Physical landscapes in the uk

What are the major upland areas of the UK?

Scottish Highlands, Pennines, Welsh Mountains, Lake District

What are the major lowland areas of the UK?

Southeast England, East Anglia, Midlands

What are the major river systems of the UK?

Thames, Severn, Trent, Humber, Spey, River Cherwell

What is a river system?

A network of rivers and tributaries draining an area of land

What is a river valley?

A depression formed by river erosion as it flows downhill

What is the long profile of a river?

The slope of a river from source to mouth

What happens to river gradient from source to mouth?

Gradient decreases (steeper at source, gentler towards mouth)

What is the cross profile of a river?

The shape of the river valley as you cross it from one side to the other

How does the cross profile change downstream?

V-shaped at source, becomes wider and flatter towards mouth

What is a fluvial process?

Erosion, transportation, and deposition by flowing water

What are the types of river erosion?

Hydraulic action, abrasion, attrition, solution

What is hydraulic action?

Force of water hitting rocks, wearing them away

What is abrasion?

Rocks carried by river scrape and smooth the riverbed

What is attrition?

Rocks bumping into each other, breaking into smaller pieces

What is solution?

Rocks dissolving in acidic river water

What does a river transport?

Sediment: boulders, pebbles, sand, silt, clay

What are the methods of river transportation?

Traction, saltation, suspension, solution

What is traction?

Large rocks rolled along the riverbed

What is saltation?

Medium rocks bouncing along the riverbed

What is suspension?

Fine sediment carried in the water

What is solution?

Dissolved minerals carried in water

What is river deposition?

When a river loses energy and drops sediment

When does a river lose energy?

When gradient decreases, discharge increases, or velocity slows

What landforms result from river erosion?

Interlocking spurs, waterfalls, gorges

What are interlocking spurs?

Ridges of land appearing to overlap when viewed from the river, formed in upland V-shaped valleys

How do interlocking spurs form?

River winds around hard rock, creating zigzag pattern

What is a waterfall?

Steep drop in river where hard rock overlies soft rock

How does a waterfall form?

Soft rock erodes faster, leaving hard rock overhanging; waterfall retreats upstream

What is a gorge?

Deep, narrow valley with steep sides, formed by waterfall retreat

What are meanders?

Bends in a river that develop as it flows across flatter land

How do meanders form?

River erodes the outside (faster current), deposits on inside (slower current)

What is an oxbow lake?

Lake formed when a meander is cut off from the main river

How is an oxbow lake formed?

During floods, river breaks through the narrow neck of a meander

What landforms result from river deposition?

Flood plains, levées, estuaries

What is a flood plain?

Flat area of land either side of a river that floods regularly

How is a flood plain formed?

River deposits sediment during floods, building up flat area

What is a natural levée?

Natural raised bank of sediment along a river, formed by repeated flooding

What is an estuary?

Wide mouth of a river where it meets the sea, affected by tides

What natural processes affect flood risk?

Precipitation, geology, relief, land use, river discharge

What is a hydrograph?

Graph showing rainfall and river discharge over time

What does a steep hydrograph indicate?

Fast response to rainfall, high peak discharge, risk of flooding

What does a gentle hydrograph indicate?

Slow response to rainfall, low peak discharge, less flooding risk

What is river lag time?

Time between peak rainfall and peak river discharge

What causes short lag time?

Steep gradient, impermeable soil, urban development, little vegetation

What causes long lag time?

Gentle gradient, permeable soil, vegetation, rural areas

What management strategies protect rivers from flooding?

Hard engineering (dams, embankments, channelling) and soft engineering (flood plains, woodland, wetland restoration)

What is hard engineering?

Artificial structures built to control flooding

Give examples of hard engineering.

Dams, levées, concrete channels, flood walls

What are advantages of hard engineering?

Effective flood protection, reliable

What are disadvantages of hard engineering?

Expensive, can cause flooding downstream, damages ecosystems, maintenance required

What is soft engineering?

Using natural processes to reduce flooding

Give examples of soft engineering.

Flood plains, woodland planting, wetland restoration, river realignment

What are advantages of soft engineering?

Cheaper, helps environment, sustainable, improves habitats

What are disadvantages of soft engineering?

Less effective, slower, requires large areas of land

What is the River Cherwell?

