THE GEOGRAPHY DEPARTMENT

Year 7 Geography – Curriculum

Autumn Term
Introduction to Mapskills

How do we interpret and use maps?

Source of Geog.1 (4th Ed) – Textbook pg 26 to 41

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Students will apply
the knowledge by;
• The Ordnance Survey (OS) is the national mapping agency for
Great Britain, first established in 1791. They have mapped the - Completing a series
location of every fixed physical object in Great Britain, from the of tasks in lessons for
ground upwards, to within one metre accuracy and use a grid of each of the core map
squares numbering system on their maps which allows us to give skills
very accurate location details for particular locations or features.
• A compass is an important tool for map reading. It tells us which - Designing a treasure
way is north and where to find east, south, and west. Together, island map with map
these are known as the four cardinal points of the compass which symbols and grid lines
allow us to give directions for a journey. OS maps are always included which can be
printed with north facing the top. There are four additional used to consolidate
points which lie halfway between the four cardinal compass map skills knowledge
points: North East, South East, South West & North West.
- Completing an
• The grid squares on OS maps are used to help the map-reader to extended writing task
locate a place by calculating a grid reference. The lines running describing a journey
Knowledge vertically on the maps are called eastings. They are numbered - between two places
the numbers increase to the east. The horizontal lines are on a map using all of
called northings as the numbers increase in a northerly direction. their key map skills
When a grid reference is given, we always give the easting first:
"Along the corridor and up the stairs".

• Four-figure grid references can be used to pinpoint a

location to within a full grid square. To find the number of a
square:
1. Start at the left-hand side of the map and go east until
you get to the bottom-left-hand corner of the square
you want. Write this number down.
2. Move north until you get to the bottom-left corner of
the square you want. Look at the number of this grid
line and add it to the two-digit number you already
have. This is your four-figure grid reference.

[Publish Date]
• Six-figure grid references allow us to be even more accurate, and
take us to an exact point in a grid square. To do this you must
imagine that each grid square is divided into 100 tiny squares.
The distance between one grid line and the next is divided into
tenths.

1. First, find the four-figure grid reference but leave a

space after the first two digits.
2. Estimate or measure how many tenths across the grid
square your symbol lies. Write this number after the
first two digits.
3. Next, estimate how many tenths up the grid square
your symbol lies. Write this number after the last two
digits.
4. You now have a six figure grid reference.

• It is not possible for maps to show things at the size they

are in real life, so maps make things smaller using
scale. When maps are drawn to scale things are made many
times smaller than they really are.
• Every map has its scale printed on the front or underneath
the map. It is usually written like this: 1:25 000. This means
that 1 unit of measurement on the map (a centimetre, for
example) represents 25 000 of those same units on the
 actual ground the map covers. Sometimes the scale will be
shown on a scale bar, which you can lay a ruler against in
order to quickly calculate the real-life distance.
• Maps are sometimes called large or small scale.
1. Large-Scale maps — These are better for showing
individual buildings in detail because they only cover a
small area of land.
2. Small-Scale maps — These are ideal for travelling either
by car or walking because they cover large areas of land.
• Maps often use symbols instead of words to label real-life
features and make the maps clearer. With so many features
on a map, there would not be enough space to write
everything down in words.
• Map symbols can be small pictures, letters, lines or
coloured areas to show features like campsites, youth
hostels or bus stations. There will usually be a key next to
the map to explain what the symbols mean.
• Maps show height in a number of different ways:
1. Contour lines are a map's way of showing how high the
land is. They join together points of equal height and
never cross. When contour lines appear close together,
this means the land slopes sharply and would be steep
to climb. The further apart the contour lines are, the
flatter the land will be. They are usually an orange or
brown colour. Contour lines are usually drawn at 10
metre intervals on a 1:50,000 scale map and at 5 metre
intervals on a 1:25,000 scale map.
2. Spot heights: The exact height of some places on a map
are shown by a black dot with a number next to it. The
number is the height above sea level in metres.
3. Triangulation pillars: A blue triangle with a blue dot
inside it represents a triangulation pillar. This is part of
the network of concrete pillars found across the UK that
were used to help make maps, and the black number
beside it tells us the height above sea level.

