G12 · Glacial landscapes in the UK | AQA GCSE Geography

Revise the key ideas

During the last ice age, much of Scotland, Wales, northern England and Northern Ireland was covered by ice at different times. At its maximum around 27,000 years ago, the British–Irish Ice Sheet extended beyond today's coastline; southern England was largely outside it.
A glacier is a mass of ice that moves under its own weight. Snow accumulates and is compressed into ice; movement involves deformation of the ice and, where conditions allow, sliding at its base.
Freeze–thaw weathering happens when water enters rock cracks, freezes and expands. Repeated cycles can break off fragments; it needs temperatures to cross freezing, not permanently frozen conditions.
Abrasion occurs when rocks carried in the glacier's base scrape the bedrock, smoothing it and leaving scratches called striations.
Plucking happens where meltwater freezes around cracked rock and moving ice pulls fragments away. The glacier can then use these fragments to abrade other surfaces.
Rotational slip is curved movement of ice in a corrie, helping deepen its hollow. Bulldozing pushes loose sediment in front of advancing ice.
Glaciers carry debris on their surface, within the ice and at the base. Debris comes from weathering on valley sides and erosion beneath the glacier.
When ice melts it leaves unsorted sediment called till. Meltwater deposits outwash, which is more often sorted and layered because flowing water transports different particle sizes differently.

A corrie begins as a hollow where snow accumulates. Ice movement, plucking and abrasion deepen it; rotational movement and less erosion at the edge leave a steep back wall, deep basin and rock lip.
Ice in a corrie. Curved ice movement, abrasion and plucking deepen the hollow. After melting, a tarn may occupy the basin; not to scale.
Enlarge diagram
After ice melts, a tarn may occupy the corrie basin. Not every corrie contains a lake.
An arête is a narrow ridge between neighbouring corries or glacial valleys. A pyramidal peak forms where several corries erode back towards a summit from different sides.
A glacial trough is a broad valley with steep sides and a relatively flat floor, often described as U-shaped. A glacier widens, deepens and straightens a former river valley.
Truncated spurs are steep valley-side ends where ice has cut through former interlocking spurs. They help distinguish a glacial trough from a river's V-shaped valley.
A hanging valley is a smaller tributary valley left above a deeply eroded main trough. A stream may fall as a waterfall where it joins the main valley.
A ribbon lake is a long narrow lake in an over-deepened section of a glacial valley. Differential erosion of less resistant rock or changes in ice thickness can create the basin, sometimes held by a rock or moraine barrier.

An erratic is a boulder transported by ice and deposited on different local bedrock. Its rock type can help show the direction from which the ice travelled.
Drumlins are streamlined hills made largely of glacial sediment, shaped beneath moving ice. Their long axes broadly indicate ice-flow direction; formation is more complex than simply dropping a pile of stones.
Lateral moraine accumulates along a glacier's sides. Medial moraine forms where the lateral debris of joining glaciers combines, leaving a band down the middle.
Terminal moraine marks a former glacier limit, and recessional moraines mark pauses during retreat. Ground moraine is debris spread across the former glacier bed.

Glaciated uplands offer tourism through dramatic scenery, lakes, walking and climbing. Farming often includes sheep grazing, while forestry and quarrying use land and natural resources.
Tourism creates jobs and supports shops, accommodation and transport. Seasonal demand can make employment insecure, and busy periods can increase congestion and pressure on services.
Second homes or holiday lets can raise housing pressure in some communities. Visitors may also support local culture and fund conservation, so impacts are not all negative.
Walkers can erode paths and disturb wildlife; traffic adds noise and emissions. Quarrying provides materials and jobs but changes scenery, creates dust and can conflict with tourism or conservation.
Forestry can provide timber and employment, but planting choices affect habitats and landscape character. Farming maintains livelihoods and some valued landscapes, while heavy grazing can restrict vegetation recovery.

Path repair, drainage and directing walkers onto durable routes reduce erosion. Restricting access in sensitive places may protect habitats but needs clear explanation and practical alternatives.
Public transport, park-and-ride and suitable parking can reduce traffic. Services need funding and must be frequent enough for visitors and residents to use.
Visitor information, ranger work and codes of conduct can reduce litter, disturbance and unsafe behaviour. Conservation organisations and local businesses can work together on long-term management.
Planning controls and protected-area management aim to balance conservation, local livelihoods and recreation. Evaluate a named area's strategy using evidence about both benefits and remaining conflicts.

The Lake District in northwest England contains glacial troughs, corries, narrow ridges and long lakes. Its landscape reflects repeated glaciation, the underlying rocks and later river and slope processes.
Red Tarn lies in a corrie beneath Helvellyn. Striding Edge is a sharp ridge beside it, while valleys such as Great Langdale show glacial widening and steep sides.
Long lakes such as Ullswater and Windermere occupy glacially shaped valleys. Ice transported and deposited debris across the region, leaving glacial sediments as well as erosional landforms.
Near Keswick, till in the Thornsgill and Mosedale valleys records deposition by former ice. Shap Granite erratics carried beyond their source in the eastern Lake District show how rock type can provide evidence of ice transport.

Lakes, mountain scenery, walking routes, climbing and cultural attractions draw visitors. Tourism supports accommodation, shops, boat services and guides, alongside farming and other local activities.
Busy routes suffer trampling, vegetation loss and soil erosion. Rainwater then deepens damaged paths; walkers avoiding muddy sections can widen the scar, affecting both scenery and habitats.
Traffic and parking pressure can disrupt residents and increase emissions. Tourism supports income, but seasonal jobs and housing pressures mean the benefits and costs are unevenly shared.
Fix the Fells repairs and maintains upland paths using stone work, drainage and regular care. This keeps foot traffic on more durable routes and reduces sediment being washed into rivers and lakes.
Visitor information and public transport can help reduce traffic and disturbance. Effective management needs funding, cooperation with residents and businesses, and continued maintenance as visitor use and weather change.
Path repairs help conservation and continued access, but they do not remove all tourism impacts. Evaluate the Lake District by linking a specific measure to the problem it addresses and the limitations that remain.

50 questions · Random sets of 10. These quick checks support revision; practise longer explanations and justified judgements too.