CAMBRIDGE IGCSE

GEOGRAPHY
CASE STUDIES

These case study summaries have been prepared to help you get top marks on
the longer 7 mark questions.
LEARN SOME OF THESE SPECIFIC FACTS TO IMPRESS THE IGCSE EXAMINERS

It goes without saying that these examples may needs to be adapted to fit the
question.
And remember to think on your feet (use logic) in the exams!

GOOD LUCK!
 Theme 1 Population and Settlement
1.1 Population Dynamics
CASE STUDY 1 - A country which is over-populated = Nigeria (Lagos)
 By 1986 Nigeria had an estimated urban growth rate of 6%
(more than twice that of the rural population) with the
percentage of people living in urban areas estimated to have
grown from 16% to 20%.
 By 2010, more than 40% of the population was living in the
urban centers
 Inadequate fresh water for drinking water use as well as
sewage treatment and effluent discharge. Lagos has the
persistent problem of inadequate water supply which has
led to the unhealthy living conditions.
 Increased levels of pollution; air, water, noise, soil
contamination.
 Irreversible loss of arable land and increases in desertification. Parts of the north in Nigeria are currently
suffering from encroachment of desert from the Saharan desert.
 High infant and child mortality. Nigeria’s infant mortality rate is currently 100/1000 births. Comparing that
figure with those of developed countries, it shows the growth of population has not created the chance for
development of the health system.
 Increased chance of the emergence of new epidemics and pandemics. For many environmental and social
reasons, including overcrowded living conditions, malnutrition and inadequate, inaccessible, or non-existent
health care, the poor are more likely to be exposed to infectious diseases.
 Starvation, malnutrition or poor diet with ill health and diet-deficiency diseases (e.g. rickets). Famine is
aggravated by poverty. About 70% of Nigerians live in rural areas and these regions are so underdeveloped
that malnutrition has become a constant issue. With the pressure of population on the environment, there
is a decline in both subsistence and export agriculture.
 Elevated crime rate due to drug cartels and increased theft by people stealing resources to survive. Regions
with high rate of population are posed to threats of high crime rates. Lagos state for example in the past
years has had an increase in crime rate.
CASE STUDY 2 - A country which is under-populated = Australia
 Under-population occurs when there are far more resources in
an area eg. food, energy, and minerals than the people
 Australia's landmass of 7,6 million km2
 22 million people (double Greece only)
 Australia can export their surplus food, energy and mineral
resources
 They have high incomes, good living conditions, and high
levels of technology and immigration.
 Australia is the world's thirteenth largest economy and has the
world's fifth-highest per capita income
 It is probable that standards of living would rise, through
increased production and exploitation of resources, if
population were to increase.
CASE STUDY 3 - A country with a high rate of natural population growth = Uganda
 37.58 million people in Uganda
 Expected to double by 2025
 Youthful population - Half population is under 15
 It could be the world's 12th most populous country by then
 Average fertility per woman is seven children – low status of women
 Lack of education and access to contraception – in most parts of Uganda clinics do not exist
 President Museveni even believes that Uganda is underpopulated - he thinks that more people will boost the
internal market and workforce to increase the economy (very questionable!!!!)
CASE STUDY 4 - A country with a low rate of population growth (or population decline) = Italy
 There is a relatively small number of people under the age of 20 (around 11million) as low fertility rates of
1.23 children per family
 There is a high number of people over the age of 60 (more than 13million) – an ageing population
 Italy recently became the first country in the world
where the number of over 60s exceeded the under 20s.
 Some women feel that they cannot work and cope with
raising a family too
 Some men not doing sufficient household chores
 Poor service provision for childcare in pre-school years
 Childlessness no longer bears a stigma
 Social pressure to marry and have children is less
 Even though head of the catholic church is in Italy –
contraception use is high
 Yuppiedom – preference for luxury goods delays
marriage and babies
 Less than 1/3 mothers have children before 28 years
 Young people live at home with parents longer to save rent etc which delays relationships and births
 Accompanied by elderly people living longer due to medicine, clean water, sanitation, good mediterranean
diet etc
 The increased population of older people means that there is an increased demand for health and social
care, it becomes increasingly difficult for governments to provide satisfactory pensions, which are ultimately
funded by the working population
 The reduced numbers of babies and children means that there is less need for schools and school teachers,
industries which provide products for children - for example pram manufacturers - may suffer in the longer
term, companies may have difficulty recruiting youthful workers and difficult to defend country with an
army etc
 Some solutions?
 Giving financial inducements for third children and extreme example is 10,000 euro bonus for all births in a
village in Mezzogiornio as mayor concerned that young people will not enter village otherwise
 Giving paid maternity and/or paternity leave
 providing state-funded child care centres
 To encourage immigration to overcome labour shortages
 Increased age of retirement
 CASE STUDY 5 - A country with a low rate of population growth (or population decline) = HIV/Aids in
Botswana
 In 2013 an estimated 320,000 people living with HIV (total population below
two million)
 21.9% of people have HIV/Aids
 First case 1985
 Life expectancy less than 40 years in 2000-2005, a figure about 28 years lower
than it would have been without AIDS.
 9,100 new infections each year
 5,800 Aids related deaths
 69% of adults that are infected are on anti-retroviral treatment
Policy
 (1987-89) the screening of blood to eliminate the risk of HIV transmission
through blood transfusion.
 (1989-97) information, education and communication programmes - Botswana
National Policy on AIDS.
 (1997 onwards) education, prevention and comprehensive care including the provision of antiretroviral
treatment for 69% of infected adults.
HIV prevention programme:
 Public education & awareness –
1. "ABC" of AIDS: Abstain, Be faithful and, if you have sex, Condomize.
2. safe-sex billboards and posters everywhere.
3. radio drama dealing with culturally specific HIV/AIDS-related issues and encouraging changes in
sexual behaviour.
4. workplace peer counselling.
 Education for young people –
1. Youth Health Organisation (YOHO)has art festivals, dramas and group discussions.
2. School-based learning plays and teachers are given special training.
3. Talk show is broadcast twice weekly by Botswana Television.
 Condom distribution & education –
1. Installation of 10,500 condom dispensers in traditional and non-traditional outlets -condoms have
been given out for free distribution.
2. Targeting of highly mobile populations – especially migrant workers travelling to other sub-Saharan
African countries. Concentration on treatment of sexually transmitted infections, condom promotion and
prevention education.
 Improvement of safety for blood transfusions- the national supply of HIV-free blood doubled by 2005
because of better screening of donors and counselling.
 Prevention of mother to child transmission of HIV - in 2005 35.4% of women attending antenatal clinics in
Botswana had HIV. Encouraging the use of antiretroviral treatment and non-breast feeding practices.
 Voluntary testing-same day results so more people are aware of their status.
 National antiretroviral therapy for 69% of infected adults so far
1.2 Migration
CASE STUDY 6 - An international migration = USA to Mexico
 Mexicans make up 29.5 % of all foreigners in the USA.
 Mexican immigrants account for about 20% of the legal immigrants living in the USA.
 Brain drain is occurring out of Mexico.
 e.g. An estimated 14,000 of the 19,000 Mexicans with doctorates live in the USA (International Organization
for Migration)
Push factors from Mexico (Santa Ines) (2010)
 Poor medical facilities - 1800 per doctor
 Low paid jobs - GDP per capita $14,406
 Adult literacy rates 55% - poor education prospects
 Life expectancy 72 yrs
 40% Unemployed
 Unhappy life – poor standard of living
 Shortage of food
 Poor farming conditions
 National average poverty level of 37 percent
Pull Factors – Reasons Mexicans are attracted to the USA
(2010)
 Excellent medical facilities - 400 per doctor
 Well paid jobs - GDP per capita $46,860
 Adult literacy rates 99% - good education prospects
 Life expectancy 76 yrs
 Many jobs available for low paid workers such as
Mexicans
 Better housing
 Family links
 Bright lights
Effects on USA
 Illegal migration costs the USA millions of dollars for border patrols and prisons
 Mexicans are seen as a drain on the USA economy
 Migrant workers keep wages low which affects Americans
 They cause problems in cities due cultural and racial issues
 Mexican migrants benefit the US economy by working for low wages
 Mexican culture has enriched the US border states with food, language and music
 The incidents of TB has been increasing greatly due to the increased migration
Effects on Mexico (Santa Ines)
 The Mexican countryside has a shortage of economically active people
 Many men emigrate leaving a majority of women
 Women may have trouble finding marriage partners
 Young people tend to migrate leaving the old and the very young
 Legal and illegal immigrants together send some $6 billion a year back to Mexico
 Certain villages such as Santa Ines have lost 2/3 of its inhabitants

CASE STUDY 7 - An international migration Refugees in Rwanda

 In 1990 the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), a rebel group, composed mostly of Tutsi refugees, invaded
northern Rwanda from Uganda.