Vocabulary Plan – a map of a really small area, for example a room, a house or a school.
Altitude – The height of a point in relation to sea level, given in metres.

Assessment
End of topic assessment (MCQ) – student recall and application of key map skills knowledge
Focus
 Spring Term
Weather and Climate
What causes differences in our weather and climate?
How does weather and climate affect our lives?

Source of Geog.2 (4th Ed) – Textbook pg 68 to 87

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• Weather is the state of the atmosphere in a particular place. It Students
changes quickly and can vary from place-to-place and from day-to will apply
day. the
knowledge
• Climate describes the average weather conditions found in an area. It
by;
is calculated by monitoring the daily weather conditions over a
period of at least 30 years. -
• There are a number of factors which influence climate and cause Completing
different locations in the world to experience different climates. an
1) Latitude: This is the main factor which influences climate. extended
Latitude describes how far a place lies north or south of the writing task
where they
Equator. The sun’s rays are more intense around the Equator due
construct a
to the curve of the Earth’s surface. Places which lie closer to the script for a
poles have cooler weather as the sun’s rays have to travel further weather
and cover a wider area, causing them to have less energy forecast
2) Prevailing wind direction: Prevailing winds are the dominant
wind direction in an area. In the UK, the prevailing wind is from - Creating,
the south west, which brings warm, moist air from the Atlantic describing
and
Ocean. This contributes to the frequent rainfall. explaining
3) Ocean Currents: Ocean currents are a continuous movement of the key
ocean water from one place to another. The North Atlantic Drift is elements of
a warm ocean current that travels across the Atlantic Ocean from a climate
Knowledge the Caribbean region. It warms the west coast of the UK in winter graph
by warming the air masses and winds passing over the ocean.
-
4) Altitude: Altitude is the height of a place (in metres) above sea
Completing
level. The higher a place lies above sea level the colder the air an
temperature becomes. This is because the air is less dense so extended
can’t hold the heat. Temperature falls by about 1 degrees celcius writing task
for every 100 metres in altitude. where they
5) Distance from the coast: Oceans heat up and cool down much are
required to
more slowly than land. This means that coastal locations tend to
write a
be cooler in summer and warmer in winter than places further newspaper
inland at the same latitude and altitude. Glasgow, for example, is report
at a similar latitude to Moscow, but is much milder in winter following
because it is nearer to the coast than Moscow. an extreme
6) Urban areas: Urban areas are usually a few degrees warmer all weather
event in the
year round than rural areas. This is because additional heat is
UK
emitted from buildings, large quantities of traffic generate
additional heat from engines and exhaust fumes and buildings
trap some of the warm air close to the ground.
• Climate graphs are used to display the average temperature and
precipitation of a place for each month of the year. The two sets of
data are shown on the same graph, with precipitation as a bar graph
 (shaded in blue) and temperature as a line graph (drawn in red). The
graph has two y-axes, the left hand axis is for precipitation and the
right hand axis is for temperature.
African Savannah Climate Graph
100 35

