Landforms & Landscape Processes Unit

Topic Key Points Case Studies/Examples

1. Weathering Weathering – The wearing away or disintegration of rocks in Page 246
situ (i.e. where they are stood).

There are two main types of Weathering:

1. Physical Weathering – Breaking up of the rock into
smaller pieces which is done by physical processes without
any chemical change to the rock.
2. Chemical Weathering – Decomposition of rock caused by
a chemical change.

You need to know the following types of weathering:

 Freeze-thaw (physical)
 Exfoliation/Onion Skin (physical)
 Biological Weathering (physical)
 Limestone Solution (chemical)

Physical weathering mostly occurs in bare areas of rocks which are

exposed to the physical elements.

Chemical weathering is more common in warm and moist climates

where chemical reactions are encouraged to take place.

Mass Movement – The term used to describe the downward

movement of weathered material under the force of gravity.
2. Rates of You must be able to explain the main factors influencing the type Page 248 – Study
Weathering and rate of weathering: Carboniferous limestone and
 Climate and rock features (mineral composition, grain size you can understand the
of the rock, presence of lines of weakness). various factors which
 The influence of climate on the rate of weathering could be influence the rate of
illustrated with reference to simple explanation as to why weathering in rocks.
weathering is more rapid in humid tropical regions of the
world than in temperate regions.

Permeability – The rate at which water can either be stored in a

rock or is able to pass through it.
Porous Rock – A rock (e.g. chalk) which has many pore spaces
and therefore can store much water.
Bedding planes – The horizontal junctions between layers of a
rock.
Joints – Lines of weakness at right angles to bedding planes.

3. River You must have learnt the hydrological/water cycle, which Page 279
Processes includes the following terms:

Evaporation, Water vapour, condensation, precipitation,

interception, evapotranspiration, infiltration, throughflow,
percolation, groundwater flow, surface run-off.

Know that the water cycle has a series if inputs, outputs, transfers
and storage.

River Drainage basin:

 Know the definitions of mouth, delta, confluence, Page 278
tributary, source, watershed.
4. Storm Know what it is, and know the features of a graph: Page 280-281
Hydrographs  Lag Time, Peak Discharge, Peak Rainfall, Rising Limb,
Receding Limb.

Know the physical & human factors that affect a storm

hydrograph:
 Physical – Shape & size of drainage basin, Number of
tributaries, Relief etc…
 Human – Tarmac, Urbanisation etc…

5. River Rivers erode material – The wearing away and transporting of Page 282
Processes material by water in the river.

Friction is created along the wetted perimeter of the channel –

The areas where the water comes into contact with the river
channel/bed.

Know that there are 4 types of erosion – Abrasion (corrosion),

Attrition, Hydraulic Action & Corrosion.
 Make sure you can describe how each of these erode the
river channel.

Once eroded, the material is then transported by the river…

4 ways in which particles are transported in a river:

 Dissolved Load/Solution
 Suspension – Tiny particles held up by turbulence in water.
 Saltation – Particles too large for suspension, so they are
lifted and dropped on the river bed.
  Traction – Large stones slide during periods of fast flowing
water. Smaller stones assist movement.

Once a river slows down, or loses energy, material is then

deposited on the river bed.

The effectiveness of the river processes concerned will vary Top of page 282.
according to:
 The volume and velocity of the running water
 The nature of the load (boulders, pebbles, sand and silt)
 In turn, this will be affected by the bedrock along the
course of the river.

6. River You need to be able to sketch, describe and explain the following Pages 283-285
Landforms river landforms:

 V shaped Valleys & interlocking Spurs – vertical erosion

 Waterfalls & rapids – Gorge, Plunge pool, undercutting,
overhang, resistant rock.
 Meanders – lateral erosion
 Oxbow Lakes
 Floodplains & levees
 Deltas

With meanders, you must be able to show where the fast flowing
parts of a river are, and where the points of erosion and
deposition are (use fig. 17.18 on page 284 to help you)

You MUST be able to describe the cross-profile and long-profile of

various parts of a river.
  The bottom of page 285 is great at this.

7. River Case You have one for and MEDC and one for an LEDC: Pages 286-289
Studies
Lynmouth Flood (MEDC)
 Be able to describe what the effects of the flooding were.
 Why was the flood so bad?
 Physical & Human factors that caused the flood
 Locational factors (i.e. on the confluence of the East & West
Lyn)
 Be able to link the factors to features of a storm
hydrograph, I.e. how does the factor reduce the lag time or
increase the peak discharge?

Bangladesh (LEDC)
 Causes e.g. many people live on land below sea level.
Overused for irrigation & farming.
 Impacts – Spread of disease, lack of education.
 Again, split the causes into human and physical.
 Split the impacts into environmental, economic & social.

In order to compare the case studies, check that you understand

why each flood caused so much damage.
 For both, it was the natural factors which caused the flood,
but it was made worse by human factors.

8. River The big question for this section is, ‘Should Rivers be Allowed to
Management Flood?’
 Page 291 summarises this perfectly.
 The top diagram shows the reasons why we should let rivers
 take their own natural cause and not interfere with the
discharge of it, even if they do flood.
 The diagram below shows the advantages of dam and levee
building on a river.
 You must learn these.