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Why does the physical landscape of the UK vary from place to place? (b) GapFill

Target Level
4-5
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The UK has a diverse range of landscapes. Being an island nation, we are surrounded by  islandsriversglacierscoastline. On the west coast lies the  Pacific OceanEnglish ChannelNorth SeaAtlantic Ocean where large breakers roll across the pond from North America causing a rugged coastline filled with erosional features. On the southern and eastern coasts with land just across the channel, conditions are  white watercalmerchalkboulder clay and there are lots of depositional features. Some of the most dramatic coastlines are found in Scotland. But of course coastlines have a range of features - there's nothing to deposit if nothing has eroded!

Within the UK there are mountainous regions. These tend to be found in the  westsoutheastnorthwesteast as well as Scotland - examples include the Lake District, Snowdonia and to a lesser extent Dartmoor in Devon. The  PenninesQuantocksSnowdonia mountainsHighlands are a ridge of hills in northern England and are often called the 'backbone of England'. There are some very flat and low-lying regions too. For example the  Thames ValleyFensMidlandsSomerset Levels in western England and the Norfolk Broads in the east.

There are many rivers in the UK. They originate in areas of  lowforesthighmossy ground where it rains a lot, and flow towards the sea. But they change considerably throughout their course. In the uplands there isn't much water and the load is angular. But as you go towards the mouth of the river, the rivers carry more water and load as  tributariesoxbow lakesdeltasseas join, and erosion has rounded the load and reduced its size. You've probably heard of the Thames, the Tay and the Taff. When rivers meet the sea, they may form a large estuary, such as the Severn - which as a phenomenal tidal range of 15 metres - one of the highest in the world. There are no  waterfallstributariesdeltasmarshes in the UK.

The UK lies far enough north to have been affected by  depositiontectonic activityglaciationrivers. Over successive ice ages, ice has shaped the land, carving  CAVU-shaped glacial troughs from river valleys. There are deep deposits of till, mounds of material in the uplands called drumlins, and layers of  stonepeaclassifiedboulder clay - which causes rapid coastal erosion in Norfolk. There are glacial erratics such as the Bowder Stone in the Lake District, and shapes of mountains have been altered by glacial plucking - corries and pyramidal peaks.

There are other reasons for the diverse landscapes, too. Geology plays a major role. Hard,  igneoussandstonemetamorphicsand rocks are very resistant to erosion and weathering, and account for many upland hills. Dartmoor's famous tors are created through igneous intrusions, and the softer  lavasedimentarybasaltigneous rocks are eroded away. In the lowlands, sedimentary rocks weather to make rich fertile soils - great for crops and pasture. While in the uplands, soils are poor and thin, but they have their uses - for  carrotpotatollamasheep farming and forestry, and wind farms. Rocks are exposed at the coasts - in areas of hard geology, you might expect to find tall, towering cliffs and headlands. Where bands of hard and soft rock are found, differential erosion occurs - which lead to pretty interesting coastlines - headlands and bays, and arches and stacks.

This is your 1st attempt! You get 3 marks for each one you get right. Good luck!

Pass Mark
72%