Paper 1. Question 2: Rocks, resources and scenery.
Geological time is on a different scale from human
time.
Simplified geological time scale.
Geological time scale cover a very long time
Era = a big time scale <- longer time than a period
Period = a smaller time scale
The position of granite, Carboniferous limestone
and chalk and clay within this framework.
Granite = older than 543 million years = Precambrian
Limestone = 2nd oldest 248 million years = Paleozoic
Chalk = 3rd oldest 65 million years = Mesozoic
Clay = 4th oldest 0 million years = Cenozoic
Characteristics and formation of igneous
Igneous rock – cooled lava/magma
Intrusive igneous = stronger and big crystals, magma cools in crust eg Granite (impermeable rock)
Extrusive igneous = smaller crystals, lava cooled outside the crust eg basalt.
Characteristics and formation Sedimentary rocks -
Sedimentary rock = compressed layers of sea creatures and sediments, small particles and fossils. Examples are
limestone (permeable and pervious), clay (impermeable) and chalk (permeable and porous).
Characteristics and formation metamorphic rocks
Metamorphic rocks = rocks changed under heat or pressure, hard rock e.g. limestone to marble
The location of these in the UK.
The links between categories - the rock cycle.
Rocks are susceptible to weathering. The type of
weathering that is most effective is determined by
the composition of the rock and the climate.
Mechanical weathering – freeze thaw
Freeze thaw  water in crack0° freezesexpands by 9% (thaw (melt))0° freezesrepeats
eventually cracks off
Mechanical weathering – exfoliation
Exfoliation - (onion skin weathering), rocks expand as they warm in the day  contract as they cool at night 
this processes repeats and layers peel off
Chemical weathering – solution, carbonation.
Slightly acidic rain changes calcium carbonate into calcium bicarbonate which is soluble in water (dissolve)
Warm wet climate decomposing vegetation releasing humic acid.
Biological weathering
Different rocks create contrasting landforms and
landscapes
Rabbit, roots, ivy, ants, human feet
Granite tors in Dartmoor: Intrusion of magma into the crust  vertical joints form as it cools to form a granite
batholith  top layers are work away exposing the joints to freeze thaw weathering  areas with fewer crack
weather more slowly so are left standing tall as a tor. Eg Hay Tor, Dartmoor
Granite – Tors and moorland areas.
Chalk and clay – escarpments/cuestas and vales; dry
valleys, spring lines
Chalk escarpment and clay vales in South Downs:
Paper 1. Question 2: Rocks, resources and scenery.
Carboniferous Limestone – Surface features
Grykes- [clints]grykes[clints]
Limestone pavement
Swallow holes - where water disappears
underground
Dry Valley - no water
resurgence - spring
Limestone gorges - a cave collapses
Caverns - Underground
Stalactites - Ceiling
Stalagmites - Ground
Pillars - Join ceiling and ground
Curtains - Down the wall
The ways people use the areas. Case study/Studies
to cover the following uses:
A source of building stone; Opportunities and
limitations for farming: water supply; for farming
Water dripping from the ceiling of the cavern leaves a deposit of calcium which builds up into stalactites and
stalagmites.
Granite: hills, moorland, sheep, Aberdeen – the granite city, reservoirs (Avon reservoir, Dartmoor), forestry,
hiking, rock climbing, kitchen worktops.
Limestone: cement, buildings e.g. St Paul’s Cathedral, lime for fertiliser, statues, potholing, caving and tourism
e.g. White Scar caves in Yorkshire Dales, sheep farming.
Chalk: sheep farming, aquifers
Opportunities for tourism and the costs and
benefits of this:
Clay vales: arable and dairy farming.
Tourism in the Yorkshire Dales: Sightseeing, hiking, horse riding, potholing, caving and tourism e.g. White Scar
caves in Yorkshire Dales, scenery like Malham Tarn, villages like Ingleton.
Honey pot sites: Environmental impacts  congestion, litter, footpath erosion. Economic impacts  seasonal
employment, house prices rise.
Demand for resources has led to quarrying
(extraction of rock). This is an important issue and
has led to conflict and debate
A case study of a quarry – its location, economic,
social and environmental advantages and
disadvantages.
Ingleton Quarry, Limestone, Yorkshire Dales
A case study of a quarry – and the attempts made
to manage the extraction and use of the land during
extraction and/or after the resource is exhausted
in a sustainable manner. To include strategies used
during extraction and restoration following
extraction - use for farming, recreation and
tourism.
Quarry management at Ingleton Quarry:
Trees to screen the quarry
Explosions and lorries just in daylight hours
Spray the rock to reduce dust
Economic – rocks, employment, taxes,
decreasing house prices, decrease in tourism
Social – jobs are specialised so not for locals,
frustration from noise, dust and lorries,
eye sore
Environment – noise and air pollution, congestion,
eye sore, loss of habitat, flooding
Uses of quarries after extraction  restoration:
Upton Warren – outdoor education centre (canoe, sail)
Landfill sites like Hill and Moor, Wyre Piddle
Diggerland in Strood.
InterContinental Shimao hotel, being built in China.
Eden project.
Sketch map of Ingleton Quarry