This is an important booklet to support your studies and revision. You will need to know all of the information in the revision guide and the examples and case studies in here. On each page you will find the example or case study information and some practice questions.

For each example and case study there are some facts and figures you need to be aware of and learn and use in exam answers.

It is important to note:

The words ‘example’ and ‘case study’ are important. In the booklet if it is called an ‘example’ then that is the wording that will be used in exam questions. So you must use the correct example.

In the booklet if it is called a ‘case study’ then that is the wording that will be used in exam questions. So you must use the correct case study.

Paper 1 – Physical Geography
Examples / Case study
Tectonic hazards – Earthquakes – Poor country - Haiti / Ecosystems – Tropical Rainforest – Amazon, South America
Tectonic hazards – Earthquakes – Rich country – New Zealand / Cold Environments – Alaska, USA
Weather hazards – Tropical storms – Typhoon Haiyan
Weather Hazards – UK weather event – floods in Cumbria
Ecosystems – a small scale ecosystem – a hedgerow
Coastal landscapes – a section of the UK coastline – Dorset
Coastal landscapes – a management scheme in the UK – Lyme Regis
River landscapes – river valley in the UK – River Tees
River landscapes – Flood management scheme in the UK – River Tees
Topic: Natural hazards – tectonic hazards / Context: Earthquake in a rich country
Location:
  • New Zealand
  • An earthquake struck New Zealand’s South Island on 22nd February 2011 at 12.51pm
  • Epicentre was near the centre of Christchurch
/ Cause:
  • The plate boundary moves in two ways- destructive and conservative
  • The earthquake was magnitude 6.3 on the Richter scale

Primary effects:
  • Approximately 2000 people were treated for minor injuries
  • Road and bridges were severely damaged in places
  • Over half of deaths occurred in the 6-storey Canterbury Television (CTV) building when it collapsed and caught fire.
  • 181 people were killed in total
  • Gas pipes burst
/ Secondary effects:
  • Building damage was widespread because the 2010 earthquake had already weakened building structures
  • Land that was damaged by liquefaction cannot be built on again
  • Landslides in some suburbs caused serious damage to buildings
  • Gas caught fire

Immediate responses:
  • The Australian Government donated NZ$6 .7 million to the Red Cross appeal
  • Bottled water was provided as water supplies were cut off
  • The Australian police joined forces with New Zealand police to enforce cordons, organise evacuations, help with search and rescue, traffic control and prevention of looting
  • The New Zealand Red Cross launched an appeal to raise funds to help victims
  • Electricity companies worked around the clock to restore power to areas that were cut off
/ Long-term responses:
  • Review of all building codes to make buildings stronger
  • Greater emphasis has been placed education of school children and the general population over what to do in an earthquake
  • New more detailed evacuation plans

Example questions:
Using figure 5 to what extent are primary effects worse than secondary effects – 9 marks & 3 for SPaG
Assess the assertion that earthquakes in poorer countries have worse effects than in rich countries - 9 marks & 3 for SPaG
Explain why the responses in rich countries are better than poor countries 9 marks & 3 for SPaG
Topic: Natural hazards – tectonic hazards / Context: Earthquake in a poor country
Location:
  • Haiti, Caribbean
  • The epicentre was 25 miles to the east of Port-au-Prince
  • The earthquake occurred on 12th January 2010 at 16:53:10 local time
  • The earthquake measured 7.0 on the Richter scale
/ Cause:
  • Haiti lies on a conservative plate boundary
  • The plate get stuck due to friction and pressure built up
  • The pressure became too much and the plates slid past each other

Primary effects:
  • Major damage to buildings like schools and Parliament buildings
  • Over 230,000 people died
  • 300,000 people made homeless
  • The major hospital in Port-au-Prince collapsed killing many of the 150 doctors
/ Secondary effects:
  • Phone and Mobile networks stopped working so people could not contact each other
  • Roads are blocked meaning aid cannot get to survivors who need it the most
  • Aid vehicles have been hijacked and survivors have been rioting over delays in aid reaching them
  • Cholera has spread in camps due to contaminated water supplies

