1. Physical landscapes in the UK
Relief of the UK
The UK’s relief can be divided into uplands and lowlands. Each has their own characteristics of relief and weather
Key
Lowlands
Uplands
Uplands (>600m):
Mountains and moors
Weather is cold, rain and snow;
E.g. Wales, Scotland
Areas over 600m: Mountains and moors; cold, mist and snow common.
i.e. Scotland
Types of erosion
Erosion is the break down of rock and the landscape (*= most important processes)
Attrition
Rocks bash together and become smooth and smaller
Solution
Water which is acidic dissolves chalk and limestone.
Abrasion/
corrasion*
Rocks hurled at the bed and banks break pieces off
Hydraulic action*
Waves compress air in cracks in rocks which then expands explosively, breaking the rock
Types of transportation
Transportation is the moving of material by an agent of erosion
Solution
Minerals dissolve in water and are carried along
Suspension
Sand and silt particles are held up in the water
Saltation
Pebbles are bounced along the river/sea bed
Traction
Boulders are rolled or dragged along the bed
Mass movement
Mass movement is a what it says: a mass of soil or rock that moves down a hillside or cliff (due to gravity).
A rockslide is
rapid. It
happens when
the rocks
break along
the bedding
plane
Slumping occurs when there is
a downward rotation of
sections of cliff. Often
occurs after heavy rain
A rockfall is the rapid free fall
of rock from a steep cliff
face
Lowlands (<200m):
Flat or hilly;
Weather is mild and dry;
E.g. Fens in Norfolk, Hampshire
Relief less than 200m: Flat or rolling hills. Warmer weather.
i.e. Fens
Deposition landforms: spits formation
Longshore drift (driven by the prevailing wind) is moving a beach along a coastline.
The coastline bends round, but longshore drift continues in the same direction, forming a finger or sand or shingle sticking out to sea
Secondary waves curve round the end of the spit forming a hook (a recurve)
The waves alternate in direction and multiple hooks (recurves) form
In the calm, shallow water behind the spit, mud is deposited and saltmarshes form
Types of weathering
Weathering is the breakdown of rocks where they are. It is not erosion but it helps it
Biological
Breakdown of rock by plants and animals e.g. roots pushing rocks apart
Mechanical
Breakdown of rock without changing its chemical make-up e.g. freeze-thaw
A spit is a finger of beach material sticking out to sea. E.g.: Mudeford Spit in Dorset
Deposition
Deposition is when the sea or river drops the material it has been when the river or sea loses energy. The heaviest material is deposited first
Erosion landforms 1: headlands and bays
There are alternate bands of hard and soft rock along a coastline
The soft rock is worn away more quickly than the hard. This is called differential erosion.
The soft rock forms a bay and the hard rock sticks out as a headland.
Bay e.g. Christchurch Bay
Soft rock
Unit 1C (Paper 1: Tuesday 21 May, pm)
Physical landscapes in the UK
Hard rock
Headland
e.g. Hengistbury Head, Dorset
The formation and breaking of waves
As the wind blows over the sea, friction produces a swell in the water. As the waves approach the coastline, friction with the seabed makes the swell fall forward, which is the wave breaking.
An example of mechanical weathering: freeze-thaw weathering
Stage 1
Water seeps into cracks in the rock (especially porous rock).
Stage 2
When the water freezes, it expands by 10%. This puts stress on the rock.
Stage 3
The ice melts and water soaks in deeper. This repeats until the rock breaks
Erosion landforms 2: arches, stacks and stumps
Cracks: Hydraulic action and abrasion widen joints and bedding planes to form cracks.
Cave: The cracks widen and join to form a cave.
Arch: The cave widens and deepens (it might join a cave on the opposite side) to go right through the headland.
Stack: Weakened by freeze-thaw, the roof of the arch collapses, leaving a stump.
Stump: A wave-cut notch forms around the base and the stack topples, leaving s stump.
Examples: Old Harry (stack) and Durdle Door (arch), Dorset
Longshore drift
Longshore drift is the movement of beach sediment along the coast:
The prevailing wind blows waves on to a beach at an angle.
The waves break and the swash carries sediment up the beach at the same angle.
But the backwash moves it down at right angles to the sea.
Further waves break and the process repeats.
The beach sediment moves in a zigzag in one main direction overall.
Wave size
Depends on:
Distance of sea the wave has moved across (the fetch);
Strength of the wind;
Duration of the wind
Types of waves
Constructive waves
Destructive waves
Long, low waves that ‘surge’ up the beach building it up
Swash is stronger than backwash
Tall, close waves that ‘plunge’ down on to the beach eroding it.
Backwash is stronger than swash
Swash is the move-ment of water up the beach. Back-wash is the move-ment down it.

2. The lower course of the river
Coastal defences
Hard defences (unattractive, expensive and work against nature)
Groynes
Wood barriers trap material being moved by longshore drift, so the beach builds up
Beach still accessible
Rest of coast is starved of beach material, so erosion worsens there.
Look unattractive
Sea walls
Concrete walls break up the energy of the wave . Has a lip to stop waves going over
Protects from flooding
Can look attractive
Very expensive to build and maintain, so only used in seaside resorts
Gabions
Cages of rocks/boulders absorb the waves energy, protecting the cliff behind
Cheap
Local material can be used to blend in
The wire cages rust and the rocks fall out
Soft defences (natural, cheaper and attractive)
Beach nourish-ment
Beaches built up with sand/shingle, to absorb wave impact and keep the sea away from cliffs
Tourists can use beach
Needs replacing every year after storms
Offshore dredging damages seabed
Man-aged retreat
Defences on low value areas of coast are broken, and left to flood and erode
Reduce flood risk
Creates wildlife habitats
Compensation for land
Only where farmland is
Water cycle key terms
Infiltration
Water soaking into the soil
Interception
Plants stops water reaching the ground
Surface runoff
Water flowing over the surface of the land into rivers
Precipitation
Moisture falling from clouds as rain, snow or hail
The lower course of the river
Near its mouth, the river widens. As it is flowing over flat land is has little energy so it deposits its load.