 The Rwandan Civil War was fought between the Hutu regime, with support from the French speaking African
countries and the RPF, with support from Uganda.
 Hutu Power became an ideology that asserted that the Tutsi intended to enslave Hutus and thus must be
resisted at all costs.
 The Hutu leader Habyarimana was assassinated in April 1994 which was the short term cause of the mass
killings of Tutsis and pro-peace Hutus
 Extremist political groups organized the massacre. They encouraged young Hutus to carry machetes and
they ‘recruited’ many child soldiers.
 Radio broadcasts significantly encouraged the violence.
 Many people could not escape the violence as roads and transport links were blocked.
 The slaughter ended when rebel forces of the Tutsi led Rwandese Patriotic Front (RPF) overthrew the
genocidal government.
 Many refugees (mostly Hutus) fled from Rwanda to neighboring Zaire (~2 million), Tanzania (~480,000),
Burundi (~200,000) and Uganda (~10,000).
 An estimated 300,000 people died on route to or in refugee camps due to starvation and cholera
 By late 1997 only 100,000 were thought to be still out of Rwanda, and they were thought to be the remnants
of the defeated army and the civilian militias known as Interahamwe.
 Rwanda is a very poor country with a market economy; over 90 percent of the population earns its living
through subsistence agriculture.
 The principal export crops are coffee and tea.
 Gross National Product per capita is estimated at $210 per year.
 The massive genocide and war in 1994 resulted in the destruction of much of the country's economic
infrastructure, including utilities, roads, and hospitals.
 1.3 Population structure
CASE STUDY 8 - A country with a high dependent population = China

 In 2010, the dependency ratio in China was

34.2 percent, i.e that from 100 people of
working age, around 34 seniors and children
had to be supported.
 But China is ageing at an unprecedented
pace. Because fewer children are being born
as larger generations of adults are getting
older, its median age will rise to 49 by 2050,
nearly nine years more than America at that
point. Some cities will be older still. The
Shanghai Population and Family Planning
Committee says that more than a third of
the city's population will be over 60 by 2020.
 By 2050, China's share of pensioners alone
will be 26%.
 The people are living to be older due to better food, water, sanitation and healthcare.
 Yet people also want small families – even though the One Child policy has been relaxed.
What is the One Child Policy?
 One child policy was introduced by Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping in 1979 to limit communist China's
population growth. The policy limits couples to one child.
 China had been prone to floods and famine and wanted to feed all its people.
 Past view under Mao had been "the more people, the stronger we are"
 Families with one child were given free education, priority housing and family benefits.
Exceptions to the policy
 people living in rural areas were allowed to have two children, if the first child is female, to be farm workers.
 Couples could have another child if the first was
disabled or died.
 Ethnic minorities (non-Hans)
What has this policy achieved?
 China's population of about 1.3 billion is said to be
300 million (.3 billion) smaller than it would likely
have been without the enactment of this policy.
 The fertility rate has fallen to 1.66 (2010) births per
woman.
 Such a reduction in fertility reduced the severity of
problems that come with overpopulation, like
epidemics, slums, overwhelmed social services
(health, education, law enforcement, and more),
and strain on the land from farming and waste
Why are people critical of this policy?
 There is a clear preference for male children as they provide the primary financial support for the parents in
their retirement.
 bribery
 forced abortion
 infanticide
 spoiled children
 ageing population – strain on military, tax payers, medical care and 1, 2,4 problem – 1 child takes care of 2
parents and 4 grandparents = stress.
 1.4 Population distribution and density
CASE STUDY 9 - A densely populated country or area (at any scale from local to regional)= London, UK
 5100 people per km2
 Urban area of 9.78 million according to 2011 census – second largest in Europe after Paris
 Coastal areas that are good for fishing, trading etc.
 A flat area of land that is easy to build on
 Areas that are close to a good supply of water e.g. River Thames in London. Water is important for fishing,
drinking, washing, etc.
 Areas with good natural resources e.g. wood or good
 Areas that are close to good fertile agricultural land
 Areas with good developed transport links – Heathrow, Gatwick, trains, underground, buses, black cabs etc
 Plenty of available jobs – one of the world’s leading financial centres
 Available electricity and water supply
 Good communications e.g. internet and mobile phone network
 Good quality schools and hospitals – some of the best in the world
 Global hub city so people come from all over the world – over 300 languages spoken.
CASE STUDY 10 - A sparsely populated country or area (at any scale from local to regional) = Sahara Desert
 Mountainous parts in places in terms of dunes - hard to build houses and transports links on.
 Very hot area during day (as high as 45 degrees)
and below zero at night (large diurnal range)
 Lack of regular rainfall means low water
availability – less than 200mm annually in
Timbuktu, Mali
 Lack of suitable farmland to grow crops –
desertification and overgrazing
 Few jobs
 Poor supply of electricity, gas and water
 Poor communications
 Shortage of natural resources
 No schools or hospitals
 Areas that regularly suffer from natural disasters e.g. droughts
1.5 Settlement and service provision
CASE STUDY 11 - Settlement and service provision in an area=Isle of Wight, UK
 The Isle of Wight is a small island in Southern England
 The population of the island is 138,400
 It’s largest town is the coastal resort of Ryde with 18,700 people
 In the Isle of Wight the number of services that a settlement provides increases with settlement size.
 Small settlements like Yarmouth (with 1000-2000 people) only provide low-order services such as a post
offices and newsagents.
 Large towns like Ryde provide low and high-order services such as leisure centres, chain stores and hospitals.
 Larger settlements like Ryde have a much larger sphere of influence than smaller ones. This means they
attract people from a wider area because of the facilities they offer. People will come from all over the island
to use the shops and services there.
 Whereas a small hamlet or village like Yarmouth may only have a sphere of influence of a couple of
kilometres.
 Services such as department stores selling high order goods have a higher threshold than those selling low
order goods such as newsagents. This means they need a higher number of people to support them and
make them profitable, therefore they will only be found in larger settlements. It also means that there are
fewer big department stores than small newsagents.
 The range of a service or product is the maximum distance people are prepared to travel to purchase it. The
range of a newspaper is much lower than an item of furniture for example.
 1.6 Urban settlements
CASE STUDY 12 - An urban area or areas = Pireaus and Athens, Greece
CBD – shops/offices/businesses and government buildings around Syntagma and Omonia
Inner City – Gazi (old factories now converted into galleries, museums, restaurants, bars and clubs)
Inner Suburbs – Elliniko or Palio Faliro
Outer suburbs – Vari/Varkiza – larger suburban villas and detached homes
Function of Piraeus, Greece
 Piraeus is the urban settlement next to
Athens in Attica.
 It was the port of the ancient city of
Athens and was chosen to serve as the
modern port when Athens was re-
founded in 1834. Piraeus remains a
major shipping and industrial centre
 Reasons suitable as port function:
 It consists of a rocky promontory,
containing three natural harbours
 The large port on the north-west is an important commercial harbour for the eastern Mediterranean Sea as
it is very deep and allows large vessels to shelter there
 Two smaller ports Zea and Mikrolimano also provide good shelter and are used for naval purposes.
 Pireaus location is able to link Athens with every island in the eastern portion of Greece, the island of Crete,
the Cyclades, the Dodecanese, and much of the northern and the eastern Aegean.
 The land was vast when the port was constructed so it could be built with large areas for docking cargo.
Much of that part of the harbour is in suburban Drapetsona and Keratsini.
 Close to oil refineries at Elefsina and other industrial production areas
 Rail, bus, road and metro links for transporting either passengers or cargo
 Workers available as the population of Piraeus is 175, 000,697 (2001).