Immediate responses:
  • China and other nations sent rescue teams to help dig out survivors
  • The USA has sent 10,000 soldiers to maintain order and security and to help survivors
  • Many survivors who need medical care have been taken by ship to the USA
  • The Dominican Republic opened up their border to help with healthcare
  • Many people are having to sleep in the streets in makeshift shelters and shanty towns
  • Barrack Obama has promised $100 million of aid and Gordon Brown has pledged over £6 million
/ Long-term responses:
  • Rebuilding of schools and hospitals
  • Rebuild houses to replace homeless camps
  • Seaport and airport to be rebuilt

Example questions:
Using figure 5 to what extent are primary effects worse than secondary effects – 9 marks & 3 for SPaG
Assess the assertion that earthquakes in poorer countries have worse effects than in rich countries - 9 marks & 3 for SPaG
Explain why the responses in rich countries are better than poor countries 9 marks & 3 for SPaG
Topic: Natural hazards – Weather Hazards / Context: Effects and responses to a tropical storm
Location:
  • Haiyan, The Philippines
  • Started in the north-west Pacific Ocean
/ The nature of the tropical storm:
  • Wind speeds of up to 314 km per hour
  • 8th November 2013 at 4:40am
  • A category 5 typhoon

Primary effects:
  • 6,190 people died
  • 90% of Tacloban was destroyed
  • 1.1 million houses damaged (half of them destroyed)
  • 4.1 million people made homeless
/ Secondary effects:
  • Looting was rife as survivors fought for food and supplies
  • Several million tonnes of crops destroyed – due to the storm surge and salty water
  • Storm surges destroyed coconut and rice crops. 12.7% if GDP hit
  • Oil barge ran aground at Estancia causing an 800,000 litre oil leak - 10 hectares of mangrove swamps killed by the oil
  • Eight deaths reported in a stampede for rice supplies
  • The flooding caused surface and groundwater to be contaminated with seawater, chemicals from industry and agriculture and sewage systems

Immediate responses:
  • 1 million food packs and 250,000 litres of water
  • Power was restored in a week
  • The government supplied equipment and medical supplies
  • Put out a televised warning
  • Most emergency aid and supplies arrived three days later
/ Long-term responses:
  • Mangrove swamps replanted which can protect the coast from flooding
  • A new storm surge warning system
  • A ‘no build zone’ along the coast in Eastern Visayas
  • Plans to build the Tacloban-Palo-Tanauan Road Dike – this will reduce the impact of future storm surges

Example questions:
Assess the extent to which prediction is the most important factor in reducing the effects of tropical storms – 9 marks & 3 SPaG
Discuss the responses to a tropical storm you have studied – 9 marks & 3 SPaG
Using an example you have studied describe the effects of a tropical storm – 6 marks
Topic: Natural hazards – Weather Hazards / Context: An extreme weather event in the UK
Location:
  • Cumbria, the UK
/ Cause:
  • A deep Atlantic depression (a large storm) arrived 6AM Thursday 19th November 2009
  • Cumbria had already received a month’s worth of average rainfall before the extreme event 17-20 November 2009
  • The rain flowed straight down the steep slopes of the Lake District in its river for 36 hours
  • By 20th November, the River Derwent was 10 metres wider than during normal conditions
  • Water was flowing at a rate of 25 times higher than the normal average

Social impacts:
  • Police officer Bill Barker was killed when a bridge in Workington collapsed
  • Lots of people injured
  • 1,500 homes were flooded causing great distress
  • The rebuilt town centre now looks smarter than before
/ Economic impacts:
  • The regional economy was instantly hit
  • Many businesses closed and did not reopen until long afterwards
  • Debris transported by the river destroyed six important regional bridges – lorries could not transport goods
  • The floods caused £100 million damages – including insurance claims, business losses and the costs of rebuilding roads and bridges
  • Many businesses took the opportunity to improve their shop fronts

Environmental impacts:
  • At its peak flow, water erosion by the River Derwent triggered landslides along its banks
  • The river tore loose and carried away hundreds of trees, damaging local ecosystems and habitats
  • River water contaminated with sewage brought health risks
/ Ways of reducing the hazard in the future:
  • Protection
  • New flood defences have been built at a cost of £4.5 million; funded by central government and the local community
  • A mobile wall was built which could rise up during floods and shrink down so not to ruin the towns tourist appeal
  • Planning
  • The Environment agency (EA) provided sandbags and gave out flood warnings
  • The EA sends messages to the residents phones about potential floods
  • Prediction
  • Warning systems are being developed to give people warning in the future
  • Using satellites to track storms across the Atlantic and give warnings to local councils