A tributary of the River Thames flowing through Oxfordshire, including Banbury

What is the location of the River Cherwell case study?

Flows through Oxfordshire, central England; joins River Thames near Oxford

What is the course of the River Cherwell?

Originates in uplands, flows south through lowlands of Midlands and southeast England

What are the upper course features of the River Cherwell?

V-shaped valley, interlocking spurs, faster flow, boulder-filled channel

What are the middle course features of the River Cherwell?

Valley widens, meanders develop, mix of erosion and deposition

What are the lower course features of the River Cherwell?

Wide valley, gentle gradient, extensive meanders, flood plain

What is Banbury?

Market town on the River Cherwell in Oxfordshire

What flooding hazards affect Banbury?

Regular flooding from River Cherwell, especially in wet winters

What has increased flooding in the Banbury area?

Urban development (impermeable surfaces), increased runoff, reduced vegetation

What management strategies are used in the Banbury area?

Flood walls, improved drainage, early warning systems, flood awareness

What is the Lake District?

Area of mountains and lakes in northwest England (Cumbria)

What is the location of the Lake District glacial case study?

Northwest England (Cumbria), part of the Pennines upland area

What was the maximum extent of ice cover in the UK during the last ice age?

Ice covered most of Scotland, Northern England, and Wales

When was the last ice age in the UK?

Approximately 20,000 years ago (Devensian glaciation)

What are glacial processes?

Erosion, transportation, and deposition by glaciers

What is glacial erosion?

Wearing away of rock by moving ice

How do glaciers erode?

Abrasion (rock scrapes bedrock), plucking (ice freezes round rock and pulls it out)

What is glacial transportation?

Movement of rock debris by glaciers

What are glacial depositional landforms?

Moraines, drumlins, erratics

What is moraine?

Rock debris deposited by glaciers

What are the types of moraine?

Terminal (at glacier end), lateral (sides), medial (middle), ground moraine

What is a drumlin?

Smooth, elongated hill formed by glacial deposition

What is an erratic?

Boulder transported far from its source and left by glacier

What glacial erosional landforms form in upland areas?

Corries, arêtes, pyramidal peaks, truncated spurs, glacial troughs, ribbon lakes, hanging valleys

What is a corrie?

Steep-sided cirque valley where glaciers start

How does a corrie form?

Glacier erodes hollow in mountainside, leaving steep back wall

What is an arête?

Sharp ridge between two corries

How does an arête form?

Two corries erode back-to-back, leaving narrow ridge

What is a pyramidal peak?

Mountain with sharp peak formed by glacial erosion

How does a pyramidal peak form?

Multiple corries erode around mountain, leaving pointed summit

What is a truncated spur?

Steep cliff on a valley side where glacier has cut off a ridge

How do truncated spurs form?

Glacier erodes V-shaped river valley, cutting off ridges that previously interlocked

What is a glacial trough?

Wide, steep-sided valley carved by glacier

How does a glacial trough form?

Glacier widens and deepens river valley, creating U-shaped valley

What is a ribbon lake?

Long, narrow lake in a glacial trough

How is a ribbon lake formed?

Glacier erodes trough deeper than tributary valleys; when ice melts, water collects in deeper section

What is a hanging valley?

Valley on the side of a glacial trough, often with a waterfall

How is a hanging valley formed?

Tributary glacier is shallower than main glacier; when ice melts, tributary valley is left higher

What are the Lake District's glacial landforms?

Corries, arêtes, pyramidal peaks, truncated spurs, glacial troughs (Windermere, Wastwater), hanging valleys

Name lakes in the Lake District.

Windermere, Wastwater, Coniston Water, Derwentwater, Thirlmere

What economic activities occur in the Lake District?

Tourism, farming, forestry, quarrying

How does tourism affect the Lake District?

Employment, income, but also congestion, erosion, environmental damage

What are the conflicts in the Lake District?

Tourism vs conservation, farming vs development, quarrying vs environment

What is the value of the Lake District as a wilderness area?

Landscapes, biodiversity, recreation, cultural heritage, spiritual value

Why should fragile environments like Lake District be protected?

Slow recovery from damage, unique ecosystems, irreplaceable landscapes

What strategies balance development and conservation in Lake District?

National park status, planning restrictions, sustainable tourism, education, habitat protection