 Piraeus now also has commercial, educational, administrative and residential functions too
The Mall, Athens – a regional shopping centre in the outer suburbs
 Good road connections as close to Attiki Odos motorway
 Mainline train and bus connections link with other areas of Athens
 Large area of land – 585000 square metres on the outskirts of the city at Maroussi so cheaper than in centre
 4 floors with more than 200 retail stores, restaurants, cafes and Village cinemas
 Space for parking underground (90,000 square metres)
 Workers come from the local area of Maroussi and from further afield
 Many shoppers live within an hour’s drive of the Mall (more than 3 million)
Attiki Odos – a bypass motorway around Athens
 The idea began in 1960s to construct a motorway that would constitute the regional ring road of Athens
 The main objectives at that time were to facilitate traffic circulation in the road network of the Attica basin
and to mitigate the environmental problems caused by traffic in the area.
 Passes through residential districts and areas of great historical significance, made implementation of the
project a complex exercise.
 Nevertheless, in the mid-1990s
 Involved connections with the suburban railway and the subway (METRO) networks, so that they would
become operational before the Olympic Games.
 The construction of tunnels in Imittos, Metamorfosi, Iraklio, Chalandri and Vrilissia etc.
 The various flood protection projects constructed from Mesogeia to Elefsina that have secured the whole
Attica Prefecture against floods.
 Tolls are charged to keep up the maintenance of the road.
 Cars consumes 60% less petrol when using Attica Tollway than the petrol it consumes when using the
congested urban network (where average speed is only about 20 km/hour). It reduces air pollution.
 On Attica Tollway air pollution is systematically monitored by 8 stations set up at key locations along the
motorway.
 Also reclaiming quarry sites (used for excavating material to build Attiki odos) eg for sports and recreational
usage
Problems of living in an MEDC city eg Athens
 Unemployment – approximately 10% (higher now with crisis)
 Many people with limited skills
 Low income families have economic pressures
 Single parents families
 Crime
 Racial tension
 Lack of affordable housing for everyone –
homelessness
 Overcrowding – approximately 3.3 million of
the total 12 million Greeks live in Attica
 Noise
 Air Pollution stays over Athens as mountains
surround the city causing temperature
inversion
 Derelict land
 Empty buildings
 Graffiti
 Traffic congestion
 Massive waste production and landfill at Ano Liosia is full
 Expensive to maintain services eg health and hospitals
 Loss of Greenfield sites due to urban sprawl
 Illegal immigrants (8-10% of the population thought to be migrants)
 Disruptions due to strike activity
 Riots
 Cost of living high( 90% of New York) but average wage lower in comparison
 1.7 Urbanisation
CASE STUDY 13 - A rapidly growing urban area in a developing country and migration to it = Rio de Janeiro,
Brazil
 Rio was formerly the capital of Brazil until the government
decided to locate the capital inland in Brasilia.
 Approximately 10 million people live in and around Rio.
 It is a city of contrasts with rich people living in luxury
around Copacabana beach and the vast majority living in
poor conditions around the edge of the city.
 Problems in the city include housing, crime, traffic and
pollution.
HOUSING
 An estimated 0.5 million are homeless.
 Approximately 1 million live in favelas (informal shanty
settlements). Two examples are Morro de Alemao and
Rocinha. (YOU MUST KNOW THESE NAMES!!)
 Another million live in poor quality government housing in
the periferia.
 The favela housing lacks basic services like running water,
sewerage or electricity.
 The houses are constructed from wood, corrugated iron,
broken bricks and tiles or other materials found lying
around.
 Favelas are often found on land that is steep, by the side
of roads, railways etc and flash floods can destroy such houses and take peoples lives.
 At first the government tried to bulldoze such communities but now they remain because of the community
spirit, samba music and football etc.
CRIME
 Favelas are thought to be associated with drugs, violence etc. Tourists to Rio are warned not to enter favela
areas or take valuables to beaches etc.
 Some wealthy are moving to new towns to avoid crime.
TRAFFIC AND POLLUTION
 Mountains around the city keep the fumes in the city and make the vehicles use a limited number of routes.
This results in congestion and noise
 A vast amount of rubbish is produced and in favelas this is not collected. Along with open sewerage drains it
results in the spread of diseases.
SOLUTIONS TO THESE PROBLEMS
SELF HELP HOUSING ROCINHA
 Most of old temporary wooden houses replaced by brick and tile and extended to use every square
centimetre of land.
 Many residents have set up their own shops and small industries in the informal sector.
 Government have added electricity, paving, lighting, water pipes but the steep hills still restrict.
2. FAVELA BAIRRO PROJECT
 1990S government chose 16 favelas
to improve using 250 million euros.
 Replaced wood buildings with brick
and gave each house a yard.
 Widened the streets so that the
emergency services and waste
collectors could get access.
 Improved sanitation, health facilities
and sports facilities.
 Used residents for labour to develop
their skills and in return residents
paid taxes.
3. NEW TOWN BARRA DA TIJUCA
  Land outside to South of Rio was uninhabited until motorway was built in 1970s
 Rich moved out of Rio to avoid problems of city
 It has 5km of shops, schools, hospitals, offices, places of entertainment etc
 Spacious and luxury accommodation in 10-30 floor high rise apartment blocks with security and facilities or
detached houses.
 Both adults in each family chose to work in high paid jobs to pay for expensive life.
 Families with own cars but also well connected with public transport.
These areas have own favelas as house keepers, gardeners etc cannot afford accommodation
Informal sector industry in LEDCS: beach vendor on Copacabana beach, Rio, Brazil
 Beach vendor sells sunhats, lotions, bikinis, cold drinks, jewellery and roses for 50 cents.
 Self employed
 Small scale
 Little capital (money) involved
 Labour intensive
 Use cheap resources
 Low standards of goods
 Work irregular wages for uncertain wages
 No government assistance as not paying any taxes
 Illegal
 Women and children as workers
Good as:
 Employs many people 15,000
 Gives skills that many be useful in other careers
 Uses local materials
 Theme 2 The Natural Environment
2.1 Earthquakes and Volcanoes
CASE STUDY 14 - An earthquake = Kobe, Japan earthquake 1995 (MEDC)
Intro
 7.2 Richter on 17 January 1995
 5.46am
 Epicentre 20km south of Kobe in Osaka bay
 14km depth so much ground shaking and soil liquefaction
Effects
 Collapse of elevated roads and bridges eg 630m stretch of Hanshin expressway collapsed
 103,500 buildings collapsed
 Only 20% buildings in CBD usable after earthquake – 62 high rise destroyed and only 19 rebuilt
 Port facilities (30% Japans commercial shipping) destroyed by soil liquefaction
 Ruptured pipes and poles stopped city’s gas and electricity
 6300 deaths – 2900 more from suicides or neglect
 35000 injuries
 Area of Nagata badly affected – timber framed buildings owned by poor were death traps
 60% deaths were over 60 year old people
 300 fires in city after gas pipes ruptured
 300,000 immediately homeless – 20% of Kobe-
95,000 in temporary accommodation 1 year
later
 $99.3 billion damage and $120 billion needed
for reconstruction – only 7% had insurance
 20,000 lost jobs
 Businesses moved away – Kawasaki shipping
and Sumitomo rubber
Management
 State’s crisis management very poor
 Inadequate communication between
government and administrators
 People running through street hit by falling debris ignoring fires
 5 hr delay calling Self Defence Force / Army – only 200 troops
 Only 21 Jan 30,000 troops
 Took several days to designate disaster zone
 3 days no electricity
 Delays in accepting international help – US military based in Japan, foreign medical teams and sniffer dogs
 Kobe’s resident’s believed that not at risk
Improvements since then
 All school children now have earthquake and drills 4X per year
 Earthquake kits can be bought in department stores – bucket, bottle water, food, radio, torch, first aid kit and
protective head gear
 Earthquake Disaster Prevention Day 1 Sept every year for offices etc
CASE STUDY 14 - A volcano = Mt St Helens, USA May 1980
 Mount St Helens erupted on the 18th May 1980 in Washington State USA.
 It is part of the Cascade Range Mountains.
 This was a catastrophic eruption, the biggest and worst eruption ever to hit the USA.
 Causes: Mount St. Helens is a volcano which lies near to a destructive plate boundary where the small Juan
de Fuca Plate is being subducted underneath the North American Plate.
 The trigger stimulus was a magnitude 5 earthquake underneath Mount St. Helens on the 18th of May at
8:32am.