Example questions:
The weather in the UK is becoming more extreme.’ Use evidence to support this statement. 6 marks
Using an example explain the cause of one extreme weather event in the UK – 6 marks
Assess the impacts of an extreme weather event on the UK. Use an example – 6 marks
Topic: Ecosystems / Context: A small-scale ecosystem
Basic information:
  • A hedgerow ecosystem includes
  • the plants that make up the hedgerow
  • the organisms that live in it and feed on it
  • the soil in the area
  • the rainfall and sunshine it receives
  • The producers include hawthorn bushes and blackberry bushes
  • The consumers include song thrushes, ladybirds, spiders, greenfly, sparrows and sparrowhawks

Example questions:
Explain how changes to an ecosystem can influence all organisms – 6 marks

Example food chain:

Ladybird ------ Sparrow ------ Sparrowhawk

Example food web:

Changes to an ecosystem

  • A change in one part of an ecosystem has an impact on other parts
Topic: Coastal landscapes / Context: The major landforms of a UK coastline
Location and map:

Durdle Door:
Durdle Door is a great example of an arch – erosion by waves opened up a crack in the limestone headland, which become a cave and then developed into an arch. / Lulworth Cove:
Lulworth Cove is a small bay formed after a gap was eroded in a band of limestone. Behind the limestone is a band of clay which has been eroded away to form the bay. The same is not starting to happen at Stair Hole further west along the coast.
Chesil Beach:
Chesil Beach is a tombolo (a type of bar) formed by longshore drift. It joins the Isle of Portland to the mainland. Behind Chesil Beach is a shallow lagoon called the fleet lagoon / Swanage Bay, The Foreland and Studland Bay:
There are two bays with beaches called Swanage Bay and Studland Bay. They’re areas of softer rock (sandstone and clay). In between them is a headland called the Foreland made from a band of harder rock (chalk).The end of the headland has been eroded to become a stack called Old Harry and a stump (a collapsed stack) called Old Harry’s Wife.
Example questions:
Using an example describe the features of a UK coastline – 6 marks
Topic: Coastal landscape / Context: A coastal management scheme in the UK
Background information:
  • Erosion is causing the cliffs to collapse along the Holderness coastline. The cliffs are made from soft, easily eroded boulder clay.
  • The prevailing winds mean that the eroded material is moved south along the coast by longshore drift instead of staying in the place it came from, exposing a new area of cliff to erosion and causing the coastline to retreat
  • About 1.8m of land is lost to the sea every year – in some places e.g. Great Cowden the rate of erosion has been over 10m per year in recent years. Farms, businesses and homes are threatened by the erosion.
Over 11km of the Holderness coastline is managed using hard engineering strategies:
  • There are towns and villages like Hornsea (pop 8000), Withernsea (pop 6000) and Mappleton where people live
  • There is important infrastructure like the B1242 road which links many of the towns and businesses along the coast
  • The gas terminal at Easington supplies 25% of the UK’s gas and is right on the edge of the cliff.
/ Map of the Holderness Coastline:

Management strategy:
In 1991, 450m of coastline around Mappleton had to be protected at a cost of £2 million using over 61,000 tonnes of rock
Coastal management at Mappleton involved two types of hard engineering:
  • Placing rock armour (granite boulders) along the base of the cliff to absorb the power of the waves.
  • Building two rock groynes to trap sand and create a beach to absorb the power of the waves
There are also defences at Hornsea (where there is a sea wall and some groynes), and at Withernsea (where there is a sea wall, groynes and rock armour).
Conflicts caused:
The scheme was successful – the village of Mappleton and the B1242 road are no longer at risk from erosion.
However the management strategy have caused conflicts. The rock groynes prevented sediment moving south along the coast by longshore drift. This has caused increased erosion south of Mappleton and led to:
  • Loss of land to the south of Mappleton – especially around Great Cowden’s farms and caravan park
  • The operation of coastguard and lifeboat services from Spurn Head are under threat from erosion
  • A loss of habitat for wildlife on Spurn Head – lesson material is coming down the coast to collect at Spurn Head, so it is at risk of being washed away
  • In 1999, a 1km stretch of coast near the gas terminal as Easington have to be protected by rock armour – at a cost of £6.6 million
  • Bays forming between the protected areas and the protected areas becoming headlands
  • Maintaining the defences in the protected areas is becoming more expensive and may cause conflict
  • The conflicts focus on the loss of jobs and homes in the non-protected areas. The people living on the protected areas are happy as their jobs and home are protected

