Geography Unit 1: Water On The Land Past Papers (Gcse)

Front 1

What shape is Damflask Reservoir? (1)

Back 1

• wedged shaped

•wider at south eastern end and tapers north west

•longand thin

•triangular

Front 2

Describe the relief (height and slope of the land) around Damflask Reservoir (2)

Back 2

• Land immediately next to reservoir is about 170m, rising to over 300m

• land is higher on north side

• slopes are steep/very steep at FirsHill/less steep near eastern end at Dungworth.

Front 3

Explain how Figures 14a and 14b show that there are likely to be areas of watersurplus and areas of water deficit in England and Wales (6)

Back 3

• There is a reduction in the amount of rain from west to east with muchof Wales getting over 1500mm

• in contrast to East Anglia and Londonwhich gets less than 1000mm and often less than 800mm.

• This is indirect contrast with the population density as Wales has generally between 0 and 99 per sq km

• suggesting that there is more water thanwill be needed by the population.

• Greater London has the highestdensities with over 1000 per sq km and often over 5000, yet the limitedrainfall totals show this to be an area of deficit – with less rainfall andmany more people.

Front 4

State 3 characteristics of this waterfall (3)

Back 4

• stepped profile of waterfall

• the fact that riverveers to left above waterfall, has clearly downcut bed here more

• whitewater

• plunge pool

• undercutting of the lower rock layer

• the presence oftwo rock layers, hard rock and soft rock

Front 5

Explain the formation of a waterfall (4)

Back 5

• There are layers of horizontal rock. Hard rock is on top of soft.

• Wherethe soft is on the surface next to the hard, it is eroded faster by abrasionand hydraulic action

• and an overhang is created of the cap rock.

• Overtime, this gets bigger and eventually it collapses creating a waterfall

• Repeated erosion by material in the plunge pool deepens the waterfall.

Front 6

Describe how river processes of transportation and deposition change downstream (8)

Back 6

• In the upper course, much material is transported by traction andsaltation.

• Large boulders are rolled along the river bed and smallerstones bounce along it.

• This gets less as the load size reducesdownstream

• Suspension where fine silts and clays arecarried within the river’s water increases in the middle and lower courseand this takes over as the main way of transporting the load as it is nowmuch smaller.

• The large load is deposited in the upper course but thisis replaced by silts and clays downstream – smaller in size but a largeramount is left behind.

• In the upper course, large boulders are strewnacross the channel often above the water level, but downstream wheremeanders are present, deposition occurs on the inside bed particularlyrather than all the way across the channel.

Front 7

State 3 different land forms that are found in each of the upper, middle and lower course (3)

Back 7

•V-shaped valley

•interlocking spurs

•waterfall

•gorge in upper course

•meander, oxbow lake or flood plain in middle course

•meander, flood plainor delta in lower course

•Meander and flood plain can be used ineither middle or lower course but landform given must bedifferent.

Front 8

With the help of Figure 11, describe how the shape of a river valley changesdownstream (4)

Back 8

•The river valley changes from a V-shape near the source to abroad, flat U in the middle to being flat and very wide near themouth.

•It has steep sides at the start and a narrow valley floorwhich the river occupies.

•Further down, the valley has lower,gentler sides and a wider floor

•which gets even wider near themouth

• and the river takes up only a part of the valley floor.

Front 9

What are levées? (2)

Back 9

•Levées are raised banks/embankment that follow the course ofthe river

• They are made up ofmaterial that has been transported by the river.

Front 10

Explain the formation of levées (4)

Back 10

•There is too much water in the river, so it bursts its banks.

•Theflood means that it loses energy and material being carried withinthe channel can no longer be transported. It is dropped next tothe river

•This occurs on many occasions causing the levees tobuild up along the course of the channel.

Front 11

What is river flooding? (2)

Back 11

•River flooding occurs when the volume of water present in thechannel is too great to remain there/ to be contained by thechannel

•so the river overflows/ bursts its banks/ spills out ontoland that is not normally covered by the river/spills onto floodplain.

Front 12

Outline one physical cause of flooding (2)

Back 12

•Prolonged rain – rain for along period of time means that the ground will be saturated andinfiltration will not be able to occur, causing rapid surface runoff.

• Heavy rain - as the rain falls to the ground, the velocity in which it touches the ground is too fast, and therefore cannot infiltrate, so surface run-off increases.