 This caused a bulge on the North face of the volcano to become unstable and collapse as an avalanche.
 The volcano then went to erupt ash and produce pyrclastic flows – currents of hot gas and ash.
Effects on the Landscape:
 400 metres was blown off the top of the mountain and a one mile horse shoe-shaped crater was left that
was 500m deep.
 Every plant and animal within 25km north of the volcano was killed – approximately 7000 animals died.
Every tree within 30km of the volcano was flattened.
 The water produced from melting ice and snow on top of the volcano create mudflows, which choked rivers
and killed all fish and water life.
 Spirit Lake was filled with mud.
 12 million salmon died.
 The eruption also destroyed 250 homes, 47 bridges, 15 miles of railways and 185 miles of highway.
Effect on People and the Economy:
 57 people died - most of whom were outside of the evacuated zones.
 Ash clogged up car engines and farm machinery.
 The cost of ash damaged to farmers crops and machinery totalled £100 million.
 15cm of ash fell causing traffic chaos and airline flights to be cancelled.
 The timber industry in the area was destroyed by the flattening of trees which significantly damaged them.
Telephone lines and electricity supplies were knocked out.
 Tourists no long visited the area causing a reduction in the local economy.
Predicting Mount St Helens
 There were warnings that a
major eruption would eventually
happen….
 From March onwards in 1980
there had been minor
earthquakes which were
recorded and monitored using
seismographs. The increased in
size and frequency, indicated
that the volcano was preparing
to erupt.
 Small ash and steam eruptions
during the 2 months prior to the
eruption indicated increased
volcanic activity too.
 A bulge on the north side of the
volcano indicated that magma
was moving up into the magma chamber. Tiltmeters were used to monitor the changing size and shape of
the mountain which would suggest volcanic activity is about to happen.
 The authorities used past eruptions to identify danger zone and evacuated residents from these areas,
however some refused to leave and scientists stayed to study the volcano.
 Emergency Helicopters and aeroplanes were on hand in case an eruption occurred.
 The scientists were not able accurately when Mount St. Helens would erupt and so people were reluctant to
leave their homes for a long period of time.
 The experts did not predict that the eruption blast would occur on the north side of the volcano. As a result
the exclusion zones set up were in the wrong place and so 90% of the people that died were outside the
exclusion zone in what were thought to be safe areas.
Short Term Aid
 Short term aid involved rescuing stranded people, providing shelter for those who has lost their homes,
giving medical supplies to those who were injured.
 The authorities were able to mobilise many people and much equipment quickly to help in these operations.
 The aid operation rescued 198 people.
 Unfortunately, the landscape had changed so much that maps were no longer accurate, this slowed down
the rescue efforts.
Long Term Aid
 Long term aid involved returning the area to what it was like before the eruption and it took a very long
time.
 A million tonnes of ash were removed from roads, buildings and airports. Removing the ash cost over
$1million in the town of Yakima and it took ten weeks.
 Millions of trees were replanted because there was a huge loss of timber which would cost $300million.
 Compensation was given to farmers because what they produced on their farms was destroyed by being
covered by ash. This would cost about $70million.
 New tourist facilities were built because there were less tourists, meetings and conferences in the area after
the eruption. It was important to get these people back as they input a lot of money into the economy.
 A channel was dredged to remove logs and levees were rebuilt to reduce floods which could happen in the
future. This is because the Columbia River shipping channel was closed. This caused the port of Portland
$3million per month in lost trade.
 A new highway was built and major repairs were undertaken because 250km of roads and 25km of railways
were damaged, costing $7million.
 Money was given to rebuild houses after 200 homes were destroyed.
 Money was given to redevelop the salmon hatcheries after 12 million baby salmon were killed.
 2.2 Rivers
CASE STUDY 15 - The opportunities presented by a river or rivers, the associated hazards and their management =
The Mississippi River, USA (MEDC)
 Mississippi is 3800km long
 Flows through ten states
 Has over 100 tributaries
 Has a drainage basin covering 1/3 of the USA
What are the benefits of living next to the Mississippi River?
 Settlements-in the lower course of the river the land is flat and easy to build on.
 Nearly all people living next to the Mississippi depend on it in some way for their livelihoods (economically).
 Tourism – can happen in rural and urban areas along the river. Recreational hobbies like canoeing,
swimming, boating, sailing, water skiing, fishing etc are popular.
 Industry – The land in the lowlands of the river course is flat and easy to build on. Water from the river is
used for cooling in factories and power stations. Also the input s and outputs from the industry can be
transported on the river too. Finally, waste (some treated and some not) and warm water can be released
into the river too.
 Transportation - Waterways are useful and important for transportation. Often this is for cargo boats. The
total cargo of 2004 was around 31.5 million short tons consisting of 72% imported cargo and 28% exported
cargo. Arriving imports include steel, iron, forest
products, aluminium, and natural rubber. Exports
consist of mostly chemical substances (pesticides,
dyes), animal/ vegetable products, and forest
products.
 Commercial fishing (and shrimping in the
delta) are important to the people of the
Mississippi drainage basin economically and for a
food supply. They rely on a healthy river and
delta.
 Farming - The flood plain in particular is rich in
nutrients and the soils are used for agriculture. It provides food for people along the river and extra to be
sold elsewhere commercially (including exports for abroad).
 The Mississippi is home to many Native Americans who live up in the Upper Mississippi Valley (Santee,
Dakota etc). This is their traditional tribal lands so has sacred significance for them.
What are the problems of living next to the Mississippi River?
 Water Pollution is problematic. Poor farm management results in an inch of topsoil being lost every 12 years
and this will flow into the river. Farmers spray herbicide and insecticide chemicals on the soil and this too
will flow into the river causing algal blooms (eutrophication).
 Poor quality drinking water - Many cities along rivers take their drinking water from the river. The chemicals
inside the water cannot be removed by present purification methods. People who drink river water have
much higher cancer rates than people who drink well water; chemicals are largely to blame.
 Fish in streams have been observed with cancer, fin rot, deformed bones and skin diseases.
 Fish eating birds such as the Bald Eagle, Peregrine Falcon, Osprey and Brown Pelican were, until recently, on
the verge of becoming extinct due to problems in the food chain.
 Hurricanes strike by the delta of the Mississippi which can cause flooding, storm surges and problems for the
people of places like St. Louis.
 Flooding – see 1993 below
Causes of 1993 flooding:
 Heavy rain in April 1993 saturated the upper Mississippi basin
 Thunderstorms in June caused flashfloods
 Mid July 180mm of rain in one day
 Levees in nearby towns collapsed
Effects of 1993 flooding:
 43 deaths
 50,000 people evacuated
 26,000km of land flooded
 $2.46 billion crop losses
  River traffic stopped for several months
 $12 billion in damages
 Contents of and the buildings themselves destroyed
 Threat of disease from sewage
 Insurance claims high
 Stagnant water attracted mosquitoes and rats
Management:
 6 huge dams and 105 reservoirs
 Afforestation to delay runoff
 Strengthening the levees with concrete mattresses 25mx8m
 Making the course shorter and straighter - from 530km to 300km by cutting through the neck of meanders
to get the water passed towns more quickly to the sea
 Diversionary spillways – overflow channels 9km long
 Less construction on the floodplain eg St Louis.
 2.3 Coasts
CASE STUDY 16 - The opportunities presented by an area or areas of coastline, the associated hazards and their
management = The Holderness coast, UK.
Why are they important and how are they being used by us?
 Tourism. There are many resorts along coasts and tourists
enjoy using the coast e.g. swimming and sunbathing.
 Sport. Many sport use the coast e.g. sailing, surfing, diving,
kite surfing and links golf.
 Ecosystems. There are many unique ecosystems along the
coast like mangroves, sand dunes and estuarine. Also the
biodiversity along the coast is varied and unique.
 Fishing. Oceans are full of fish (although supplies are
declining). Many people make their living from catching
and selling fish. Aquaculture (seafood farming), also takes
place along the coast.
 Oil and gas reserves. Much of the world's oil and gas is
found under the oceans. Ownership of these reserves is
very important.
 Housing. Many people choose to live along the coast
because of its beauty and the relaxing lifestyle
 Industry. Many industries like to locate near the coast
because it is easy to trade.
 Transport. The oceans are used to transport people and
goods. Many ports are found in coastal areas and help
allow trade between countries.
