changing UK landscapes

• | main UK rock types

  • sedimentary: chalk & sandstone
  • igneous: granite & basalt
  • metamorphic: schist & slate
• | main UK rock types

  sedimentary rocks

  > rocks formed in BEDS (layers) & often have fossils

  • CHALK: made of CALCIUM CARBONATE & susceptible to chemical weathering
  • SANDSTONE: made of sand-sized grains cemented together; hard & resistant to weathering but is PERMEABLE
• | main uk rock types

  igneous rocks

  > hard & formed of crystals = resistant to erosion. usually impermeable

  • GRANITE: affected by chemical weathering; granite landscapes drain badly = boggy
  • BASALT: grey rock of very small crystals _ lava flows cool to = basalt
• | main uk rock types

  metamorphic rocks

  > formed by great heat & pressure

  • SLATE: from MUDSTONE at CONVERGENT plate boundaries
  • SCHIST: formed @ HIGH PRESSURE at CONVERGENT plate boundaries
• | upland & lowland landscapes

  geology

  • north western UK: hard igneous & metamorphic = UPLAND
  • south eastern: soft sedimentary = LOWLAND
• | upland & lowland landscapes

  plate tectonics

  • uk used to be close to plate boundaries; plate movements = mountains
  • 520 million years ago, 2 plates converged o form upland mountain landscapes
  • 50-60 million years ago caused atlantic ocean to open