes?
Melting ice at the end of glacial periods made rivers much bigger than normal with more power to erode the landscape
What are slope processes?
Mass movements - rockfalls, slides, soil creep
What is an arable landscape?
Flat land with good soil
Used for growing crops