 Walkers. Many people enjoy walking, cycling or riding
along coastal paths and coastal areas.
How are humans threatening our coasts?
 Sea level rises caused by global warming. Low lying countries like Bangladesh will be particularly vulnerable.
 Pollution from sewage discharge, but also accidents like the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
 Litter. Litter thrown into the sea can also kill animals. Turtles often mistake plastic bags for jellyfish.
 Overfishing. Many fish stocks around the world are being over fished to dangerous levels.
 Erosion. Many coastlines are being eroded by stronger storms and also rising sea levels.
 Tropical storms. Because of rising sea levels, the frequency of storms and magnitude (strength) are
increasing causing flooding, storm surges and wind damage.
 Privatisation. More and more stretches of the beach are privately owned (houses, hotels, etc.). This is
making it increasingly hard for locals to access previously open areas. The privatisation of areas is also
increasing the cost of land, making it less affordable for many residents.
Erosion
 Holderness is a coastline that is 61km long
 It is in East Yorkshire
 It is the fastest eroding coast in Europe
 It stretches from Flamborough Head in the North to Spurn Head in the South
 In some places like Cowden it has been eroding
at 10m per year in recent times
Why?
 Geology – the cliffs on this coast South of
Flamborough Head are mainly till/boulder clay
and this is easily eroded by corrosion,
corrosion and hydraulic action. It is prone to
slumping and mass movements when wet.
 Narrow beaches – do not provide a lot of
protection for the cliffs. They are narrow as
Flamborough Head stops sediment from the
North replenishing the beaches along
Holderness. Also it is made of chalk which
 dissolves when eroded rather than making sand for the beach. Also the coastal defences at Mappleton lead
to narrow beaches
 Powerful waves – the fetch is long- all the way from the Arctic Ocean
 The sea floor is deep so there is less friction to slow down the wave
 The coast faces the dominant wind and wave direction – from the NE.
 Low pressure weather systems pass in from the North Sea
 SO destructive waves – with large wave height and high frequency crash on the cliffs. Many storms increase
their action.
 Weathering – physical, chemical and biological weathering
Effects?
 Around 30 villages have been lost to the sea since Roman times
 Property prices along the coast have fallen dramatically due to risk of erosion
 Visitor numbers dropped 30% between 1998-2006 in Bridlington
 Many caravan parks at risk from erosion eg Ulrome is losing about 10 pitches a year on average
 Very expensive to protect the coastline - £2 million spent to protect Mappleton in 1991
 Gas Terminal at Easington is at risk as it is only 25 metres from the cliff edge. This accounts for 25% of
Britain’s gas
 80,000 square metres of Britain’s best farmland lost per year – which has a huge effect on farmer’s
livelihoods
 SSSIs (sites of special scientific interest) are threatened. Eg at Easington there are lagoons where terns (a
type of bird like a sea gull) breed. 1% of British terns are from there. The lagoons are separated from the sea
by a narrow band of sand and shingle if this erodes the lagoons would be destroyed.
Management
 11.4km out of 61km currently protected by hard engineering
 Bridlington protected by 4.7km of sea wall as well as timber groynes
 Hornsea village protected by concrete sea wall, timber groynes and rip rap
 Gabions just south of Hornsea protect Hornsea caravan park
 Mappleton – in 1991 two rock groynes and 500m long revetment were built, They cost £2 million and were
built to protect the village and the B1242 coast road
 Withernsea – groynes, sea wall have been built and rip rap placed in front of all when damaged in severe
storms in 1992
 Easington gas terminal protected by a revetment
 Eastern end of Spurn Head protected by groynes and rip rap
Effects of the management
 Groynes trap the sediment but down the coast the erosion increases eg downdrift of Mappleton the cliffs in
the South are eroding and Cowden farm may fall into the sea
 Sediment does not flow down to the Humber estuary due to the protection and tidal mudflats are decreasing
so flooding may be more problematic
 Protection is encouraging bays to form and this may increase pressure on headlands and it may be too
expensive to protect them
 Many of these schemes are unsustainable
Management in future?
 Shoreline Management Plan (SMP)for Holderness for next 50 years recommends holding the line in some
places eg (Bridlington, Withernsea, Mappleton and Easington Gas Terminal) where there are villages and
industry
 Do nothing in more unpopulated stretches – unpopular with locals
 Coastal realignment of businesses eg Caravan parks move further inland – but should they be financially
compensated?
 Sea wall proposed at Easington gas work – would cost £4.5 million but would eroded Easington more (where
700 people live) If longer sea wall to protect both would cost £7 million
 Offshore reefs of tyres suggested – but would these harm the environment?
2.5Climate and natural vegetation
CASE STUDY 17 - An area of tropical rainforest – Amazon Brazil
Climate
 Manaus, Brazil (3 degrees South of the equator, 44m above sea level)
 Equatorial climates have high humidity, little seasonal change and are very uniform through the year
 All year round the temperatures are high and constant.
This is because:
 The sun is high in the sky, if not directly overhead
 The sun does not have to travel through such a large amount of the atmosphere so less heat is lost to dust
and water vapour in the atmosphere (compared to the poles)
 The sun in concentrated in a small area
 Equatorial climates have high annual rainfall totals (in excess of 2000 mm)
This is because:
 Convectional thunderstorms occur most afternoons in the year
 These storms happen because of the convergence of warm air brought in by the trade winds
 Warm air is forced to rise
 It cools, condenses(producing
towering cumulonimbus clouds) giving
heavy rain
 Low air pressure is then created
 Manaus has two or three drier months
when the sun is over the opposite
tropic (Cancer in the case of Manaus).
When is sun is further away there is
less evaporation

 Ocean currents/Continentality -
Equatorial climates are generally
considered to be inland so ocean
currents are not having a major effect
on the climate
 Winds - There are no significant winds
in the equatorial area. Indeed the windless equatorial area is known as the ‘Doldrums’ – but the trade winds
bring warm air from higher latitudes
 Altitude – Equatorial climates are low lying. Mountainous environments on the equator eg Mt Kenya do not
have tropical climatic conditions and may even have snow
Vegetation
 There are four layers of vegetation in the tropical rainforest – Emergents, the Canopy layer, the Under
canopy and the Shrub layer
 The emergent trees grow to 60 m as they try to gather the maximum amount of sunlight for photosynthesis.
 There are often few branches on the tall, straight trunks. This is so they focus on growing tall to reach the
sunlight.
 Vines, called lianas, wind around the emergents to get to the light
 The emergents have buttress roots to support the tree
 Most of the trees are in the canopy layer and it is a closed layer which allows little light through.
 Many plants have waxy leaves and ‘drip tips’ to allow heavy rainfall to run off so the leaves are not damaged.
 The shrub layer has large leaves and dark
green foliage to maximise
photosynthesis.
 Epiphytes grow on the side of trees –
they feed on rotting dead leaves
Rainforest clearance in the Amazon, Brazil
 1/3 of the world’s trees in Amazon
 Estimates that 15-40% has been cleared
15 football pitches per minute cleared for:
 Slash and burn farming by Amerindian
tribes like the Yanomami
  Subsistence farming by 25 million landless peasants
 Commercial cattle ranching for fast food chains
 5300km Amazonian highway
 900km railway line from Carajas to the coast
 Timber/ logging companies
 Mineral mining eg diamonds, gold
 HEP
 Settlements eg Carajas
Effects:
 30000 known species could be threatened
 May lose species that are as yet undiscovered
 Could lose the cure for diseases like Aids and cancer eg periwinkle found to cure Leukaemia
 Loss of Amerindians due to European diseases
 Loss of Amerindian traditions
 Soil erosion as lack of interception as canopy removed
 Loss of nutrients in soil
 Climate change and global warming
 Global balance of carbon and oxygen affected
Ways to protect Amazonia:
 Zones for different activities
 Loggers use selective logging practices
 Laws
 Limit licences to be given out
 Restricting use of heavy destructive machinery
 Encourage helilogging-uses helicopter
 Community forestry development scheme to educate local people
 Avoid construction where local tribes exist
 Fines and prosecution for lawbreaking
 Increased patrols
CASE STUDY 18 - An area of hot desert = Timbuktu, Mali, Sahara
Climate
Temperature
 The average temperature in Timbuktu, Mali is very hot at 29.1 degrees Celsius
 There is a range of mean monthly temperatures of 12.5 °C which is a low range.