Temperature (Degrees
30

Precipitation (mm)
80
25

Celsius)
60 20
40 15
10
20
5
0 0
Jan FebMar AprMayJun Jul AugSep Oct NovDec

• Air pressure is the force of air pushing down on us, due to the weight
of the atmosphere. Changes in air pressure bring about changes in
the weather. When air is rising, there’s less force pressing down on
us, so the air pressure falls. When the air is sinking, the air pressure
rises.
• Low pressure weather systems are known as depressions. They bring
wet and windy weather conditions. The lower the air pressure the
worse the weather will be.
• High pressure weather systems are known as anticyclones. They bring
sunny, dry weather and virtually cloudless skies. A summer
anticyclone can bring very hot temperatures and may cause a
heatwave or drought. A winter anticyclone brings very cold
temperatures which may cause frost and fog.
• Rain is formed when air containing water vapour is forced to rise. As
air rises it cools, water vapour condenses to form clouds made of tiny
water droplets. The water droplets collide and grow to form
raindrops. When the raindrops are large enough they fall as rain.
• There are three main types of rainfall:
1) Relief rainfall – The UK’s prevailing winds bring warm, moist air to
the western British Isles. This air is forced to rise over hilly and
mountainous areas. The rising air cools and condenses, clouds form
and it rains. Air descends on the other side of the mountains. It
warms up as it sinks and therefore becomes drier.
2) Convectional rainfall - When the land warms up, it heats the air
above it. This causes the air to expand and rise. As the air rises it
cools and condenses. If this process continues then rain will fall. This
type of rainfall is very common in tropical areas but also in areas such
as South East England during warm sunny spells.
3) Frontal rainfall - The British Isles are affected by a number of
different air masses. Frontal rainfall occurs when a warm air mass
collides with a cold air mass. The air masses do not mix - they form
fronts. The colder air mass is heavier than the warmer air mass,
therefore the lighter, warmer air rises over the top of the heavier,
colder air. As the warm air is forced to rise it cools. Condensation
occurs, clouds form and rain occurs along the front.
• Measuring the weather – To be able to make the most accurate
weather forecasts we need to know, with as much detail and
accuracy as possible, what the weather is doing right now. To do
this we measure all the different parts of the weather and record it.
Here are the main elements of the weather that we measure:
1) Temperature – This tells us how or hot or cold a place is. We
measure it in degrees celcius using a thermometer.
2) Precipitation – This tells us how much water has fallen from the sky
(as rain, snow, sleet, hail etc.). It is usually measured in millimetres
(mm) using a rain gauge. A rain gauge is a container with a scale
marked on it.
3) Air pressure –This is the force of air pushing down on us, due to the
weight of the atmosphere. Air pressure is measured in millibars (mb)
using a barometer.
4) Wind speed – This tells us how fast the wind is blowing. Wind speed
is usually measured in miles per hour (mph) or kilometres per hour
(kph). The weather instrument used to mesure wind speed is called
an anemometer. It is a set of little cups on a pole, which the wind
turns; a dial calculates the exact speed of the wind.
5) Wind direction – The tells us what direction the wind is blowing
from, using compass directions. Wind direction is usually calculated
using a wind vane or a wind sock. A wind sock is a fabric tube that the
wind blows through. It changes direction with the wind. They are
often used at airports for this purpose.
