Geography
Revision for Standard Grade
Weather
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Depressions are low pressure systems.
These affect the UK for much of the year.
These bring cloud, rain, wind and generally
unsettled conditions.
Depressions – how are they
formed?
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Depressions form where warm air meets cold
air
The boundary between the two air masses is
called a front
Along a front there will usually be thick cloud
and heavy rain
A Depression
Warm Front
Cold Front
Passage of a depression
Anticyclones – high pressure
High pressure synoptic chart
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The word high is written in the middle of the
high pressure area
The isobars are widely spaced
The value of the isobars get higher towards
the centre of the anticyclone
Anticyclone weather - Summer
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Dry and hot days with little or no cloud.
Early morning dew and mist.
Nights are cool due to lack of cloud during
the day.
Anticyclone weather - Winter
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Fog that may last all day.
Mostly clear skies.
Frost in the mornings.
Freezing nights.
Dry.
Rivers – The upper course
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V-shaped valleys. (erosion)
Waterfalls. (erosion)
Fast flowing water.
The middle and lower course
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Meanders (erosion and deposition).
Ox bow lakes (erosion and deposition).
Floodplain.
Embankments or levees.
River processes - definitions
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EROSION
This is the wearing away of land.
Most erosion occurs when a river is in flood.
This is when it flows fastest and can carry
huge amounts of material.
There are four main types of erosion
Types of erosion
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Attrition - Material is moved along the river
bed, collides with other material and breaks
up into smaller pieces.
Corrasion – is caused by fine material
rubbing against the river back. The action is
rather like sandpaper.
Corrosion – is a form of chemical erosion.
The backs and bed of the river are dissolved
by acids in the water
Types of erosion
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Hydraulic Action – is the force of water
hitting the banks of the river. It wears them
away and causes them to collapse.
Deposition
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This is the laying down or dumping of
material.
It happens when a river slows and loses
energy.
This may be during a dry spell, on the inside
of a river bend, or when the river reaches the
sea.
Transportation
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This is the movement of eroded material.
The material includes sand particles, pebbles
and even large boulders.
There are four ways that material can be
transported.
Types of transportation
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Traction – large rocks and boulders are rolled along
the bed of a river.
Saltation – smaller stones are bounced along the
bed of a river in a leap-frogging movement.
Suspension – fine material is light enough to be
carried by the river. The material may discolour the
water.
Solution – some minerals dissolve in the water.
These are always present in the river.
Glaciation – features of
erosion
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U shaped valley.
Corrie.
Arete.
Pyramidal peak.
Corrie
Pyramidal Peak
U-shaped valley
Glaciation – features of
deposition
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Moraine (terminal, lateral, medial)
Drumlin.
Esker.
Kettle hole.
Terminal Moraine.
Outwash Plain.
Erratic.
Kames.
Deposition
Land Use
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Think of the different ways tourists and locals
in an area can use a glaciated valley.
How do their activities differ between an
eroded glacial landscape and a landscape
formed by deposition?
How might these activities cause conflict?
Settlement – Function (what a
settlement does or provides)
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Old or New Industrial Towns.
Market Towns.
Ports.
Tourist Resort.
Sphere of influence
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The distance or range that people are
prepared to travel to buy goods or use
services
The shops and services of a hamlet or small
village are mostly used by local people. The
Sphere of influence of these places is small.
A large town serves the needs of its local
inhabitants but also has sufficient shops and
services to attract people from far away. The
sphere of influence is therefore large.
Patterns and types
Land use models - Burgess
What are the features of…
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CBD.
Inner City.
Suburbs.
Countryside.
Industry - types
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Primary.
Secondary.
Tertiary.
Industry – Factors affecting
location
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Labour
Transport
Flat land
Raw materials
Power supply
Near to market
Government policies
Capital
Environment
Old Industry
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Coal mining, steel works, heavy industries.
Old industries declined and many people
became unemployed.
Workforce taken over by machinery.
Causes problems in industrial areas – Social,
Economic and Environmental problems.
Mostly located in inner city areas.
Light industries
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Mostly electronics.
Located on outskirts of towns (out with suburbs).
Industrial estates.
Located mostly at the edges of towns.
Close to fast communications, especially main
roads.
On cheap flat land.
Where there is room to expand.
Close to workers.
Climate Regions –
Mediterranean
Climate
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Very hot summers, temps can
be over 30 C.
Warm winters with temps
around 10 C.
Total rainfall is about 300 – 500
mm.
Wet in winter with many days
of drizzle.
Very little rain in the summer,
can cause drought.
Occasional heavy
thunderstorms in summer.