 The hottest month (May) is very, very hot having a mean temperature of 34.5 degrees Celsius
 The coolest month (January) is really warm having an average temperature of 22 degrees Celsius
● Daily temperature (diurnal) - Highest 50oC and Lowest 0oC (could even be below 0oC overnight) so diurnal
range of 50oC
Annual Precipitation – 208mm with multiple dry months
Why?
Latitude
● Around 15-30 degrees North and South of equator.
● The temperatures are higher than the equatorial rainforest even though it is further from the equator as
there is no cloud cover to block the suns rays heating the ground.
● Air pressure is high (anticyclones) both North and South of the low pressure belt at the equator.
● The equatorial air has been warm and wet and
blown along North and South. It descends in the
high pressure zone and is dry and warming so it
does not bring rain.
Continentality
● Generally deserts are inland (as they are in the rain
shadow)
● But they are often on the west coast of continents
as cold ocean currents cool the air above them on
the way to the equator. It reaches the west coast
of the continents and as the cold air passes the warm land it is heated by the land. Air that is being heated
cannot experience condensation so the desert is dry.
Altitude
● Deserts are inland but if it is mountainous deserts will not occur.
● Deserts are low lying in the rain shadow
● The air from the ocean is forced to rise by the high land.
● It cools and condenses and there is precipitation on the windward side of the high land.
● Once the air reaches the top of the high land it is no longer forced to rise so the air sinks
● It warms and condensation cannot occur as the air warms
● So it remains dry in the rain shadow
Winds
 Often blow from inland in deserts – so dry
Vegetation
 Xerophytes, such as cacti, usually have special means of storing and conserving water.
 Large cacti, like the barrel and organ-pipe cacti, store large amounts of water in their thick stems and pulpy
interior.
 Saguaro cactus lives at heights of 610 to 1,068 meters and extracts water from its environment every chance
it gets.
 Its roots are only a few inches (2.5 centimeters) deep in the soil, so it can soak up as much rain and dew
before it evaporates.
 A giant saguaro can soak up to a ton of water during a heavy rain.
 The saguaro also has a spongy inside layer that helps distribute water in the plant.
 Its outside skin is pleated, so when more water is absorbed its outside can expend to make room.
 Growth is also very slow for the saguaro. It can take thirty years or more before the saguaro can reach a few
feet (1.5 meters) high. After eighty years pass, the plant can be 20 feet (6 meters) tall and still not be full-
grown. Two centuries may pass before the plant reaches its mature height. By growing slowly, the saguaro
expends less energy, food, and water, making it fully adapted to the desert.
 Many plants conserve water by losing their leaves - Acacia trees and the ocotillo, a shrub, both shed their
leaves during long bouts of dryness.
 Seeds can survive without water for indefinite periods of time. Seeds only begin to sprout when the rain
washes away anti-sprouting chemicals on their shells.
 Many desert plants sprout, mature, flower, and then die in a very short period of time.
 Other plants have thin, knife-like leaves that prevent water loss by giving the sun a smaller area to evaporate
water. Others, like the Joshua tree, have needle-like leaves with a waxy resin that prevents much water from
evaporating. Another type of plant, called living stones, exposes only a few of its leaves to the sun. The rest
of the plant remains underground, safe from the sun and heat.
 Other plants remain hydrated with their deep roots tapping water from the water table.
 Many plants in the desert are located many feet (meters) away from one another. One reason may be that
moisture is limited so plants must space out.
 Another concept is that some plants are poisonous to others. Roots of the creosote bush have chemicals on
them just for the purpose of keeping other plants out of their way.
 Theme 3 Economic Development
3.1 Development
CASE STUDY 19 - A transnational corporation and its global links = NIKE
 Nike sportswear company is a US based TNC.
 Nike has its company headquarters in Oregon, USA
and here is
 Nike employs about 20000 people around the
world -most of these are employed in product
design, marketing and administration in the USA.
 There are about 500000 working in Asia in
companies to which Nike subcontracts most of its
manufacturing. There are factories making Nike
products in Taiwan, South Korea, China, Indonesia, Vietnam, the Philippines and Bangladesh – mainly LEDCs
and NICs.
 Nike products are sold worldwide in Nike shops, retailers and online (mainly in MEDCs)
 The main reasons for multinational companies (MNCs) set up in their factories/production in NICs and
LEDCs:
To keep costs down, locating where there are:
Raw materials
Low labour costs
Cheap land or building costs
Low business rates (the tax paid by a company)
The advantages of Nike setting up in NICs and LEDCs include:
 Jobs are provided for LEDC’s countries such as Bangladesh, India, Thailand, China, Vietnam and Indonesia
allowing poorer people to earn a wage.
 In countries such as India, and Indonesia road networks have improved around the factories meaning that
people can move around much easier within the area they work.
 Areas of land that were once ugly ’eyesore’ now look much better than they did before because the building
look better than waste ground.
 Workers manage to earn enough money to keep their family in food which before the jobs was quite difficult
because they were unemployed.
 Improved education and skills for the workers of these factories.
 A better economic base for government means they won’t have to pay as many benefits out and
unemployment levels will drop.
The disadvantages include:
 Long working hours 60 hours a week plus more and very few breaks or workers’ rights.
 Health and safety very poor in these countries meaning that many accidents take place in the sweat shops
without any compensation to the injured person.
 Damage to the environment by ignoring local laws means that many rivers have become polluted with
chemicals coming from the factories.
 There is little reinvestment in the local area TNC’s just look after their own factories and don’t contribute to
anything else such as housing.
 Factories are often footloose and jobs insecure. If labour costs increase, the company may move elsewhere
meaning that these people go unemployed again.
 Natural resources are being over exploited such as wood, coal and oil to make new products. For example
Nike shoes have rubber soles rubber often comes from oil.
 3.2 Food production
CASE STUDY 20 - A farm or agricultural system = Dairy Farming in an MEDC - UK
 Name of farm owner - Mr Gilbert Hitchen
 Location – Cheshire Plains
 Relief – low lying, flat land
 Soil – deep and rich growing good quality grass
 Climate – reliable rain throughout year,
o mild winters – so farmer does not need a lot of
winter fodder
o summers not very warm – so grass does not die
 Size – 450 hectares
 Animals – 190 dairy cows
 Problems – herd destroyed because of foot and mouth
disease in 1960s
 Transport – M6 motorway nearby
 Market – Manchester and Merseyside near
 Technology – Refrigerated lorry to transport milk
o Computers control food in relation to milk production
 Income – milk sales
o EU subsidies
CASE STUDY 21 – A farm or agricultural system - Intensive subsistence wet rice farming in the Phillippines
 Philippines is a group of 7000 islands in the Pacific Ocean
 Name of farm owner – Maximo Casiendo
 Location of farm – Barangay Busay
 Since when has he had farm-1996 because of land reform act
 Relief – Flat at 70m above sea level
 Soil – fertile clay loams
 Climate – average temperature 25 degrees and 1800m
rainfall
 Size of land – 2.6 hectares
 Crops-rice,maize, vegetables and cassava
 Labour- Mr Casiendo and his seven children
 Machines- rice thresher (which he rents to others in village)
o Needs to hire water buffalo to plough for 28 euros
per hectare
 Chemicals – Fertilisers (8 bags of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium
o Insecticide to kill leafhoppers
o Herbicides to control weeds
 Diesel- 30 litres per hectare for rice thresher
 Output – 520 cavans of rice per year and maize (subsistence – most for family use but some may be sold)
Case study 22 - A country or region suffering from food shortages = Ethiopia (LEDC)
 Ethiopia is one of the poorest countries in the world
 In late 2015 10.1 million people need food aid (1/10th of the population) and threatened by hunger
 More than half of them are children.
 The government has launched a huge national effort, allocating nearly $200m to deal with the food crisis.
