Year 7 Home Learning

UK Landscapes

As part of the landscapes topic, we look at what the UK looks like.

We use the physical landscape to study it. Geographers use 3D maps

called ‘relief maps’ which show us what the ground looks like. It

might be hilly, or have rivers, or coasts or open fields etc.

This map shows areas of highland and lowland. The orange and brown areas

represent high ground like mountains and the green areas show low land like

fields.

TASK: Locate three places you have visited or want to visit. Add them to the

map and say if they are highland areas or lowland areas.

Another skill geographers need is how to describe. This is where you say what

you see when looking at a picture, map or diagram. There is no need to explain

why it is that way. Try giving it a go and describing what the relief looks like in

the U.K. A good way to do this is by saying what you can see in different

sections of the U.K

For example ‘In the north of the U.K there is lots of highland areas. In Scotland

there are a lot of mountains.

(see how I’ve used directions like North and place names like Scotland to help

describe what I can see)

TASK: Describe 3 things you can see on the relief map of the UK.

Rivers

A major part of the UK landscape are rivers. They are everywhere, including

the river Calder in Brighouse, which flows past at the bottom of the hill from

school. The next section in this booklet will teach you about the appearance

and features of a river from start to finish.

Your task will be to read through the information and extract the bits you need

to complete the empty boxes on the diagrams. This will give you an annotated

diagram of a river once you have finished.

Rivers have 3 distinct sections to study, the upper course, middle course and

the lower course. All three look very different and create different features.

The Upper Course

A river starts on high ground, usually mountains, from a small puddle that is

created by rainwater collecting in it and eventually spilling over. This starts the

flow of water and is called the source. It is a trickle of water that a person

could just step over.

After a while the water begins to erode the ground it runs over and begins to

get deeper. This is called vertical erosion. This is the start of the river getting

bigger as it flows downhill. As it erodes down into the ground the shape of the

river becomes like a ‘V’ shape. The river has now begun to create some

features. The space the water flows through is the river channel, the muddy

banks along the edge are called the river sides. The bottom of the river is

called the river bed.

There are usually lots of rocks and plants in the river as the flow of the water is

quite slow and not powerful enough to move them out of the way.

One of the most spectacular features you see in the upper course of a river is a

waterfall. These are created when the river meets two types of rock. One really

hard to erode and one that is easy to erode. Think if you squeezed marble and

chalk in your hands, the chalk would crumble but the marble wouldn’t. The

water erodes one but not the other creating a waterfall that actually moves

backwards up the river!

See the diagram below to see the complete process

The water flows

over the hard rock

layer on top but

erodes the soft

rock underneath

creating a cliff.

As the water

splashes into the

water below it

erodes more soft

rock and creates an

overhang.

Eventually the hard

rock overhang

becomes too heavy

and breaks off

falling into to

plunge pool below.

The waterfall has

no moved

backwards up the

river and the

process starts

again.

The Middle Course

As the river begins to get faster and gathers more water the shape of the river

begins to change too. Firstly, the river starts to widen. The water erodes the

sides of the river and it begins to become more of a ‘U’ shape rather than a ‘V’.

This process is called horizontal erosion. They become too wide to cross

without help and because of the extra water the flow is much faster.

A feature that you will see in the middle course is called a meander. This is a

sweeping curve in a river that makes it appear bendy. If you see the Eastenders

titles you can see the river Thames has many big meanders in.

This is caused by the river hitting some hard rock and being unable to erode

through. This means the river turns a different direction creating a bend. Over

time this becomes bigger and bigger as the water rushes through and erodes

more and more of the earth.

This is the Amazon river, see how

the course of the river is curvy

rather than a straight line. This is a

great example of meanders.

The Lower Course

By the time the river has reached the lower course it has done most of its

erosion. It is now really deep and really wide and you probably need a boat to

get across. The lower course often sees humans beginning to use the river too.

We transport things, use them for tourism, swimming, fishing etc. So pollution

becomes a bit of a problem and the rivers become quite dirty looking.

The lower course is important as this is where the river ends. All rivers end

when they reach a large body of water, either a large lake or the sea/ocean.

When a river meets the sea/lake this is called the mouth. It slows down the

flow of the water and the rivers appear quite calm.

TASK: Using the information fill in the blank boxes on the river diagrams. You

should add key terms and a little explanation to show what is going on. Some

boxes will have some help in them some will be blank.

Source -

The river begins to erode the river….

The shape of the river changes in

the middle course….

What happens in the lower course?

Sea/ocean

Mini Quiz! (answers at the end)

1. What is the start of a river called?

2. What direction does vertical erosion go in?

3. What feature do you often see in the upper course?

4. What feature do you often see in the middle course?

5. What is the mouth of a river?

The Coast

Now we have followed a river from start to finish we end up at the sea. This

brings us to another landscape feature, the coastline. In the U.K. we have a lot

of coastline because we are an island and therefore surrounded by sea.

TASK:

Why is the coast important to us?

As humans we use the coast for so many different things. If you explore the

U.K you will see that the coast looks different everywhere you go, this is

because we use it for many reasons which shape the aesthetics (looks) of the

landscape.

TASK: Use the photos and your own knowledge to list different ways we use

the coastline. After each one write a sentence to explain why that is important

to us. (try to think as many as you can)

Example: We use the coast for photography, it is very picturesque and

photographers can take amazing photos of the scenery and sell them to make

money.

TASK: Imagine you are sitting on this beach. Write a postcard that

DESCRIBES and EXPLAINS what you can see and everything you have

been doing on this beach today.

Things to think about:

• Landscape, activities, tastes, smells, feelings, rocks, trees, flowers, animals

HEADLAND

ARCH BAY

Answers

What is the start of a river called? Source

What direction does vertical erosion go in? Downwards

What feature do you often see in the upper course? Waterfalls

What feature do you often see in the middle course? Meanders

What is the mouth of a river? Where a river meets the sea/lake/ocean

Coastal Features