Distinctive Landscapes

• What are landscapes 


  Landscapes are made up of all the visible features of an area of land
• What is a natural landscape

  A landscape with more physical features ie. Mountains or forests
• What is a built landscape

  A landscape that has more visible features e.g. a town or a city
• UK's natural landscapes

  Upland, lowland and glaciated
• Upland areas

  • Mostly found in the north and west of the UK
  • Generally formed of harder rocks which resist erosion, e.g. slate, granite and some limestones
  • Many are glaciated landscapes, e.g. Snowdonia
  • The gradient of the land is often steep
  • The climate tends to be cooler and wetter
  • The harsh climate and thin soils allow rough vegetation to thrive, and some upland areas are used for forestry
  • Land uses include sheep farming, quarrying and tourism
• Lowland areas

  • Mostly found in the south and east
  • Generally formed from softer rocks, e.g. chalk, clay and some sandstones
  • The landscape is flatter with gently rolling hills
  • The climate tends to be warmer and drier
  • Vegetation grows easily in the more fertile soils and includes grassy meadows and deciduous forests
  • Land uses include quarrying and tourism, as well as dairy and arable farming (growing crops)
  • Most urban areas and industries (e.g. factories) are located in lowland areas
• Glaciated landscapes


  • During the last glacial period, ice covered the UK roughly as far south as a certain line, so glaciated landscapes are mostly found in upland areas in the north-west of the UK
  • Ice is very powerful, so it was able to erode the landscape, carving out valleys
  • Ice also deposited lots of material as it melted
  • Landscapes formed by glacial meltwater and deposits extend south of this line
• What is mechanical weathering

  The breakdown of rock without changing its chemical composition. The main type of mechanical weathering that affect landscapes in the UK is freezethaw weathering
• How does mechanical weathering happen

  It happens when temperature alternates above and below 0°C-qthe freezing point of water.Water gets into rocks that has cracks e.g. granite. When water freezes it expands putting pressure on the rock. When water thaws it contracts which releases pressure on the rock. Repeated freezing and thawing widens the cracks causing rock to break up
• What is salt weathering

  It is caused by the buildup if salt crystals deposited in cracks by waves
• What is chemical weathering

  The breakdown of rock by changing its chemical complexity
• What is carbonation weathering 


  A type of chemical weathering that happens in warm and wet conditions
• How does carbonation weathering happen

  Rainwater has carbon dioxide dissolved in it making it a weak carbonic acid. Carbonic acid reacts with rock that contains calcium carbonate so rocks are dissolved by rainwater
• What is mass movement 


  The shifting of rocks and loose material down a slope e.g. a cliff or valley side. It happens when the force of gravity acting on a slope is greater than the force supporting it. Mass movement causes coast to retreat rapidly.
• When is mass movement more likely to happen

  When the material is full of water as it acts as a lubricant
• What dies undercutting of a slope by erosion do

  Increase the chance of mass movement
• What are the 2 types of mass movement

  • Slides- material shifts in a straight line
  • Slumps- material shifts with a rotation
• What are the 4 processes if erosion

  Hydraulic action, abrasion, attrition and solution
• Hydraulic action 


  Waves crash and compress in the air in the cracks which puts pressure on the rock. Repeated compression widens the cracks and makes bit of rock btesk off. In rivers the force of the water breaks rock particles away from the river channel
• Abrasion 


  Eroded particles in the water scrape and rub against rock in the sea bed, cliffs or river channel removing small pieces and wearing then away. Mist erosion in rivers happen by abrasion
• Attrition 


  Eroded particles in the water smdg unti each other about break into smaller fragments. Their edges also get rounded off as they rub together. The further material travels, the more Eroded it gets e.g. Attrition causes particle size to decrease between a river's source and its mouth
• Solution


  Dissolved carbon dioxide makes river and sea water slightly acidic. The acid reacts chemically woth some rocks e.g. chalk and limestone dissolving them
• What is transportation


  The movement of eroded material
• What are the 4 processes of transportation 


  Traction, suspension, saltation and solution
• Traction


  Large particles like boulders are pushed along the river bed or sea floor by the force of the water
• Suspension 


  Small particles like silt and clay are carried along by the water.
• Saltation 


  Pebblesized particles are bounced along the river bed or sea floor by the force of the water
• solution

  Soluble materials dissolve in the water and sre carried along
• What is deposition 


  Deposition is when material being carried by sea water or a river is dropped. It occurs when water carrying sediment loses velocity so that it isn't moving fast enough to carry so much sediment
• Headlands


  • Usually made of resistant rocks that have weaknesses like cracks
• Headland erosion


  1. Waves crash into the headlands and enlarge the cracks - mainly by hydraulic power and abrasion

  2. Repeated erosion and enlargement of the cracks causes a cave to form

  3. Continued erosion deepens the cave until it breaks through the headland-forming an arch

  4. Erosion continues to wear away the rock supporting the arch, until it eventually collapses

  5. This forms a stack - an isolated rock that's separate from the headland
• Beaches are formed by deposition
• Beaches


  Found on coasts between the high water mark and the low water mark
• Beaches


  • Formed by constructive waves depositing material like sand and shingle
• Beach types


  • Sand beaches
  • Shingle beaches
• Sand beaches


  Flat and wide, sand particles are small and the weak backwash can move them back down the beach, creating a long, gentle slope
• Shingle beaches


  Steep and narrow, shingle particles are large and the weak backwash can't move them back down the beach. The shingle particles build up and create a steep slope
• Longshore drift


  1. Waves follow the direction of the prevailing wind

  2. They usually hit the coast at an oblique angle

  3. The swash carries material up the beach, in the same direction as the waves

  4. The backwash then carries material down the beach at right angles, back towards the sea

  5. Over time, material zigzags along the coast
• Spits


  • Beaches that stick out into the sea, formed at sharp bends in the coastline by longshore drift
• Longshore drift transports sand and shingle past a bend in the coastline


  Deposits it in the sea