Cause:
 The main cause is drought caused by El Nino (Pacific Ocean warming)
 High air pressure, means air descends and warms so no condensation and therefore no precipitation
 Rainfall level is considerably lower than average
 Famine caused as poor roads make it difficult to transport food
Effects:
 Farmland dried out
 Animals died and crops failed causing widespread starvation and illness
 10.1 million people needed food from MEDC charities like Oxfam and Save the Children
 People migrated to other areas or refugee camps
 People malnourished – 400,000 children likely to be malnourished in 2016
 People living in poverty
Desertification in the Sahel, Africa
 The Sahel is a narrow belt of semi arid land South of the Sahara in Africa
 Rainfall is only in 1 or 2 months of the year
 Rainfall is irregular with no rain in some years
 Droughts in Ethiopia (1983), Sudan (1984-91) and Somalia (1990s)
Causes of desertification:
 Climate change and global warming allow less rain per year
 Water holes dry up
 Increased population growth – 3 or 4%increase each year
 Overgrazing of cattle, camels, goats etc increased 40% since 1980s
 Animals taken to wells which decreases height of water table
 Non drought resistant grasses die
 Farming on marginal land
 Farming the same crop each year
 Lack of fallow land
 Taking local trees for firewood
All these increase the size of the desert, increase soil erosion and cause famines for people
 3.3 Industry
CASE STUDY 23- An industrial zone or factory = Changing location of heavy industry: The iron and steel industry in
Wales
 In the 19th century the iron and steel works were
found in South Wales (eg Ebbw Vale) on the
coalfields as:

 Coal was bulky and needed in large quantities so it

was cheaper and easier to locate near this input.
 Water from nearby rivers used for power and
effluent (waste)
 Exports sent by routes through valleys so easy
 Large numbers of unskilled workers from
surrounding villages like Ebbw vale and Merthyr
Tydfil
 Local markets eg Cardiff and Newport
 Small scale and manual technology only
By the 1970s Ebbw Vale had only 2 steelworks because the advantages no longer existed.
The steelworks moved to the coast at Port Talbot because:
 Imported coal from far away as Australia so port needed
 Iron ore imported from North Africa and America
 Coastal water used for cooling
 Electricity from National Grid
 Large are of cheap flat land
 Government and EU incentives to locate there
 M4 motorway links Wales to London for outputs
 Computers, lasers and other technology now used
2016 Tata Steel (an Indian TNC) who had bought Port Talbot announced they want to close the Port Talbot steel
works as it is no longer economically viable – thousands of people may lose their jobs if this goes ahead.
CASE STUDY 24 - High technology industries: The M4 corridor, UK
M4 corridor runs from Wales to London passing Bristol and Newbury on the way – it has a lot of high tech firms like
microelectronics, Rolls Royce and British
Aerospace because it has:
 M4 motorway to allow inputs and
outputs to be transported
 Mainline railway Wales to London
 Heathrow airport for international
links
 Large labourforce who have moved
out of London into new towns and
overspill towns
 Nearby firms to exchange ideas
 Near Bristol, Bath, Reading and
London Universities for expertise and
research
 Attractive environment for workers eg National parks like Dartmoor
High technology industries: Cambridge Science Park
 Was built in 1970
 90 high tech firms locate there
 The majority of companies are involved in scientific research and development
They locate here because of:
 Low cost of land
 Large area of land – 152 acres
 Pleasant working environment as 20 of 152 acres are parkland and landscaped
 Large supply of expert labour from nearby Cambridge university - 5,000 people in total.
 Links with Cambridge University for research and development
 Park facilities include a CCTV system, conference facilities, restaurant and bar, child care nursery, health and
fitness centre and squash courts.
 Companies can share maintenance and support services with other firms
 It is linked by roads, regular bus service and cycle routes to the town centre.
 Not too far from London Stansted airport for international links
 M11 motorway link to London for inputs and outputs
 3.4 Tourism
CASE STUDY 25 - An area where tourism is important - Arachova, Viotia, Greece
Location:
 Mt Parnassos is at the Southern tip of the Pindos mountain range
 It is in the Viotia region of Central Greece
 It is only 180km from Athens – close proximity for weekend getaways
 It is one of the largest mountains in Greece at 2457 m
Attractions:
 The Area has been given National Park status since 1938
 Every year some 150,000 people visit the two ski centres of Kellaria and Fterrolakka at Parnassos
 14 lifts cater to up to 15,000 visitors per day
 25 marked runs, 12 ski routes with 36km in length total. The longest is 4km long.
 Slopes cater for all abilities from beginners to Black runs
 7 cross country ski routes
 Half pipe for snowboaders
 Snowmobiling
 Many facilities on the slopes for food, drinks and ski rental
 World famous Delphi site is very close where the Holy Oracle predicted the future of the Ancient Greeks
 Amazing flora, including Cephallonian fir, and fauna, like wolves, hares, eagles and vultures
 Scenic views of surrounding countryside and olive groves
 Hiking, mountain biking, 4x4 driving, paragliding, hunting
 Many well marked mountain trails for walkers
 Unique scenery – the limestone rock that dominates results in numerous precipices, caves and gorges
 Local vineyards
 Beautiful, traditional charm of Arachova with its local stone houses and staired side roads ascending up
through the town.
ADVANTAGES OF TOURISM
Benefits on the economy
 Increases GDP
 Taxes increase the revenue for the
government
 Jobs – more diverse range
 Less reliance on farming and greater
economic diversification
 Foreign currency
 Multiplier effect
 Helps fund more infrastructure
Social benefits
 News ideas and improves education
 More services for locals to use
 Better public transport, services and
widens amenities for locals to use
Environmental benefits
 National park status since 1938 – encourages tighter environmental legislation
 Litter collection
 Planting trees
 Buildings in Arachova built to local traditional standards to ensure quality of the environment remains
DISADVANTAGES OF TOURISM
Problems for the economy
 Leakage – money spent on imported products from outside
 Seasonal jobs – more workers needed only in winter high season
 Managerial jobs mainly go to the people from outside – and locals tend to get the more unskilled and
manual jobs e.g. the lady who is the Manager of the ski lifts comes from Athens
 Reliance on tourism in times of an economic crisis can be risky
  House prices increase – so local young people cannot afford to stay in the area when they try to buy their
first home
 Prices of goods like food increase so life becomes tough for locals
Social problems
 Local traditions lost
 Young people more exposed to ideas from outside that can bring tension between the youngsters and older
generations
 Increase rift between those who have done well and badly out of tourism – dual society
 Increased material aspirations
Environmental problems
 Traffic congestion - roads are jammed when coaches make their way through Arachova town on their way
to the ski resort or Delphi archaeological site.
 Erosion of ski slopes by up to 20cm on the centre of the piste which also results in soil compaction and
decreased infiltration.
 Loss of vegetation on the slopes – reduced vegetation height, vegetation diversity and increased bare
ground and exposure of rocks.
 The landscape was quarried and hacked apart to install the ski lifts all over the mountain. Little
consideration was given to the environmental impact when they were installed back in the 1970s and 1980s
pollution from large number of vehicles.
 Litter and graffiti
CASE STUDY 26- An area where tourism is important = Zanzibar (LEDC)
Located in the Indian ocean 37km from coast of Tanzania
Why is it attractive to tourists?
 Climate – temperature always 28-38 degrees
 Island surrounded by coral reefs
 Unspoilt white sand beaches
 Swimming with dolphins
 Jozani forest reserve with walks with guides
 Red colombus monkey can be seen
 Stone Town with Dr Livingstones house
Effects of tourism on the environment
Good
 Hotels at Nungwi built to fit in with the environment
Bad
 Raw sewage flows straight into the Indian ocean
 Waste left around island
 Fear of water contamination and lack of drinking water
Effects of tourism on local people
Good
 Job opportunities
 More diverse economy - no longer just relying on primary industry
 Improved roads to use
Bad
 Loss of fishing stocks
 Loss of access to beach for locals as the hotels control it
 Many jobs menial and low paid
 Fresh water supplies are only for the benefit of the hotels
 Cost of food has risen locally
 Tourists culture and behavior often offends locals
 The local economy starts to depend on tourism
 Increased crime and muggings
CASE STUDY 27 - Ecotourism in the Maldives
Island republic in the Indian Ocean
Why is it attractive to tourists?
 1.190 coral islands
 280 inhabited islands and 80 resort islands
 Climate – 26 to 30 degrees all year round
How has it been developed to be sustainable?
