Why are some parts of Scotland steep and some parts of Scotland flat? Scotland Rocks! Presentation...

Why are some parts of Scotland steep andsome parts of Scotland flat?

Scotland Rocks!

Presentation © Hodder Gibson 2012


The reason the Scottish Landscape is so varied is because it is made up of lots of different types of rocks all of which have different forces acting upon them shaping the landscape.

There are three main types of rock:

Metamorphic rocks


Sedimentary rocks

Igneous rocks


Sedimentary rocks

Sedimentary rocks are formed from the compressed remains of other rocks. They tend to form under water and often contain fossils.


Igneous rocks

Igneous rocks are formed from within the earth’s crust from the cooling of molten material they are sometimes extruded

onto the earth surface (for example at volcanoes).


Metamorphic rocks

Metamorphic rocks have been changed and hardened by extreme heat from molten rocks within the crust or have been made by great pressure caused by earth movements.


The Geologyof Scotland

Characteristics of rocks


Some rocks are relatively soft (eg: salt)…

…while others are relatively hard.


Characteristics of rocks

Some rocks are permeable – they allow water to drain through them easily. Others are impermeable and keep all water on the surface.

All rocks, even the hardest ones, have

weaknesses.



All over the Earth, rivers, waves, glaciers and the wind are hard at work, shaping the landscape. We call them geological agents.

they carry or transport it somewhere else...

then they drop or deposit it.

They pick up or erode weathered material...

What shapes the land?


Ocean waves, created by the wind, crash into the coastline and over time erode to form caves, stacks, stumps and arches.

Chesil Beach, Dorset

Waves drag sediment along coast and deposit

material in sheltered coves forming beaches.

Sennen Cove, Cornwall

Kirkaig Falls

Volga Delta

Kirkaig FallsRivers flow over rocks of different resistance, eroding them at different speeds to create impressive waterfalls.

When rivers reach the sea they lose energy and deposit sediment

that can form large deltas.Presentation © Hodder Gibson 2012

The wind picks up small particles of rock and blows it into bigger rocks slowly eroding and scratching them away over time.

In some hot deserts, when the wind drops in speed and loses energy, it deposits sand forming sand dunes.


When the ice melts some of these rocks are

deposited and left behind. (Erratic)

Mer de Glace, France

Glaciers erode by plucking and abrading rocks from the valley sides.


Austwick, North Yorkshire

Your Turn!

Read pages: 16 and 17

Answer Questions: 1–3


Why are some parts of Scotland steep and some parts of Scotland flat? Scotland Rocks! Presentation...

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