This key facts covers Rock Types, Landscapes and UK Examples within UK Physical Landscape Management for GCSE Geography. Revise UK Physical Landscape Management in Physical Landscapes in the UK for GCSE Geography with 15 exam-style questions and 18 flashcards. This is a high-frequency topic, so it is worth revising until the explanation feels precise and repeatable. It is section 4 of 15 in this topic. Use this key facts to connect the idea to the wider topic before moving on to questions and flashcards.
📋 Rock Types, Landscapes and UK Examples
| Rock Type | How It Forms | Hardness | Landscape Type | UK Examples |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Granite (igneous) | Magma cools slowly underground | Very hard — highly resistant | Upland moorland; tor formation; thin acid soils; high rainfall | Dartmoor; Lake District; Cairngorms; Bodmin Moor |
| Basalt (igneous) | Lava erupts and cools at surface | Very hard | Dramatic cliffs; columnar formations; lava plateaux | Giant's Causeway (N. Ireland); Fingal's Cave (Scotland) |
| Schist / gneiss (metamorphic) | Rocks transformed by heat + pressure during mountain-building | Hard — resistant | Rugged ancient highlands; thin poor soils | Scottish Highlands; Outer Hebrides |
| Slate (metamorphic) | Mudstone transformed by pressure | Hard; splits into layers | Steep rugged hills; quarrying; thin soils | Snowdonia; Cumbria; Cornish slate belt |
| Limestone (sedimentary) | Compressed marine shells in shallow seas | Moderate; soluble in acid rain | Karst scenery; pavements; caves; pot holes; steep gorges | Yorkshire Dales; Peak District; Mendips |
| Chalk (sedimentary) | Compressed coccoliths in warm seas | Soft; porous | Rolling downland; dry valleys; dramatic white cliffs | North/South Downs; White Cliffs of Dover; Chilterns |
| Clay (sedimentary) | Fine particles deposited in shallow seas | Soft; impermeable | Flat lowlands; floodplains; poor drainage; rapid coastal erosion | Vale of York; East Anglia; Holderness (boulder clay) |
Quick Check: Why does the Holderness coast erode at 1.7 m per year while the White Cliffs of Dover erode much more slowly?
Holderness is made of boulder clay — a soft, glacially deposited material with no resistant rock layers. Clay offers little resistance to wave attack; once it is saturated with water it slumps easily. The coast also faces the long fetch of the North Sea from Scandinavia, giving waves high energy. The White Cliffs of Dover are made of chalk — harder and more resistant than clay. Dover also sits in the relatively sheltered English Channel, away from the full force of Atlantic and North Sea swells. Rock hardness and wave energy together control the rate of erosion.
Practice questions for UK Physical Landscape Management
Where are the upland areas of the UK mainly found?
Explain why the north and west of the UK are mostly upland while the south and east are mostly lowland.