6) Cloud cover - Cloud cover is how much of the sky is covered by clouds
and is measured using your own eyes. The unit of measurement is
called eighths or oktas. 0 oktas means the sky is completely clear
where as 8 oktas means it is completely overcast.
• Meteorologists measure weather conditions in different places and
use this information to report and make forecasts about future
weather conditions. This is useful because people can be warned
about hazardous weather conditions such as storms and floods.
• Weather forecasts are regularly produced for television broadcasts,
websites and newspapers. They use weather symbols placed in
different locations on a map of the UK to represent the main weather
conditions expected in a particular area. The common symbols used
are shown below.
 • Extreme weather - Extreme weather is when weather is significantly
different from the usual weather pattern of an area. Examples of
extreme weather include: flash flooding, drought, storms, very cold
spells and heat waves.
• An example of a recent extreme weather event that affected much of
the UK was the ‘Beast from the East’, a week of extremely cold
weather, including heavy snow and sub-zero temperatures in late
February 2018.
- Cause: Sudden warming high up in the atmosphere caused the jet
stream to move further south. This allowed a large polar
continental air mass from Russia (in the east) to bring in
extremely cold air to the UK.
- Effects: 50cm of snow fell in some places but strong winds blew
much of the snow into large ‘drifts’, virtually all of the UK
experienced snow and ice, the sea froze in some places,
thousands of drivers were stranded in vehicles, some having to
sleep in their cars in freezing temperatures, people were left
without power and hot water in their homes, hundreds of flights
were delayed or cancelled, people in rural areas were blocked
into their homes as roads were not passable.
- Responses: Red warnings were issued by the MET Office which
means there is a ‘risk to life’, local councils, farmers, mountain
rescue teams and even the army tried to help people and clear
the roads, taxi firms offered to fetch medicines for elderly people
for free, Greggs delivered food to stranded motorists, community
centres and churches opened for homeless people to shelter from
the conditions, the Armed Forces rescued drivers and drove NHS
workers to hospitals and health centres.
Equator - The Equator is an imaginary line around the middle of the Earth. It lies at 0 degrees
latitude, halfway between the North and South Poles, and divides the Earth into the Northern and
Vocabulary Southern Hemispheres.
Precipitation – Water falling from the sky in all its forms i.e. rain, snow, hail and sleet, measured in
millimetres.
 Weather instrument – Pieces of equipment that are used to measure and record different
elements of the weather e.g. thermometer, rain gauge, anemometer
Meteorologist - Meteorologists are scientists who study the earth’s atmosphere, particularly
climate and weather, in order to forecast weather conditions.
Urban areas – places that are heavily built up and developed, usually in towns and cities.
Rural areas – areas of countryside, farmland and open space that only contain small settlements
such as hamlets and villages.
1) Weather instrument task – students design and construct a weather instrument, write a
summary of the design, construction and testing process and give a short oral presentation to
Assessment their class
Focus 2) End of topic assessment which includes a range of question styles (including multiple choice,
short answer, geographical skills task and extended writing tasks with Spelling, Punctuation and
Grammar marks)
 Summer Term
Introduction to Asia and China