Example questions:
Describe how one coastline in the UK is being managed. Use an example. 6 marks
Using an example, assess the conflicts that may arise from coastal management. 6 marks.
Topic: River landscapes / Context: Landforms in a UK river valley
Location and map:
The River Tees, north-east England

Upper course:
Source: this is found to the west of the mouth. It starts at Cross Fell – it is 893 metres above sea level. The river flows east to its mouth
The valley is v-shaped and the river is turbulent and clear
Water fall at High Force with a gorge and rapids. The gorge is formed from the waterfall retreating and the water fall is 21 metres high.
Middle course:
The gradient is less steep here and the river begins to erode sideways rather than downwards. The river gets wider and river valley gets wider and meanders begin to form.
Meanders:
This is a bend in the river. As the bends get bigger their erode across the flood plain and make a large U-shaped valley
Lower course:
Very large meanders at Yarm – this has led to the formation of ox-bow lakes
Flooding has caused Levees to form
The lateral erosion (sideways) by the meanders and the occasional floods build up a wide, flat flood plain on either side of the River. Here the valley is a broad U-shape with quite gentle sides
The mouth the River Tees is an estuary – this is a river valley in a lowland area that has been flooded. It is very wide and has mudflats and sandbank. It is an important wildlife area and some areas are Special Sites of Scientific Interest (SSSI’s)
Example questions:
Describe how a river valley in the UK changes downstream – 6 marks
Topic: River landscapes / Context: Flood management on a UK river
Location:
The River Tees, north-east England
Why is the scheme needed?
  • To reduce flooding – lots of serious flooding at Yarm
  • To improve water supply
  • To improve water quality
  • To improve navigation
  • To provide more opportunities for recreation

Management strategies
  • Cow Green Reservoir – this was built in the upper course to store water for the growing areas of population. The reservoir holds a lot of water and slows down the amount of water entering the river reducing its discharge and making flooding less likely
  • At Yarm – discouraging building on the floodplain, improve flood warning systems with the Met Office, the police and other emergency services. They built reinforced concrete walls with metal flood gates for access by people and vehicles, Earth embankments, Gabions to protect wall and embankment from erosion.
  • The Tees Barrage – (a man-made barrier across a river) – the aim of the Tees Barrage was to improve the water quality and recreational value of 22km of the lower Tees. It reduces the risking of flooding at high tides or during a storm surge.

The effects
Social impacts/effects / Economic impacts/effects / Environmental impacts/effects
The flood defences at Yarm means people do not fear flooding anymore. People can leave their house and it will be in the same condition as they left it. / The defences cost £56.1 million. This is far too much. The money should be used for schools, hospitals and to fix potholes in the roads. / The dredging of the river removes the bed which is so important for a range of insects and fish. The insects live here and are food for the fish. The fish in turn lay their eggs on the bed. Removing the bed ill see a reduction in fish numbers which is bad for otters and fishermen.
The area around the barrage has been regenerated. There are new cafes and kayaking course which provides jobs and another source of income for local people. There are new footpaths which are wheelchair accessible so everyone can enjoy the river. / The cost is justified when it stops houses and businesses kept getting flooded. With global warming it is predicted that there will be more floods in the future. The cost of repairing the houses will go up so the flood defence scheme will stop this. / The dredging of the river removes the bed which is so important for a range of insects and fish. The insects live here and are food for the fish. The fish in turn lay their eggs on the bed. Removing the bed ill see a reduction in fish numbers which is bad for otters and fishermen.
Conflicts:
There are numerous conflicts. The main ones are between the environmentalists and the flood management engineers. Dredging of the river destroys habitats for endangered species. Fishermen and the Environment Agency are in conflict as the dredging removes habitat for salmon which the fishermen like to catch.
Example questions:
Using an example assess the impacts of a flood management scheme on a UK river – 6 marks