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Problems
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Drought.
Fires.
Tourist related problems – pollution, noise.
Oil spills.
Chemicals used in farming.
Equatorial Rainforests
Equatorial Rainforests
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Shifting Cultivation is practised by tribes living in the
rainforest.
Firstly, the Amerindians cut down a small area of the
forest to make a clearing.
They cut down the trees and burn the stumps. This
is called ‘ Slash and Burn’.
The ash from the burnt tree stumps is then spread
over the soil. The ash makes the soil very fertile
and good for growing crops.
The tree trunks are then used to make their houses,
called malocas.
Deforestation
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Reasons for destroying the rainforest include:
Cattle ranching
New Roads
Hydro-electricity
New towns and settlement
Logging – timber
Mining
Hot Deserts
Problems in the desert.
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The biggest problem to the people living near
to the deserts is desertification.
Desertification is the gradual change of land
into desert.
The Sahel is one of the worst areas affected
by this.
The Sahel is the belt of land to the south of
the Sahara desert.
In the Sahel, the desert is advancing in
places by up to 6km a year.
Desertification
More
More
People
Animals
More
Firewood
More
Crops
Natural
Hazards
Overgrazing
Deforestation
BARE
SOILS
Over cultivation
Insects
Eat crops
Drought
Vegetation dies
Climate
change
Less rain
DESERTIFICATION
The land provides
Less food
Causes of
Desertification
Climatic Change
Decrease in rainfall
since 1960, perhaps
due to
Global warming
Over grazing
Population Growth
Too many animals for Farmers have to grow
the grass available. No more crops to feed the
vegetation = soil
growing population.
erosion
Trees removed for fuel
Tundra
Tundra Climate
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Tundra areas have temperatures below zero for
around 6 – 8 months of the year.
In the summer months the temperature creeps just
above zero.
In the winter, the sun doesn’t rise above the horizon
and the tundra is dark all day and night.
Strong winds mean there is a high wind chill factor –
making it seem even colder.
Rainfall in the tundra is very low, less than 250mm
per year. It is sometimes called the cold desert.
Most precipitation falls in the winter as snow.
Permafrost
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In Tundra areas the soil remains frozen all
year round and only the very top layer will
thaw out in the summer months.
The layer which thaws out is called Muskeg.
Underneath this top layer, the soil is
permanently frozen. This layer is called
Permafrost.
This makes it difficult to build in the tundra
and most buildings have to be built on stilts.
Oil in the Tundra
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Oil tankers were not much use for
transporting oil because the Arctic Ocean is
frozen for much of the year.
Instead, a 1242km (about 800 miles) pipeline
was built from Prudhoe bay in the North to
Valdez in the South.
This route faced huge physical and
environmental problems.
Why could the pipes to carry the oil not be
placed underground.
Population
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Population Distribution.
Population Density.
What is the Demographic Transition Model.
This is a model which shows the changes in birth
rate and death rate.
It also shows how the BR and DR can affect
population growth.
The model shows that population growth can be
divided into 4 stages.
All countries fit into one of the stages of the model.
Demographic Transition
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Birth Rate, Death Rate and Natural Increase.
The Population Structure of a country
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Population Pyramids Show :
The population of a country divided into five year
age groups.
The percentage of people in each age group.
The percentage of males and females in each age
group.
Changes in BR, DR, Life expectancy and infant
mortality.
The proportion of elderly and young people who are
dependent on the rest of the population.
The effects of people migrating in and out of the
country.
Population Pyramid - UK
Population Pyramid - Chad
What is migration ?
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Migration is the movement of people from
one place to another to live or work.
This can be short distance ( e.g. to the next
town) or it may be longer distance (e.g.
moving to another country).
Some migrations can be temporary and
people will return to their homes. Or it can be
a permanent move.
Push and Pull factors
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Push Factors : These are things about the
area that people live in that make them want
to move somewhere else. These are
negative factors.
Pull Factors : These are things about the
new area that people are moving to that
make them want to live there. These are
positive factors.
Farming
Arable farming
Livestock farming
Mixed farming
Hill sheep farming
Market Gardening
Farming Changes
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Farm size.
Machinery.
Removal of Hedgerows.
Use of Chemicals.
Crops Grown.
Jobs Available.
Wildlife.
Farm workers cottages.
Natural Environment.
Land Use (recreation)
Common Agricultural Policy
(CAP)
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This policy was introduced in order to help
farmers provide an efficient and reliable way
of producing food within the EU.
Farmers are given a guaranteed price for
their produce – subsidies.
This allowed farmers to run their farms more
successfully and invest in new equipment.
This led to problems of over production.