What is China like as a country and why?

Source of Geog.2 (4th Ed) – Textbook pg 106 & 107, pg 112 & 113, pg 120 - 129
knowledge T: Drive Geography KS3 folder for teaching resources (powerpoints, video links etc.)
Students will
• Asia is the world’s largest continent. It is made up of 48 countries, apply the
as well as 6 non-UN states, and 6 dependent territories. knowledge
by;

- Reinforcing
map skills
knowledge by
locating and
labelling
major physical
and human
features of
China on a
map.

- Comparing
and
contrasting
the climate
graphs of
Beijing and
Hainan Island.
Knowledge

• Asia has a huge range of amazing physical features, including cold, - Completing
windy plains, scorching hot deserts and the world’s highest an extended
mountain range. writing task
- Major mountain ranges: Ural Mts, Himalayas, Zagros Mts, demonstratin
g their ability
Caucasus, Plateau of Tibet
to discuss the
- Major rivers: Ganges, Yangtze, Yellow, Brahmaputra, Mekong, reasons why
Tigris, Euphrates. people leave
- Major deserts: Gobi, Arabian. some rural
- Seas/Bodies of Water: Caspian Sea, Black Sea, Arabian Sea, areas and
South China Sea, Bay of Bengal. move to
• China is the most populated country in the continent of Asia and urban areas.
lies to the east of the continent. It is the fourth biggest country in
Asia by area. About two-thirds of China is mountainous or hilly and
the country has thousands of rivers.
- Major mountain ranges/upland areas: Himalayas, Plateau of
Tibet.
- Major rivers: Yangtze, Yellow, Xi.
- Major deserts: Gobi, Taklimakan, Kumtag.
- Plains: Dongbei, Huabei.
- Seas/Bodies of Water: South China Sea, East China Sea.
 - Major cities: Beijing, Shanghai, Chongqing, Tianjin, Guangzhou.
• Due to China being so large and mountainous, it has a wide range of
climates. The far south of the country is in the tropics, whereas the
far north is much cooler. The higher up in altitude you go in the
mountainous areas, the colder the climate becomes. In summer,
the land heats up quickly. The land heats the air above it, which
rises fast, and allows moist monsoon winds to be drawn in from the
south east, from over the sea. They bring the monsoon rains.
Inland, away from the sea, there are big temperature differences
between summer and winter.
• China has undergone huge changes as a country over the last 40
years or so and continues to change quickly today. 40 years ago,
most Chinese people were living in poverty, and the country’s
population was growing very quickly. The state (i.e. the
government) owned all the land and told farmers what to grow. The
state also controlled all the factories and other businesses and told
people what work to do. China did not want to trade or build
relationships with any other countries around the world at this
time.
• In 1979, with the country in so much difficulty, China’s leaders
decided that a new direction was needed. They set out to make
some significant changes in the country. These included:
- Allowing farmers to farm land for themselves, and to sell the
extra food they produced for income.
- Allowing people to set up and run their own businesses.
- Opening up trade links with the rest of the world, and allowing
foreign-owned companies to set up in China.
- Introducing a One Child policy, to control the rate of population
growth.
• China’s One Child policy was introduced by the Chinese
government in 1979 to try and solve the problem of
overpopulation. It’s main purpose was to make sure that China
could support its large population with facilities such as healthcare,
education, housing, good jobs and most importantly, food. The aim
was to reduce poverty and to improve overall quality of life for the
people.
• Strengths of the One Child Policy:
- The one child policy prevented over 400million births.
- Parents in China receive the cost of child care and medical
expenses for their one child.
- Both parents are able to work so they will be financially better
off.
- Without the policy many people would now be living in poverty.
- Children get more time with their parents.
• Weaknesses of the One Child Policy:
- There is now a big gender gap with 60 million more men than
women.
- ‘Little emperors’ are common, as the only child is often spoilt.
 - Abortion rate has gone up as women are pressured if pregnant
for a 2nd time
- Baby girls are often abandoned and orphaned as males are seen
as more superior in Chinese society.
- There will be fewer people to look after the elderly.
• When we study the population of a country, we look at the birth
rate, death rate and life expectancy of the population.
- Birth rate: The number of live births, in a country, every year,
per 1000 of the population.
- Death Rate: The number of deaths, in a country, every year, per
1000 of the population.
- Life Expectancy: How many years a person is expected to live in
a country, on average.
• Population pyramids are graphs that show population structures,
i.e. how many males and females of different age groups are in
the population in each place. Population structures change from
place to place and over time.

- A wide base means there are lots of young people, and suggests
a high birth rate.
- A narrow base means a smaller proportion of young people,
suggesting a low birth rate.
- A wide middle, tall pyramid means an ageing population,
suggesting that there is a long life expectancy.
• Some reasons for high birth rates include:

- need for large families, eg to work in rural areas

- lack of family planning

- people have many children because many infants die

• Some reasons for falling death rates include:

- increasing wealth
 - better hygiene and improved healthcare

- better farming techniques

• However, the shape of population pyramids can also be affected
by migration e.g. a population pyramid for a country like the UAE shows
the effects of lots of male workers arriving to work in there.

• Rural to urban migration is when people move permanently

from the countryside (rural areas) to live in towns and cities (urban areas).
The reasons why people move to or from an area are known as push and
pull factors.

- Push Factors: something that makes someone want to move away

from a place e.g. an unfriendly community, poor housing, lack of jobs.

- Pull Factors: something a place has that makes people want to move
there e.g. better quality housing, good entertainment, a pleasant
living environment.

