Upland and Lowland UK

• Helvellyn


  One of England's highest mountains, standing at 949 metres above sea level in the Lake District in north-west England
• Helvellyn


  • Made up of igneous rocks which were formed 450 million years ago
• Landscape features in the Lake District

  • Formed during the last ice age over 20,000 years ago
  • Large glaciers dominated the landscape and through their erosive power, carved out classic glaciated landforms such as arêtes, corries and glacial troughs
• Main rock types in the UK

  • Igneous
  • Sedimentary
  • Metamorphic
• Igneous rocks


  • Result of volcanic activity in the past, when Britain was close to a plate boundary
  • Some formed by lava erupting at constructive plate boundaries, cooling and solidifying to form basalt rock
  • Others formed by hot molten magma beneath the Earth's surface cooling and solidifying as an intrusive rock under the ground, such as granite
• Sedimentary rocks


  • Made up of small particles of sand and rock, transported by the wind, rivers and ice and deposited on lake or seabed
  • Successive layers of sediments accumulate and are compressed by the weight of the deposits above, into sedimentary rocks
  • Formed in layers, known as bedding planes
  • Examples include sandstone, clay, limestone and chalk
• Metamorphic rocks


  • Rocks that have been changed in shape and form by intense heat and pressure at a plate boundary or along a fault line
  • Start as either igneous or sedimentary rocks and are crystallised under the intense heat and pressure conditions to form rocks such as slates, schists, and marble
  • Very hard in nature and are often used as roof material
• Many of these rocks were formed over 300 million years ago, in warm tropical seas during the carboniferous period
• The existence of these rocks is evidence that Britain was at a different latitude compared to today, suggesting movement of continental areas of the globe, which is explained by the modern theory of plate tectonics
• Helvellyn


  One of England's highest mountains, standing at 949 metres above sea level in the Lake District in north-west England
• Helvellyn


  • Made up of igneous rocks which were formed 450 million years ago
• Landscape features in the Lake District

  • Formed during the last ice age over 20,000 years ago
  • Large glaciers dominated the landscape and through their erosive power, carved out classic glaciated landforms such as arêtes, corries and glacial troughs
• Main rock types in the UK

  • Igneous
  • Sedimentary
  • Metamorphic
• Igneous rocks


  • Result of volcanic activity in the past, when Britain was close to a plate boundary
  • Some formed by lava erupting at constructive plate boundaries, cooling and solidifying to form basalt rock
  • Others formed by hot molten magma beneath the Earth's surface cooling and solidifying as an intrusive rock under the ground, such as granite
• Sedimentary rocks


  • Made up of small particles of sand and rock, transported by the wind, rivers and ice and deposited on lake or seabed
  • Successive layers of sediments accumulate and are compressed by the weight of the deposits above, into sedimentary rocks
  • Formed in layers, known as bedding planes
  • Examples include sandstone, clay, limestone and chalk
• Metamorphic rocks


  • Rocks that have been changed in shape and form by intense heat and pressure at a plate boundary or along a fault line
  • Start as either igneous or sedimentary rocks and are crystallised under the intense heat and pressure conditions to form rocks such as slates, schists, and marble
  • Very hard in nature and are often used as roof material
• Many of these rocks were formed over 300 million years ago, in warm tropical seas during the carboniferous period
• The existence of these rocks is evidence that Britain was at a different latitude compared to today
• This suggests movement of continental areas of the globe, which is explained by the modern theory of plate tectonics