Lower course landform: floodplain and levées
Floodplains: every time the river floods, it deposits a layer of fine silt called alluvium on its valley floor. Over may years this builds up to form a thick, flat floodplain.
Levées: these are raised banks to the river. When it floods, the heaviest material is deposited first on the banks, building them up.
Physical and human causes of flooding (causing surface runoff)
Physical: Persistent rainfall
Lots of rain saturates the soil so more rain cannot infiltrate
Human: Urbanisation
Tarmac and concrete are impermeable so rain can’t infiltrate
Physical: Relief
Steep-sided valleys channels don’t allow water to infiltrate
Human: Deforestation
Trees intercept rainfall and absorb it from the soil so more can infiltrate
Physical: Geology
Impermeable rocks like granite
Human: Climate change
More frequent storms, heavier rain
River management and flood prevention schemes
Soft engineering strategies
Hard engineering strategies
Afforestation and green roofs: planting trees to intercept and absorb rainwater.
Managed flooding: naturally letting areas flood, protect settlements.
Floodplain zoning: allowing certain uses in certain places, such as playing fields next to the river. Flooding is allowed on undeveloped land.
Channel straightening: increasing the river’s velocity to remove flood water.
Artificial levees and embankments: raising the riverbanks so the river can hold more volume of water.
Dredging: removing mud from the bed and banks so the river can hold more volume.
The upper course of a river
Near the source the river flows down a steep gradient. This gives it high kinetic energy, so it does vertical erosion and makes v-shaped valleys. As it is also high above sea level it has high gravitational-potential energy.
Hydrographs and river discharge
Discharge is the volume of water that flows in a river over time. Hydrographs show the link between rainfall, drainage basin and discharge.
1. Peak discharge is the maximum discharge
2. Lag time is the gap between peak rainfall and peak discharge
3. Rising limb is the increase in river discharge
4. Falling limb is the decrease in river discharge to normal level
An upper course landform: waterfall formation (remember RESUR)
1. Rocks: the river where hard rock changes to soft.
2. Erosion: hydraulic action and corrosion erode the soft rock quicker than the hard, making a step.
3. Splashback: the falling water splashes backwards eroding the soft rock more.
4. Undercutting: the hard rock is left sticking out, unsupported, as an overhang.
5. Retreat: the overhand collapses and the waterfall retreats, leaving a gorge of recession.
Example of a stretch of coastline: Hengistbury Head and Mudeford Spit, Christchurch, Dorset
Hengistbury Head (HH)
A headland made of Bagshot Beds (sand) some of which is solidified as sandstone. There are also Wealden Beds (clays)
Some sandstone forms ironstone ‘doggers’ which fall out of the cliff and protect it (they form a ‘wall’ below it)
The headland forms a hill called Warren Hill
Mudeford Spit (MS)
A sand spit stretching in front of Christchurch Harbour
Salt marshes have formed behind it and are a nature reserve
The Rivers Avon and Stour enter the sea here, stopping the spit from closing off the harbour.
Management
The Long Groyne on HH is a relic of the quarrying of doggers. Their removal increased the erosion of the spit
On HH rock groynes and gabions are used to keep beach material.
On MS, rock groynes and rock armour (hard) are used to build up the beach plus some beach replenishment (soft) is too.
If the lag time is long:
Surface runoff and flood risk are low because…
The drainage basin encourages infiltration (i.e. it has trees, flat slopes, few settlements).
If the lag time is short:
Surface runoff and flood risk are high because…
The drainage basin reduces infiltration (i.e. it has few trees, steep slopes, many settlements).
A middle course landforms: meander and oxbow lake formation
Meanders: Stage 1
Oxbow lake: Stage 1
On a meander there is fast flow on the outside of the bend and slow flow on the inner.
The meander gets bigger and its neck gets narrower until during a flood, the river cuts through (cut-off).
Meanders: Stage 2
Oxbow lakes: Stage 2
This creates lateral erosion and a river cliff on the outside, and deposition on the inner with a river beach.
The river deposits silt at the entrance to the old meander and seals it off, leaving an oxbow lake.
Example of river landforms: The River Tees
Location and background: Located in the Northern England.
It flows from the Pennines into the North Sea
Landforms:
Upper course: Source is at Cross Fell. V-shaped valleys such as Teesdale, rapids and waterfalls such as High Force. High Force waterfall has formed where hard whinstone dolerite is on top of softer Carboniferous limestone.
Middle course: Multiple meanders and oxbow lakes. The town of Yarm is inside a meander. Some of them have been straightened to help ships
Lower course: Wide floodplain is used for industry. Huge sand banks like Seal Sands formed by deposition.
The middle course of a river
The gradient is suddenly gentler, so the river meanders to use up its energy from rushing downhill. It erodes meanders using lateral erosion (sideways erosion).
Example of flood prevention: Banbury, UK
Hard strategies used at Banbury:
Embankment along the M40 to create a holding pond for floodwater
New pumping station and channels to regulate flow
Floodwalls and embankments in the town to protect homes and business
Soft strategies at Banbury:
Biodiversity Action Plan to encourage wildlife on floodplain
Floodplain zoning, including flooding
Banbury is in Oxfordshire on the River Cherwell. It has suffered repeated floods; the worst was in 1998.