• In China, a large amount of rural to urban migration has occurred

over the last 20 years. Many people living in rural areas of China
have moved to large urban areas in search of better paid work.
They want to provide more money for their families, and often find
jobs doing building work, factory work, street cleaning or being a
market porter. Many of the migrant workers have left their children
behind in the rural areas, living with their grandparents, until they
can earn enough money to send home for them. Living in the large
towns and cities is not always easy for families as accommodation is
more expensive and there is a lot of competition from other
migrants for the little accommodation that is available. City life can
also been seen as being more dangerous due to lots of traffic,
pollution and large numbers of people moving around.
Plateau – a large, flat upland area
Plain – a flat area with little or no changes in elevation, usually found at the foot of mountains, by
the coast or on the upper surface of plateaus.
Monsoon – a season of very heavy rainfall, usually lasting between June and September. The sub-
Vocabulary continents of India and South-East Asia get the most rainfall during this season.
Migration – a permanent movement from one place to another
Urbanisation – an increase in the percentage of people living in towns and cities, usually
accompanied by additional building development that causes the physical size of the urban area to
increase.
Assessed via annual Year 7 exam which includes a range of question styles (including multiple
Assessment
choice, short answer, geographical skills task and extended writing tasks with Spelling, Punctuation
Focus
and Grammar marks)
 Summer Term
River Processes and Landscapes
How are river landscapes created?
How do rivers create challenges for people living near them?

Source of Geog.1 (4th Ed) – Textbook pg 80 to 99

knowledge T: Drive Geography KS3 folder for teaching resources (PowerPoints, video links etc.)
Students
• The water cycle is the journey water takes as it moves from the land will apply
to the sky and back again. It follows a cycle of evaporation, the
condensation and precipitation. knowledge
by;

Completing
three pieces
of extended
writing,
using the P-
E-E-L
paragraph
structure,
answering
the
following
questions;

- Describe
how a river
The water cycle works in the following way: channel
changes as
Knowledge - Energy from the Sun heats the surface of the Earth. it moves
downstream
- Water is evaporated from oceans, rivers, lakes, etc. from source
to mouth.
- The warm, moist air rises because it is less dense.
- Explain the
- Condensation occurs when water vapour is turned back into formation of
water droplets as it cools down. Clouds are formed. a waterfall.

- Precipitation occurs as water droplets get bigger and heavier - Use an

they begin to fall as rain, snow and sleet, etc. example
(case study)
When the precipitation reaches the surface, some falls directly into the sea but
to explain
other water falls on land:
how river
flooding is
- Some water is intercepted by vegetation. Some water may then managed.
slowly reach the ground. Some will evaporate from the surface of
leaves or be taken up by the plant roots, and some of this water
will eventually return to the air as vapour through the process of
transpiration. This slows down or prevents some water flowing
back to the river.
- Some water flows across the surface of the ground as surface
run-off. This happens when the surface doesn't allow water to
penetrate. Surface run-off is more likely to occur if the ground
 is saturated with water or when the rock is impermeable. This
water moves quickly to the river.
- Some water infiltrates into the soil. This through flow moves
more slowly back to the river than surface run-off.
- Some water percolates deeper into the ground and is slowly
transferred back to the river or sea by through-flow.

• A drainage basin is the area of land drained by a river and all of its
tributaries.

Here are the key features of river’s drainage basin:

- River Channel: The outline of the path or route that a river flows
along as it travels from source to mouth.
- Tributary: A small river which feeds into into the main one, that
form part of the same drainage basin system.
- Confluence: The point where two rivers meet and join to form one
larger river.
- Watershed: The imaginary dividing line between neighbouring
drainage basins.
- Mouth: The end of the river, where it meets the sea, or a lake.
- Source: The source is where a river starts its journey and is usually
found in the hills or mountains.

River landscapes change as you go downstream from the source to the mouth. The
processes of erosion, transportation and deposition help to create different river
landforms along the river channel.

