GEOGRAPHY - Erosion, landforms, UK case studies

Question 1

What is meant by tectonics?

Answer 1

The study of movement of the outer layer of planet earth (the crust).

Question 2

Outline the differences between impermeable and permeable rocks?

Answer 2

Permeable rocks allow water to pass through due to having joints and cracks. In contrast, impermeable rocks do not allow water to pass through them.

Question 3

What is topography and relief?

Answer 3

The shape of the land - relief can also refer to its physical characteristics.

Question 4

What does porous mean?

Answer 4

A rock that can absorb water like a sponge.

Question 5

What is meant by a glacier?

Answer 5

A slow-moving river of ice that can erode the landscape.

Question 6

What is meant by the term weathering?

Answer 6

The wearing away of rock due to environmental factors including weather and vegetation.

Question 7

How are igneous rocks formed and what are some of its characteristics?

Answer 7

They are formed through crystallization and they are usually hard and dense, they contain a variety of minerals and they range in color.

Question 8

How are sedimentary rocks formed and what are some of its characteristics?

Answer 8

They are formed through the processes of deposition or burial and they often are fossils from remnants of animals, they often have pores that can hold and store water too and can also have different layers within their rock.

Question 9

How are metamorphic rocks formed and what are some of its characteristics?

Answer 9

They are formed through recrystallization in a solid state of new minerals. They can be shiny and usually have a high density but a low porosity.

Question 10

What is geology?

Answer 10

The study of rock type and how they have formed and behaved.

Question 11

Have a look in the book at a diagram of a glacier learning about accumulation and ablation.

Answer 11

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Question 12

What is a fault scarp?

Answer 12

Tectonic movement that has lifted granite forming a steep slope.

Question 13

What are some of the characteristics of an upland landscape?

Answer 13

Tall mountains
U-shaped valley
Hard rocks - igneous
Fault scarp
Glacial deposits
Misfit river
Snow on a mountain

Question 14

What are some of the characteristics of a lowland landscape?

Answer 14

Lots of vegetation
Biological weathering
Trees
Relatively flat plains
Scarp
Vale
Dip slope
Covered rock

Question 15

How have humans affected the UK’s landscape?

Answer 15

Agriculture
Forestry
Settlement

Question 16

What impact has agriculture had on the UK landscape?

Answer 16

Boundaries and fences that have fragmented the land
Soil quality has been reduced
Monocultures have reduced biodiversity
Deforestration

Question 17

What impact has settlement had on the UK landscape?

Answer 17

Rivers have been diverted
Floodplains have been drained and built on
Roads have fragmented the landscape
Unnatural features appear such as powerlines, skyscrapers and airports

Question 18

What impact has forestry had on the UK’s landscape?

Answer 18

Trees have been planted and cut down many times over years gone by. Different tree types have also been planted such as conifer trees for timber production rather than deciduous trees.

Question 19

What are some positive human impacts on the UK environment?

Answer 19

The use of local materials
The creation of national parks
Conservation projects

Question 20

What are the four types of erosion?

Answer 20

Hydraulic action
Abrasion
Attrition
Solution

Question 21

What happens during hydraulic action?

Answer 21

The force of the water on the bed and banks of the river removes material.

Question 22

What happens during abrasion?

Answer 22

Materials carried by the river rub against the bed and the banks of the river wearing them away.

Question 23

What happens during attrition?

Answer 23

The load that is carried by the river bumps together and wears down into smaller smoother pieces.

Question 24

What happens during solution?

Answer 24

Some rock minerals dissolve into river water.

Question 25

What are sub-aerial processes?

Answer 25

Processes that have an impact on the land such as weathering and mass movements.

Question 26

What are the three types of weathering?

Answer 26

Mechanical Biological Chemical

Question 27

What is mechanical weathering?

Answer 27

Freeze-thaw - most common in cold climates. When it freezes, water in cracks in the rock expands. Over time the crack widens and pieces of rock fall off. It is most effective when the temperature frequently rises above and falls below 0 degrees.

Question 28

What is chemical weathering?

Answer 28

This happens when the rock's mineral composition is changed. Granite contains feldspar which converts to soft clay minerals as a result of a chemical reaction with water. Limestone can be dissolved by carbonation too.

Question 29

What is biological weathering?

Answer 29

This is caused by plants and animals and it's action speeds up mechanical or chemical weathering. For example, tree roots widen cracks in the rocks.

Question 30

What is mass movement?

Answer 30

The downhill movement of material under the influence of gravity. This can depend on: The material involved The amount of water in the material The nature of the movement

Question 31

What are some examples of mass movements?

Answer 31

Slumping Mudslides Landslides

Question 32

What are the five steps of longshore drift?

Answer 32

1.Wave approaches the coast at an angle 2. Swash pushes sand and gravel up the beach at the same angle 3. Backwash carries sand and gravel back down at the beach at 90 degrees to the coastline under the force of gravity 4. Sand and gravel move along the beach in a zigzag fashion 5. Sand is lighter than gravel so moves further up the beach

Question 33

Have a look in the textbook at the diagram of longshore drift on page 45 and learn the movements and arrows of the waves.

Answer 33

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Question 34

What are some of the characteristics of a constructive wave?

Answer 34

Strong swash Weak backwash Long Wave length Short wave height

Question 35

What are some of the characteristics of a destructive wave?

Answer 35

Strong backwash Weak swash Short wave length Large wave height

Question 36

What is a spit?

Answer 36

Narrow projections of sand or shingle that are attached to the land at one end. They extend across a bay or an estuary or where the coastline changes direction. They are formed by longshore drift.

Question 37

What is a bar?

Answer 37

Bars form in the way as spits, with longshore drift depositing material away from the coast until a long ridge is built up. Bars grow across bays cutting off the water to form a lagoon.

Question 38

What is the order of hard rock coastal landforms being formed?

Answer 38

Crack - cave - arch - stack - stump

Question 39

Have a look in the textbook on page 42 at the diagrams and learn the different landscape formations.

Answer 39

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Question 40

What are some examples of spits, bars, lagoons, stacks and stumps, arches and caves? Upland areas too and lowland vales or scarp.

Answer 40

Spit - Hurst spit, Hampshire Bars - Slapton sands, Devon Lagoons - Loc of Stenness, Orkney Stacks and stumps - Marsden rocks, Tyne and Wear Upland areas - Lake district Lowland areas - The Fens

Question 41

How can we manage our coastlines and their coastal processes?

Answer 41

Hard engineering: Sea walls Groynes Gabions Soft engineering: Beach replenishment Slope stabilization Cliff drainage

Question 42

Where are headlands and bays formed?

Answer 42

On discordant coastlines - softer rock is eroded quickly away forming bays and harder rocks are eroded much more slowly forming headlands. However, once the bay is formed, the headland is exposed to more erosion.