Distinctive Landscapes

What is a landscape?

An area with visible features that make up the surface of the land

What are the four elements of a landscape?

Physical, biological, variable, and human

What are examples of physical landscape elements?

Mountains, coastlines, and rivers

What are examples of biological landscape elements?

Vegetation, habitats, and wildlife

What are examples of variable landscape elements?

Weather, smells, and sights or sounds

What are examples of human landscape elements?

Buildings, infrastructure, and structures

How is the UK’s relief divided?

Into uplands and lowlands

What are the characteristics of upland areas over 600m?

Peaks and ridges with cold, misty and snowy conditions, e.g. Scotland

What are the characteristics of lowland areas around 200m?

Flat or rolling hills with warmer weather, e.g. the Fens

What is erosion?

The breakdown of rocks into smooth, rounded and sorted material

What is attrition?

Rocks bashing together to become smooth and smaller

What is solution in erosion?

A chemical reaction that dissolves rocks

What is abrasion?

Rocks hurled at the base of a cliff, breaking pieces apart

What is hydraulic action?

Water enters cracks, compresses air, and forces the cracks to expand

What is transportation in rivers and coasts?

The process by which eroded material is carried away

What is solution in transportation?

Minerals dissolve in water and are carried along

What is suspension?

Sediment is carried along in the flow of the water

What is saltation?

Pebbles bounce along the river or sea bed

What is traction?

Boulders roll along the river or sea bed by the force of flowing water

How has human activity changed the UK landscape?

Through farming, urban sprawl, infrastructure, deforestation, and moorland management

How has glaciation shaped the UK landscape?

It created U-shaped valleys, steep peaks, and deposited sediment

What did ice do to the UK landscape during the Ice Age?

It eroded and weathered land to create dramatic mountain scenery

What was revealed after the Ice Age ended?

Deep valleys and sediment deposits

How does geology influence the UK landscape?

Different rock resistances shape landforms and soil fertility

What are igneous rocks?

Volcanic rocks formed when molten rock cools and solidifies

What are sedimentary rocks?

Rocks made from fragments worn down by weathering on Earth’s surface

What are metamorphic rocks?

Rocks folded and changed by heat and pressure

How is soil formed?

From weathered rocks, organic material, and water

Where are the deepest soils in the UK found?

In low-lying areas like the Cambridgeshire Fens

Where are the thinnest soils in the UK found?

In upland areas

Which woodland type is associated with deep fertile soil?

Deciduous woodland

Which woodland type is associated with thinner soil?

Coniferous woodland

How does climate influence the UK landscape?

Rainfall and weathering vary between uplands and lowlands, shaping erosion and deposition

Where does the UK get the most precipitation?

Upland areas like Scotland

Where does the UK get the least precipitation?

Lowland areas in East England

What is mechanical weathering?

Physical breakdown of rock by wind, rain, or frost

What is chemical weathering?

Rock dissolved by chemical reactions with rainwater

What is biological weathering?

Rock broken down by plants or animals

What is mass movement?

The downward movement of soil and rock under gravity

What causes mass movement to begin?

Saturated permeable rock above impermeable rock becomes heavy

What makes slopes unstable in mass movement?

Erosion at the base by waves or rivers

What happens after slope collapse in mass movement?

Debris is removed and transported by water

What is freeze-thaw weathering?

Water in cracks freezes, expands, and breaks rock apart over repeated cycles

What is deposition?

When a river or sea loses energy and drops the sediment it carries

How are bays and headlands formed?

Softer rock erodes into bays while resistant rock forms projecting headlands

How is a coastal stack formed?

Cracks widen into caves, caves form arches, arches collapse into stacks, which erode into stumps

How is a coastal spit formed?

By deposition as longshore drift moves material along the coast, forming a beach extension with a hooked end and salt marshes behind it
What causes longshore drift?