theme 1.1.1 - what makes landscapes distinctive in wales?

Question 1

what is a landscape?

Answer 1

a part of the earth’s surface that can be viewed at one time from one place. it consists of geographic features that mark, or are characteristic of a particular area.

Question 2

what is an upland?

Answer 2

a landscape that is hilly or mountainous.

Question 3

what is a lowland?

Answer 3

an area of land that is lower than the land around it.

Question 4

name the factors making a welsh landscape distinctive.

Answer 4

• land use
• culture
• geology
• vegetation
• land height
• coastal/inland
• natural processes

Question 5

name the three national parks in wales.

Answer 5

• pembrokeshire coast national park
• snowdonia national park
• brecon beacons national park

Question 6

name the factors of the welsh geological landscape.

Answer 6

• diverse upland landscape shaped by volcanic eruptions and extensive glaciation
• glacial features such as carries, u-shaped valleys and arétes
• mountain ranges that drop quickly to the sea
• contains the highest mountain in wales - snowdon.

Question 7

what are the features of land use in wales?

Answer 7

• the landscape in many areas has been shaped by slate mining
• large areas of mainly pastoral agriculture and forestry
• national park status that attracts thousands of tourists. les to the growth of b&bs, camp sites and tourist facilities.

Question 8

what are the features of vegetation in wales?

Answer 8

• diverse range of plant and animal life due to varied physical environments
• unique and rare species, eg. snowdon lily and snowdon beetle
• large areas of natural mixed deciduous forest and planted coniferous trees often harvested

Question 9

what are the features of the people and culture in wales?

Answer 9

• snowdonia has a rich cultural history with many world heritage sites, including celtic shrines and fortresses
• welsh language widely spoken

Question 10

what is a feature?

Answer 10

a specific part of the landscape that can be from either a human or physical environment.

Question 11

what is a landform?

Answer 11

a feature of the earth’s surface that is part of the land, eg. mountains.

Question 12

name some physical features of the pembrokeshire national park.

Answer 12

• distinctive headlands eroded by waves and hydraulic action, eg. green bridge
• bays give pembrokeshire a distinctive shape due to erosion. geology is limestone cliffs, eg. st govern’s head.
• pembrokeshire islands five the national park and have been historically inhabited.
• bosherston lakes are kept by a plateau of limestone, giving beautiful lily-pad areas attractive to visitors.
• waves and coves eroded by wave action on the coast.

Question 13

name some human features of the pembrokeshire coast national park.

Answer 13

• st. davids is one of 163 campsites in the park as the land use is tourism
• small tourist led towns and villages, around 200,000 visit a year, boosting the economy
• farming (trehill farm) shows diversification as they have campsites and sell directly
• oil refinery employing 700 people with it’s own port, pembrokeshire dock

Question 14

what is a process?

Answer 14

the actions that occur within a river including erosion, transportation and deposition.

Question 15

what is given to a river the moment water begins to flow over the surface of land?

Answer 15

gravity

Question 16

what does water have in it’s river channel?

Answer 16

energy

Question 17

what is the term for the speed in a river?

Answer 17

velocity

Question 18

what three processes occur in the river?

Answer 18

erosion, transportation and deposition

Question 19

the faster the river flows, the more what does the river have?

Answer 19

energy

Question 20

what is most of the river’s energy used to overcome?

Answer 20

friction

Question 21

if there is lots of friction, what happens to the river?

Answer 21

it moves slowly

Question 22

what does a river channel look like close to the source?

Answer 22

• shallow

- slower flow

Question 23

what does a river channel look like close to the mouth?

Answer 23

• deeper

- faster flow

Question 24

what is hydraulic action?

Answer 24

sheer force of the water pushing air into gaps causing rocks to crack.

Question 25

what is abrasion?

Answer 25

when stones are carried by the river and wear away at the bed and banks.

Question 26

what is attrition?

Answer 26

when stones knock into each other and break into smaller, smoother and rounder particles.

Question 27

what is solution?

Answer 27

when the water dissolves rocks like limestone.

Question 28

name the four types of erosion.

Answer 28

- hydraulic action - abrasion - attrition - solution

Question 29

name the four types of transportation.

Answer 29

- traction - saltation - suspension - solution

Question 30

what is traction?

Answer 30

large stones rolled along the bottom.

Question 31

what is saltation?

Answer 31

pebbles bounced along the bottom

Question 32

what is suspension?

Answer 32

a very fine mud carried by the river.

Question 33

what is solution?

Answer 33

dissolved limestone in the water.

Question 34

describe the formation of a v-shaped valley.

Answer 34

- hydraulic action causes water to get into small cracks and breaks down the sides of the river valley - abrasion occurs when the riverbeds and banks are eroded by the load hitting against them - solution occurs when water dissolves minerals from the rocks and washes them away - weathering occurs on the valley sides - as it eroded downwards, freeze-thaw weathering occurs, loosening rocks and steepening the valley sides - the gravity causes mass movement of the broken rock into the river. these rocks assist in the process of abrasion - the channel widens creating a v-shaped valley between interlocking spurs

Question 35

explain the formation of a waterfall.

Answer 35

- river flows over bands of hard and soft rock - soft rock is eroded quickly by hydraulic action, abrasion and solution - when it is undercut, the hard rock hangs over the soft rock, forming an overhang - overhang falls due to lack of support and gravity - swirled down into the river causing a deep plunge pool. soft rock is eroded vertically and laterally by abrasion - plunge pool deeps during times of high discharge when hydraulic action is most powerful - this repeats, causing the waterfall to gradually retreat - a gorge is formed as the waterfall cuts back

Question 36

what is an interlocking spur?

Answer 36

- hill that a river meanders around in a v-shaped valley. when viewed from downstream, they appear locked together

Question 37

what is a gorge?

Answer 37

a steep sided, narrow valley commonly found below a waterfall.

Question 38

what is a plunge pool?

Answer 38

the pool of water found at the bottom of the waterfall. erosional feature created by hydraulic action and abrasion.

Question 39

what is discharge?

Answer 39

the volume of water in a river passing a point in given time.

Question 40

how does a meander form?

Answer 40

- the river erodes laterally, causing large bends and loops named meanders - these form due to deposition and erosion migrating downstream - hydraulic action and abrasion undercuts the river bank on the outside because it has the most energy due to lack of friction. this forms a river cliff - on the outside bend the flow is slower, material is deposited and a slip-off slope is made - transportation occurs when the river has lots of energy, through saltation and suspension - the river breaks through the bends cutting off them. this forms an oxbow lake

Question 41

describe the formation of a floodplain.

Answer 41

- the meander erodes away any high points leaving flat valley floor - when the river bursts its banks the area is covered in water - floodplains are wide due to erosion and deposition. it is a wide flat area, during floods material is deposited and the height of the floodplain increases

Question 42

what are floodplains usually used for?

Answer 42

agricultural land as the area is fertile because alluvium is deposited from the river.