- Erosion: the process that wears away the river bed and banks.
Erosion also breaks up the rocks that are carried by the river.
- Transportation: the movement of eroded material along a river.
- Deposition: when a river loses energy, it drops the soil particles, rock
particles and stones that it has been carrying, usually onto the river
bed.
 In the upper course of a river, steep gradients lead to rapid-flowing rivers. In the
middle course, the river meanders through gentle gradients. In the lower course,
the river flows over relatively flat land.

Landforms in the upper course

V-shaped valley

When a river is near its source, it often develops a V-shaped valley as the river
erodes down (this is called vertical erosion). At the same time, weathering breaks
up material on the valley slopes. Weathered material from the valley sides gets
deposited in the river. This material is carried by the river and erodes the riverbed
through abrasion.

Waterfalls

Waterfalls often form in the upper stages of a river where it flows over different
bands of rock. It erodes soft rock more quickly than hard rock and this may lead to
the creation of a waterfall.

Formation of a waterfall:

• The soft rock erodes more quickly, undercutting the hard rock.
• The hard rock is left overhanging and because it isn’t supported, it eventually
collapses.
• The fallen rocks crash into the plunge pool. They swirl around, causing more
erosion.
• Over time, this process is repeated and the waterfall moves upstream.
• A steep-sided gorge is formed as the waterfall retreats.
 Landforms in the middle and lower course

Meanders and ox-bow lakes

A meander is a bend in the river. Meanders usually occur in the middle or lower
course, and are formed by erosion and deposition. As the river flows around a
meander, centrifugal forces cause the water to flow fastest around the outside of
the bend. This creates erosion on the outside and deposition on the inside of the
bend, which means that the meander slowly moves. If the meander moves so
much that the bend becomes very large, the course of the river may change. The
meander may be cut off and deposition fills the section that no longer flows. This
forms an ox-bow lake.

River Flooding

A river floods when the water normally flowing in the channel overflows its banks
and spreads out onto the surrounding land, known as the river floodplain. This
causes major problems for people living close to the river. A variety of factors can
increase the likelihood of flooding.

Physical causes of flooding:

• heavy rainfall
• long periods of rain
• snowmelt (water that results from the melting of snow.)
• steep slopes
• impermeable rock (doesn't allow water through)
• very wet, saturated soils
• compacted or dry soil

Human factors increasing flood risk:

• urbanisation, because towns and cities have more impermeable surfaces

• deforestation, because removing trees reduces the amount of water intercepted
and increases run-off

Some examples of famous flood events in the UK:

- Boscastle, Cornwall (2004)

- Gloucestershire (2007)
- Morpeth, Northumberland (Sept 2008)
- Somerset Levels (Dec 2013/Jan 2014)
- Winter Floods (2014)
- York (Dec 2015)
- Storm Desmond (Dec 2015) – major floods along the Tyne, Lune &
Eden Rivers. Cumbria, Lancashire & parts of southern Scotland
badly affected.

Impacts of Flooding

Floods can cause damage to homes and possessions as well as disruption to

communications and transport routes. However, flooding can also have positive
impacts on an area.

Flooding deposits fine silt (called alluvium) onto the floodplain, making it very
fertile and excellent for agriculture. People living on or near floodplains may rely
upon regular flooding to help support their farming and therefore provide food.

Lower income countries (LICs) tend to be affected more than higher income
countries by the effects of flooding. This is partly because LICs have more farms,
and farming communities are attracted to fertile flood plains. LICs often do not
have the resources to prevent flooding or deal with the aftermath of flooding.

Students will study a UK flooding event, which will include an explanation of how
flooding is now being managed in that area. An example of one possible flooding
event for study is given below.

Flood Management Case Study: Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire 2007

Exceptionally high levels of rainfall in the summer of 2007 caused extensive

flooding in parts of England, especially in South and East Yorkshire, Worcestershire,
Gloucestershire and Oxfordshire. The government called the 2007 floods a national
catastrophe. Nationally, two-thirds of the total cost of the floods was incurred by
damage to homes, businesses and vehicles. Alongside this damage however,
valuable farm land was flooded (42,000 hectares) and roads and infrastructure
badly damaged. Schools were also seriously affected, with the loss of 400,000 pupil
days of education.

