Glacial Landscapes in the UK Flashcards
(53 cards)
Relief of the land
Refers to the highest and lowest elevation points in an area. e.g. mountains and rivers are typically the highest elevation points
Topography
The natural features of land, especially the shape of its surface.
Altitude
Height above sea level, measured in metres or feet.
Land use
The purpose or function of land for example pasture, grassland, retail.
Lowland
Are close to or below 200m above sea level. One example is the Fens in East Anglia.
Uplands
Are normally made up of mountains or high hills. Normally they are areas over 600m above sea level. Examples include the Cumbria mountains in the Lake District.
Glacial erosion
The wearing away and removal of the land by flowing water, ice or wind.
Plucking
A type of erosion where melt water in the glacier freezes onto rocks, and as the ice moves forward it plucks or pulls out large pieces along the rock joints.
Abrasion
Erosion caused by rocks and boulders in the base of the glacier acting like a giant file scratching and scraping the rocks below.
Bulldozing
Ice pushes material of all shapes and sizes as it moves slowly forward.
Glacial Till
Sediment transported by ice.
Moraine
Frost-shattered rock debris and material eroded from the valley floor and sides, transported and deposited by glaciers.
Outwash
Sediment deposited by meltwater streams in front of, and underneath,
a glacier. The material is sorted and rounded by water action.
Corrie
Armchair-shaped hollow in the mountainside formed by glacial erosion, rotational slip and freeze-thaw weathering.
This is where the valley glacier begins.
When the ice melts, it can leave a small circular lake called a tarn.
Arete
A sharp, knife-like ridge formed between two corries cutting back by processes of erosion and freeze thaw.
Pyramidal Peak
Where several corries cut back to meet at a central point, the mountain takes the form of a steep pyramid.
conservation
Managing the environment in order to preserve, protect or restore it.
drumlin
A hill made of glacial till deposited by a moving glacier, usually elongated or oval in shape, with the longer axis parallel to the former direction of ice.
erratics
Rocks which have been transported and deposited by a glacier some distance from their source region.
Freeze-thaw weathering
Occurs in cold climates when temperatures are often around freezing point and where exposed rocks contain many cracks.
Water enters the cracks during the warmer day and freezes during the colder night.
As the water turns into ice it expands and exerts pressure on
the surrounding rock, causing pieces to break off.
glacial trough
A river valley widened and deepened by the erosive action of glaciers; it becomes ‘U’-shaped instead of the ‘V’-shape of a river valley.
hanging valley
A tributary valley to the main glacier, too cold and high up for ice to be able to easily move.
It therefore was not eroded as much as the lower main valley, and today is often the site for a waterfall crashing several hundred metres to the main valley floor.
land use conflicts
Disagreements which arise when users of the land do not agree on how it should be used.
ribbon lake
A long, narrow lake found in glaciated valleys formed in locations where the glacier had more erosive power, e.g. in areas of softer rock, where the valley gradient temporarily steepened or a tributary glacier joined the main valley