• Relief - if the land is steep, due to gravity, the water will go the the river quickly. The discharge and surface run-off is high.

• Snow melt - when the snow melts, the ground is still frozen, therefore it cannot infiltrate, so it will flow down to the river and surface run- off is increased.

Front 13

With the help of Figure 12, explain how hard and soft engineering strategies help tomanage the risk of flooding in areas such as Boscastle (8)

Back 13

•Hard engineeringincludes river bank widened, the River Jordan flood relief culvert,river wall, existing car park raised.

•Soft engineering includes treemanagement, the positioning of the car park next to the river(flood plain zoning) and environmentally friendly aspects such asthe salmon spawning grounds having improved access via thecreation of riffles and pools.

•Widening the river increases theamount of water the river channel can hold and therefore reducesthe risk of flooding

•the positioning of the car park next to the rivercan be seen as soft engineering as this land use is less of anissue than housing – cars can be moved and the land left emptyso the risks from flooding are lessened.

Front 14

State 3 characteristics of the channel andvalley (3)

Back 14

• steep sides

• hard rock

• soft rock

• narrow valley

Front 15

Explain the formation of a gorge (4)

Back 15

• Horizontal layers of hard and soft rock, with thehard rock forming the cap rock.

•Erosion of the underlying softer rock at a fasterrate causes an overhang to develop

•abrasion and hydraulic action areparticularly important erosion processes

•material from overhang collapsescausing waterfall to retreat

• The process begins again and repeats, subsequentcollapses lead to the formation of a gorge – the narrow steep-sided valley infront of the waterfall.

Front 16

Explain the factors affecting river discharge (6)

Back 16

•The specificationrefers to amount and type of rainfall, temperature, previous weather conditions,relief, rock type (impermeable, permeable, porous and pervious) and land use. There should be references to some of these.

•The amount of water will be high if the river is in an area with steep slopes. Thiswill cause the water to run quickly over the surface due to gravity, before it hastime to soak in. It will reach the river quickly and the amount of water willincrease.

•The previous weather can also cause changes. If it has been dry, rainwill soak into the ground and will be slow to reach the river. However, if it hasbeen wet, the water will flow over the surface reaching the river quickly.

Front 17

Suggest why this area is suitable for dams and reservoirs (2)

Back 17

•area is mountainous, with lower lying areas that have rivers –so could be dammed

•likely to receive more rain due to being higher up

•population density likely to be low so less disruption.

Front 18

Discuss issues which result from building dams and reservoirs (8)

Back 18

•Economic Issues:-

Building dams and creating large reservoirs is at a huge cost. At Carsington, thecost was £107 million – all this to meet increased demand for water for increaseduse for things like washing machines and dishwashers. Perhaps, instead peoplecould conserve water.

• Social Issues:-

People lost homes and livelihoods – when Lake Vrynwywas created, the village of Llanwyddyn was flooded. People were forced tomove as 10 farmhouses as well as 2 chapels and 3 pubs were drowned – takingaway the whole community. This Welsh water is then taken to English citiessuch as Liverpool – which the local people object to – seeing it as their water

• Environmental issues:-

loss of land andhabitat, impact on the flow of the river and impact of new uses such asrecreation and tourism; reduction of flood risk.

Front 19

Describe and explain the formation of ox-bow lakes (6)

Back 19

•The fastest flow of water is on the outside of the bend of the river and theslower flow is on the inside.

•This results in erosion on the outside anddeposition on the inside.

•The neck of the meander narrows as erosioncontinues on the outside of the bend.

•Eventually, normally during flooding, the neck is broken through, creating a straight channel.

•River follows shortest course, leaving an oxbow lake without a water supply.

•Over timedeposition occurs sealing off the old meander leaving an ox-bow lake.

Front 20

Describe the advantages and disadvantages of ‘soft engineering’ as a means ofcontrolling flooding (8)

Back 20

•Flood warnings, preparation, flood plain zoning, ‘donothing’ options are all types of soft engineering.

•Warning will give people time to move possessions, build up sand bags orevacuate. However, the threat remains which will cause stress as peoplewill have to claim on their insurance for damage to property and contentsand may struggle to get insurance cover in future years.

•Flood zoningrestricts building and means that impermeable surfaces are not beingcreated, so flood risk is reduced. However, limiting building may limitindustrial development and job creation.