The 2007 floods cost local councils £140 million, and the total cost to the British
economy was estimated at £3.2 billion. Gloucestershire was the county worst
affected. Across Gloucestershire 1950 people needed temporary accommodation.
 During the floods, Gloucester Fire and Rescue Service dealt with 1,800 incidents in
an 18 hour period, compared to their yearly average of 8,000.

Tewkesbury in Gloucestershire, at one point completely surrounded by flood

water, was particularly badly affected. Tewkesbury has a history of flooding. This is
why Tewkesbury’s historic centre with its abbey and Tudor buildings, were built on
the higher land and out of the flood risk zone. Even so, flood water entered
Tewkesbury Abbey – this had not happened for 247 years.

During the 2007 flood, in Tewkesbury:

• 25,000 sandbags were distributed, containing 200 tonnes of sand
• 133 porta-loos were erected
• 5 million litres of drinking water was distributed
• 500 people were given temporary accommodation in rest centres
• Power went off for a day
• There was no running water for two weeks for over 300,000 people
• Three people died and hundreds had to be evacuated from Tewkesbury.
• Over 1800 houses and 300 businesses were flooded.
• Habitats were destroyed and wildlife drowned by the floodwater

What has been done since the 2007 floods?

• 34 new flood defences were built by 2008, providing protection to
30,000 homes.
• The Environment Agency now holds flood prevention classes in areas
at risk of possible future floods.
• Gloucestershire county has set up a free flood-warning scheme and
at least 73,000 people have signed up
• Since 2007, Severn Trent Water Company has spent more than £36
million on new pipelines and flood defences around the Mythe water
treatment works.
• In 2015 the Environment Agency, Tewkesbury Borough Council and
Gloucestershire County Council began working together to clear out
the ditches. The cleared ditches help to absorb some of the
floodwater, which increases the time it takes the floodwaters to
breach the ditch’s banks.
• 2017 A cofferdam was built either side of the movable weir to allow
refurbishment under the Environment Agency monitoring station,
located on the River Avon. (A cofferdam (also called a coffer) is an
enclosure built within, or across, a body of water to allow the
enclosed area to be pumped out. This pumping creates a dry work
environment so that the work can be carried out safely.)

Evaporation –the process of water changing from a liquid state to a gas (water vapour)
Condensation – the process of water vapour changing back into a liquid.
Interception – precipitation which lands on plants, trees and buildings, rather than falling straight
onto the ground.
Transpiration – water vapour that is emitted through the surface of an object or plant.
Vocabulary Surface runoff –the flow of water that occurs when excess water flows over the earth's surface..
Impermeable – a material e.g. rock which does not let water pass through it.
Saturated –ground that is completely soaked through with moisture and cannot absorb any
further precipitation.
Percolation - the movement of water through the soil or underlying porous rock. This water
collects as groundwater.
 Infiltration - The downward movement of water that seeps into the soil or a porous rock.
Through-flow - the movement of water with in the soil sideways, towards the river.
Centrifugal forces – the apparent force that is felt by an object moving in a curved path that acts
outwardly away from the centre of rotation.
Plunge pool - The pool of water found at the bottom of a waterfall. It is an erosional feature which
has been created by a combination of hydraulic action and the abrasion of the plunging water.
Meander – a bend in a river.
Urbanisation –the process of growth in towns and cities that leads to a greater percentage of the
population living there.
Deforestation – is the clearing, or cutting down, of forests. The word is normally used to describe
the actions of humans in removing forests from the planet, rather than destruction caused by such
natural events as hurricanes.

End of topic assessment which includes a range of question styles (including multiple choice, short
Assessment
answer, geographical skills task and extended writing tasks with Spelling, Punctuation and
Focus
Grammar marks)