 Resorts only built on non inhabited islands
 Environmental Impact assessment before
resorts built
 All resorts 5m back from treeline
 No buildings taller than the trees
 No more than 20% of islands built on
 Incinerators to get rid of non biodegradable
waste
 Resorts recycle water for gardens
 Solar hot water systems
 Septic tanks for sewage
 Desalination of seawater to freshwater
 Breakwater along Male coast to deal with sealevels rising
 College for hotel and catering for locals to improve skills
 Beach nourishment
 Tourists only visit designated home islands in small groups of 15-30
 Local products are being sold as souvenirs
 3.5 Energy
CASE STUDY 28 - Energy supply in a country or area – China
 China has quickly risen to the top ranks in global energy demand over
the past few years.
 China became the largest global energy consumer in 2011 and is the
world's second-largest oil consumer behind the United States.
 The country was a net oil exporter until the early 1990s and became
the world's second-largest net importer of crude oil and petroleum
products in 2009.
 The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) reports that China
surpassed the United States at the end of 2013 as the world's largest
net importer of petroleum and other liquids in part because of China's
rising oil consumption.
 China's oil consumption growth accounted for about 43% of the world's oil consumption growth in 2014.
 Despite China's slower oil consumption growth in the past few years, projects China will account for more
than one-fourth of the global oil consumption growth in 2015.
 Natural gas use in China has also increased rapidly over the past decade, and China has sought to raise
natural gas imports via pipeline and as liquefied natural gas (LNG).
 China is the world's top coal producer, consumer, and importer and accounts for almost half of global coal
consumption, an important factor in world energy-related carbon dioxide emissions.
 China's rising coal production is the key driver behind the country becoming the world's largest energy
producer in 2009.
 China's sizeable industrialization and swiftly modernizing economy helped the country became the world's
largest power generator in 2011.
The Three Gorges Dam, China (for flood protection AND HEP)
In 1998 3000 deaths and 30 million people homeless from Yangtze flood
 Dam built at Sandouping (to be totally finished in 2012 but already functioning)
Advantages (Economic, social and environmental)
 100 million people downriver protected as water discharged through dam when necessary
 HEP needed for China's growing industry and for domestic use too (China uses 40% world power)
 It will provide for 2% of China's energy needs
 Tourism increased on lake
 Improved shipping as larger cargo boats (up to 10,000 tonnes) can travel upstream to Chongqing
 New settlements have better services eg water, sewage etc
 Disadvantages (Economic, social and environmental)
 1.3 million people relocated often without adequate compensation
 4 cities, 8 towns and 356 villages submerged
 Temples and sacred places flooded
 Factories submerged releasing toxic waste into water
 Silt builds up behind dam so does not fertilise fields downstream
 Risk of earthquakes cracking dam and causing flooding
 27 billion pounds to build it
 Loss of species like the Yangtze river dolphin
 3.6 Water supply
CASE STUDY 29 - Water supply in a country or area = SW USA
 The Colorado River is located in South-West USA and North-West Mexico.
 It is over 2,300km and has its source in the Rocky Mountains and its mouth in the Gulf of California.
 Its drainage basin covers an area of 640,000km2.
 The Colorado River and its tributaries pass through the US states of; Wyoming, Nevada, Utah, California,
Arizona, Colorado and New Mexico.
 The climate across the river basin is very varied, in the Rockies temperatures can fall to -50 degrees Celsius
an experience precipitation in excess of 1000mm, whereas
some areas in the Mojave Desert can experience
temperatures of nearly 50 degrees Celsius and precipitation
as low as 15mm.
 About 12.7 million people live within the drainage basin of
the Colorado River, although some people outside the
drainage basin (especially in California) use water from the
Colorado River.
 In total it is estimated that about 40 million rely on the river
for domestic, agricultural, industrial and energy needs.
To cope with the massive demand, the Colorado River has
become one of the most managed river's in the world.
 The river has over 29 major dams built along its and
hundreds of miles of artificial canals.
 The Hoover Dam was one of the first major dams built along the river (and certainly the most famous), it was
completed in 1936 and created Lake Mead - this is still the US's largest artificial lake.
 Colorado River Aqueduct (CRA): This is 389km of tunnels, pipes and canals taking water from the Colorado
River to California. The water is taken from the Parker Dam and is pumped up over the Rockies ending up at
Los Angeles. Work on the project began in 1933 and water was first pumped in 1939. On average 1.5km3 of
water is pumped through the aqueduct each year.
 Central Arizona Project (CAP): This is 541km diversion canal. The canal was designed to provide water for
irrigation of 405,000 hectares (1.85 trillion litres a year) and for domestic use in cities like Phoenix and
Tuscon. Construction of the project began in 1973 and it was completed in 1993. The canal starts at Lake
Havasu and eventually finishes at Tucson. The scheme cost about $4 billion to build.
 California State Water Project (SWP): The project aimed to provide water for 23 million people and 6.6
million MWh of electricity to people living in Southern California. The project began in the 1950's.
Environmental Impacts
 It is impossible to manage a river so much and not create some environmental problems. Problems include:
The Colorado River used to carry about 90 million tonnes of sediment (alluvium) a year down to its mouth.
However, the majority of this now gets trapped behind dams, damaging the delta and wetland ecosystem at
the river's mouth.
 Salinity in the lower Colorado has increased changing the ecosystem.
 The number of fish shrimps and sea mammals have all reduced around the mouth of the river.
 Evaporation rates have increased behind the river's many dams. About 15% of water is evaporated.
 The deep water in the reservoirs behind the dams has reduced the temperature of the river in many areas.
Management Strategies
 In an attempt to reduce environmental damage while allowing continued economic and population growth,
a number of management strategies have been implemented and/or suggested, including:
Reduced leakage: It is estimated that 25% of all water is currently lost through leaking pipes and canals.
Recycling Water: Using more grey water in domestic homes.
Sewage Treatment: Recycling industrial and domestic waste more efficiently.
Domestic Conservation: Improving education and introducing things like half flush toilets.
Drip Irrigation: Use more efficient irrigation techniques.
Changing Crops: Growing crops or varieties that need less water.
Metering and Pricing: Increasing the price of water and metering its use.
Cloud seeding: Using chemicals to create artificial rain has been talked about.
Desalination: With the Pacific Ocean on California's door step the technology of desalination could be
improved.
Groundwater: Increase extraction of groundwater supplies.
 3.7 Environmental risks of economic development
CASE STUDY 30 - An area where economic development is taking place causing the environment to be at risk =
Global warming: Tuvalu
 Tuvalu has 11,000 people living on nine coral islands
 It is south of the equator in the Pacific Ocean (midway between Hawaii and Australia).
 Tuvalu is the smallest of all
nations, except for the Vatican.
 It has no industry, burns little
petroleum and creates less carbon
pollution than a small town in
America.
Causes of problems:
 Global warming because of
increased greenhouse gases like
CO2, methane, CFCs etc due to
industry, car fumes etc
 Evident with the increasing
intensity of tropical weather
 The increase in ocean
temperatures
 And rising sea level
 Indeed, Tuvaluans face the possibility of being the first place in the world that has to be abandoned due to
Global Warming
 Problematic as Tuvalu's highest land is 4.6 metres above sea level and most of the land is no more than a
metre above the sea
Effects:
 Several times each year the waves from the Pacific come rushing over onto roads and into neighbourhoods.
 In the centre of the island water comes up out of the coral bedrock and covers part of the airport and roads
on the main island
 Floods homes that are not along the ocean.
 Local people think that if they are not completely flooded in 50 to 70 years they face increasingly strong
storms and cyclones, changing weather patterns, damage to coral reefs from higher ocean temperatures,
and flooding of all gardens.
 Not growing enough food and decreasing fish catch if reefs are damaged would mean importing more food,
more foreign exchange, and more health and diet problems.
 In November 2001 their government announced that they will have to abandon some of their islands. It is
uncertain where the people will live.
CASE STUDY 31 – An area where economic activity is causing environmental concern = Oil spill of Exxon Valdez,
Alaska 1989
 Disaster was on 24 March 1989
 Just after midnight the supertanker Exxon Valdez ran aground 40km out of Valdez, Alaska
 50 million tonnes of crude oil was being carried
 There were perfect weather conditions but the captain was drunk
Effects:
 Oil extended 1700km from the boat
 35000 sea birds died +3000 sea otters killed
 Local economy badly affected as depended
on fishing industry
 Salmon hatcheries destroyed
 Land animals like Caribou poisoned by
eating contaminated plants
 Oil on beaches
 Bald eagles and wading birds died as food
chain affected
 Seals, shrimps and shellfish suffocated