Year 9 Geography Revision
What is the Earth made up of?
The earth is just like a giant apple. It
has a thin layer called the crust, a
softer part called the mantle and a
liquid centre called the core.
Some time after the earth formed, it got
so hot that everything inside it melted.
The heavier substances in the liquid
sank and the lighter ones rose, forming
layers. As the earth cooled, most of the
layers turned solid.
Earth was formed 4,600 million years
ago. Since then it has been slowly
cooling down and a thin crust has
formed round the outside.
The crust is broken into several
enormous sections. The plates float
above hot molten. The place where 2
sections/plates meet is called a plate
boundary. The movement of these plate
cause volcanoes & earthquakes.
Earthquakes
An earthquake is a sudden and short
period of intense ground shaking.
1. Mercalli Scale
•The earthquakes
intensity is split into
twelve groups.
•Roman numerals I to
XII are used to show
the effects.
•It is based on
observation and
opinions.
2. Richter Scale
•This measures seismic
waves using a
seismograph.
•The Richter scale is
logarithmic: an
earthquake measured
at 7 is 10x stronger than
that at 6.
•Numbers range from 0
to 9
Earthquakes start at the focus.
The epicentre is the point on the Earth’s
surface above the focus, and is the first
place to shake.
The focus can be shallow or deep.
Underground tectonic plates push past
each other, building up pressure.
This pressure is suddenly released
along faults (cracks in the crust),
sending out a huge pulse of energy.
This travels out in all directions as
earthquake waves.
Volcanoes
A volcano has different parts to it. It grows
and each is different, but they all have
certain features including a chamber, a vent
and a crater. When they erupt, it can cause
many problems for the people who live
there. We saw that many people died when
Mount Vesuvius erupted, but there was a
sequence from not seeming too bad, to
everything destroyed. People have their own
reasons for living near to them. These
include:
1. They have always lived there.
2. They don’t think it will happen to them.
3. The fields are very rich in plant foods from
the ash.
CASE STUDY – Nepal 2015
A powerful earthquake struck in the morning of morning of April 25 2015, between the capital
city of Kathmandu and another city, Pokhara. The earthquake had a magnitude of 7.8 - which
means it was very strong - and tremors were felt in nearby countries Pakistan, Bangladesh
and India. A second strong earthquake, magnitude 7.3, hit eastern Nepal, near Mount
Everest on 12 May 2015. More than 100 people were killed and thousands more injured.
Many of the country's historic sites were severely damaged, including temples and
monuments. Nearly 9,000 people died.
Thousands in Kathmandu, Nepal's capital, had to sleep outside and water and electricity was
in short supply. The Nepal government asked for help from other countries - everything from
blankets and helicopters to doctors and drivers were needed. Help and supplies from all over
the world were flown into the country.
Aid agencies used helicopters to get help and supplies to people who live in remote
mountain areas, which were difficult to get to. The priority for rescue agencies was to reach
people who were trapped or injured, and provide shelter and protection to those who lost
their homes. It's not just the towns and villages where people needed help. Hundreds were
rescued from near Mount Everest, the world's tallest mountain.
Even though the centre of the earthquake struck more than 120 miles away from the
mountain it had a major impact on climbers there. Avalanches caused by the tremors killed at
least 18 climbers and injured more than 60. Helicopters were used to rescue mountaineers
trapped on Everest.
Key Words –
some are new words, some are for a
recap.
Mental Map - Maps in our minds of the
areas we know.
Crime hotspot - a place with a lot of crime
or opportunities for crime.
Natural surveillance - Places which can be
easily watched so it is difficult for
criminals to commit crime without being
seen.
Geographic Profiling - Mapping criminal
activity to try to find patterns to help
solve crimes.
GIS - Geographic Information Systems.
Types of digital maps which are made up of
layers of information which the user can
select what to include.
Least Effort Principal - People behave in
predictable ways because they tend to
choose the option which requires the least
effort. Criminals will tend to commit
crimes in areas they are familiar with and
can travel to easily.
