Physical

• Coastal zone


  Constantly evolving landscape where the land meets the sea
• Coastal zones


  • Provide resources such as oil and fish
  • Homes for humans and habitats for species
  • Tourist attraction
• Concordant coastline


  Rock beds run parallel to the edge of the sea
• Discordant coastline


  Rock beds run perpendicular (at right angle) to the edge of the sea
• Concordant coasts can be identified by high cliffs and coves
• Discordant coasts can be identified by headlands and bays
• Rock weaknesses

  • Joints - Small, vertical cracks found in nearly all rocks
  • Faults - Larger cracks where a rock has moved, often from past tectonic activity
• Coastal processes

  • Erosion
  • Weathering
  • Transportation
  • Mass movement
  • Deposition
• Corrasion


  Sand and pebbles are picked up by the sea and hurled against the cliffs at high tide, causing the cliffs to be eroded
• Abrasion


  Sediment scrapes and bangs against the base of a rockface, wearing away the face gradually
• Attrition


  Wave action causes rocks and pebbles to hit against each other, wearing each other down and becoming round and smaller
• Types of rock

  • Igneous
  • Sedimentary
  • Metamorphic

  
• Igneous rocks

  • Formed from volcanic activity
  • Molten rock crystallises as it cools
• In the UK, all igneous rocks are very old as the UK is not near any plate boundaries
• Igneous rocks found in the UK

  • Granite
  • Basalt
• Sedimentary rocks


  Formed gradually over time as dead organic matter and eroded rocks are transported out to sea and deposited on the seafloor, which then compresses under pressure
• Sedimentary rocks found in the UK

  • Chalk
  • Sandstone
  • Limestone
  • Conglomerate
• Metamorphic rocks


  • Begin as sedimentary rocks
  • Formed under extreme pressure and temperature
  • Often banded with similar types squashed into layers
• Metamorphic rocks found in the UK

  • Slate
  • Marble

  
• Historically, the UK used to be close to a plate boundary and at this time there was a large amount of rock formation, especially igneous and metamorphic rocks
• Weathering and Erosion


  1. Continuously break down rock faces and surfaces

  2. Weathering happens to all rocks on the surface

  3. Erosion is caused by water bodies such as at the coast or in rivers

  4. Provides sediments to create new sedimentary rocks
• River


  Made up of three sections: upper course, middle course and lower course
• Hydraulic action


  As a wave crashes onto a rock or cliff face, air is forced into cracks within the rock, causing the cracks to force apart and widen
• Glacial Erosion


  1. During the UK's ice age, the land was under immense pressure due to the weight and erosive action of glaciers

  2. Post-glacial lakes and rivers tend to have large valleys
• Slope Processes


  1. Rock falls

  2. Landslides

  3. Mudflow

  4. Rotational Slip
• The UK's landscape can broadly be separated into upland landscapes and lowland landscapes depending on the rock type and relief of the area
• Upland landscapes


  • Located in the north and the west of England, Wales and Scotland
  • Higher above sea level
  • Majority of the UK's igneous and metamorphic rocks
  • Older and more resistant to weathering and erosion
  • Past tectonic processes have created faults and uplifts
• The Lake District is an upland area in NW England
• Corrosion (Solution)


  Mildly acidic seawater can cause alkaline rock such as limestone to be eroded
• Landscape types


  • Rock Fall
  • Landslide
  • Mudflow
  • Rotational Slip
• Upper course


  • Tributaries are narrow and v-shaped
  • Tributaries don't carry a lot of water but combined they fill up the river channel further down
  • Sides of tributaries tend to be like a valley with a large gradient either side
• Upland landscapes


  Located in the north and west of England, Wales and Scotland, higher above sea level
• Lowland landscapes


  Located in the south and east of England, lower levels than uplands
• Upland landscapes


  • Majority of UK's igneous and metamorphic rocks, older and more resistant to weathering and erosion, past tectonic processes have created faults and uplifts
• Lowland landscapes


  • Sedimentary rocks like clays and sands, younger than uplands, erode very easily, formed through erosion and weathering processes
• Upland landscape


  • The Lake District
• Lowland landscape


  • The Weald

  
• Post-glacial river processes in the Lake District

  Glaciers carved U-shaped valleys, valleys filled with water to form lakes, small rivers flow through the valleys (misfit rivers)
• Weathering and slope processes in the Lake District

  Freeze-thaw weathering causes rocks to break off and form scree slopes, frequent landslides and rilling/gullying on high relief slopes
• Weathering and slope processes in the Weald

  Used to be an anticline, eroded over time to create scarp and vale topography, chalk is resistant to weathering and forms escarpments, clays below chalk are highly erodible and form vales