Changing Landscapes

• Sedimentary rock characteristics 


  softer and younger
• Igneous rock characteristics 


  very hard
• metamorphic rocks characteristics 


  very hard and layered; Crystal like
• Sedimentary rock examples 


  limestone, chalk, sandstones
• igneous rock examples

  granite, basalt
• metamorphic rock examples 


  schist, slate, marble
• Uk distribution of sedimentary rocks

  All over UK
• Uk distribution of igneous rocks

  Northern Ireland, Scotland, Lake District
• Uk distribution of metamorphic rocks

  Northern Ireland and Scotland
• geology 


  rocks
• Sedimentary rocks

   formed of small particles that have been deposited in layers 
• Igneous rocks

  created by volcanic activity, when magma or lava cools 
•  Metamorphic rocks formed from other rocks that have been changed by extreme pressure or heat 


  formed from other rocks that have been changed by extreme pressure or heat
• Lowland areas in the UK

  • Made from sedimentary rocks
• Upland areas in the UK

  • Made from metamorphics and genius rocks
• UK upland landscape around 300 million years ago

  1. Tectonic plates caused magma under intense pressure to rise through the Earth's crust

  2. Some magma reached the surface level

  3. Some magma cooled and solidified underground
• UK's downlands


  • Formed of harder sedimentary rocks which are less resistant to erosion
  • Examples in the North and South down in south east England
  • Hills formed of chalk with even softer clay in the valleys between
• Glacial Processes


  1. Glaciers eroded u-shaped valleys (glacial abrasion) during the last ice age

  2. The Lake District is littered with ground moraine (material that was carried in the base of the glacier and then deposited)
• High Precipitation


  Lots of streams draining water from the land
• The Weald


  Drier so there are less streams
• Post Glacial River Processes


  1. Misfit rivers (too small) flow at the bottom of u shaped valleys

  2. Dry valleys formed in the last Ice age

  3. During the Ice age, the chalk froze and became impermeable, therefore water formed streams on the surface

  4. When the climate warmed, water could soak into the chalk again and most valleys were left dry
• Slope Processes


  1. Rock falls are quite common, happening when pieces of a rock from a weathered cliff fall

  2. Slumping has occurred at the coast, often after long periods of rainfall

  3. At the junction where the permeable rock meets an impermeable rock such as clay the saturated soil and weaker rock slumps and slides down the cliff
• Clay vales


  • Frequently found at the foot of chalk escarpments, for example in the Weald
• Escarpment


  • A long cliff formed by the erosion of folded rocks
  • The steeper side is called the scarp slope
  • The gently sloping side is called the dip slope
• Lowland areas in the UK

  • Made from sedimentary rocks
• Upland areas in the UK

  • Made from metamorphics and genius rocks
• UK upland landscape around 300 million years ago

  1. Tectonic plates caused magma under intense pressure to rise through the Earth's crust

  2. Some magma reached the surface level

  3. Some magma cooled and solidified underground
• UK's downlands


  • Formed of harder sedimentary rocks which are less resistant to erosion
  • Examples in the North and South down in south east England
  • Hills formed of chalk with even softer clay in the valleys between
• Glacial Processes


  1. Glaciers eroded u-shaped valleys (glacial abrasion) during the last ice age

  2. The Lake District is littered with ground moraine (material that was carried in the base of the glacier and then deposited)
• High Precipitation


  Lots of streams draining water from the land
• The Weald


  Drier so there are less streams
• Post Glacial River Processes


  1. Misfit rivers (too small) flow at the bottom of u shaped valleys

  2. Dry valleys formed in the last Ice age

  3. During the Ice age, the chalk froze and became impermeable, therefore water formed streams on the surface

  4. When the climate warmed, water could soak into the chalk again and most valleys were left dry
• Slope Processes


  1. Rock falls are quite common, happening when pieces of a rock from a weathered cliff fall

  2. Slumping has occurred at the coast, often after long periods of rainfall

  3. At the junction where the permeable rock meets an impermeable rock such as clay the saturated soil and weaker rock slumps and slides down the cliff
• Clay vales


  • Frequently found at the foot of chalk escarpments, for example in the Weald
• Escarpment


  • A long cliff formed by the erosion of folded rocks
  • The steeper side is called the scarp slope
  • The gently sloping side is called the dip slope