Climate Change - Key Words
Climate Change
any change in global temperatures and precipitation
(rainfall) over time, due to natural or human activity
Greenhouse Effect The process whereby gases trap heat in the Earth’s
atmosphere, causing the world to warm up
Enhanced
The process whereby an increased amount of
greenhouse effect greenhouse gases (because of human activity) trap
more heat in the Earth’s atmosphere, causing the world
to warm up at a quicker rate
Global Warming
the gradual warming of the Earth’s atmosphere
Carbon Dioxide
(CO2)
A greenhouse gas that is found in the Earth’s
atmosphere
Fossil fuels
Examples are coal, oil and gas. They are made from the
remains dead plants and animals over millions of year.
When they are burnt, C02 gases are released
Greenhouse gas
Gases that pollute that atmosphere, including C02,
methane, and water vapour
Atmosphere
A layer around the earth, made up of greenhouse
gases. This layer acts as a blanket to insulate earth
(keep it warm)
Definitions of Tourism
‘The movement of people to places outside their normal places of work and
community, the activities carried out during their holiday, and the
facilities created to meet to their needs.’
‘The act of moving outside one's home community for business or pleasure but
not for commuting or travelling to or from school.’
‘Persons travelling for pleasure in a period no less than 24 hours.’
‘Being away from your usual habitat, the industry which responds to his needs,
and the impacts that both he and the industry have on the environments.’
‘Activity of people traveling away from their home community to take part in one
or more of a variety of activities.’
Ecotourism is environmentally
responsible travel to enjoy and
appreciate nature and cultural
experiences. Ecotourism should
have low impact on the
environment and should
contribute to the well-being of
local people.
The Galapagos Islands are a small chain of islands
found 1,000km from the West coast of South America.
They are Ecuadorian, and are home to an incredible
array of animals and plants.
The Galapagos Islands are most
famous because many of the plants
and animals found there are not
found anywhere else in the world.
This is because the islands are
isolated or cut off from the rest of the
World’s land mass by the Pacific
Ocean, allowing the plants and
animals to EVOLVE in their own way
for hundreds of thousands of years. .
The Government of Ecuador
has been helpful in
protecting the Galapagos
Islands. In recent years,
though they have reduce the
finances and proper
planning. A ‘Special Law for
the Galapagos’ has been
created to protect the
environment.
Approximately 90% of the Islands are
designated as National parks and there
are only 20,000 permanent human
residents (although this has risen from
9,000 only 20 years ago), allowing for a
high degree of protection of the
environment. The area became the
first UNESCO World Heritage site in
1979 and they are also a biosphere
reserve.
The Galapagos Islands represent
a place in the world were
ECOTOURISM takes place. This
is environmentally friendly
tourism where the people
involved seek to protect the
environment as much as
possible and to allow for some
level of education as well. In
many cases of ecotourism,
some of the profits go back into
protecting the environment and
the tourism is small scale, with
low visitor number densities and
environmental approaches to
accommodation and food.
However, local people make a
valuable living from tourism and
there are few other employment
opportunities available. Tourists
also generate a lot of businesses
in the local economy as guides,
restraints, hotels, boats owners
and cleaners all benefit
The Galapagos are run along these
lines because;
Tourists visit under strict rules
- They can only visit on small ships of
10 to 16 tourists, most of which are
owned by local people
-The tourists can only visit a limited
number of places on the Islands, thus
protecting the rest of the Islands
-The tourists are only allowed to visit
in small numbers.
-Visitors also receive information on
how to conserve the Islands prior to
their departure to the Islands.
- They also have to pay a £25 fee to
promote conservation on the Islands
Another example, is the ecotourism
lodge in Puerto Maldonado in Peru,
where tours of the Amazon forest take
place for tourists staying in small
wooden huts there is limited
electricity and waste is dealt with on
site, and the food at the resort is
sourced locally.
Despite all of this, there are still some problems from the overuse of
some sites (honey pot sites), oil spills from boats, and pollution to the
Islands water supply and the water supply is put under pressure from
the tourists use
The UK tourist
areas are
overcrowded.
School holidays now
exist.
People have become
wealthier.
Reasons why tourism has
increased in the past century.
People have more
leisure time.
Transport has improved
so it is easier to travel.
People don’t see
families anymore.
TV & Internet show us
what countries are
like
What are the
issues here?
Movie tourism is when a
destination or attraction
is visited due to it being
featured in a film, on
television or in a book
EXTREME ENVIRONMENTS
Locations with particularly difficult
environments where the
development of tourism has only
recently occurred due to a niche
market demand for somewhere
different with physical challenges
.