Ning!

You have all heard of myspace, bebo and Facebook, well now become a member of ning! Ning is another 'social network' site that allows people to communicate through the internet. I have recently set up a 'ning' for the Geography department in our school.

It can be found at www.abblanchgeography.ning.com

As pupil safety in my number 1 priority on the internet, this social network is by invitation only membership, therefore allowing me to decide who can and cannot join. So far the 'ning' has mainly been aimed at sixth form students but I would like to roll it out across all years. I have collected some email addresses for Year 9 pupils and will hopefully move towards other years soon. In the meantime, if you would like to join the abblanchgeography ning then send me an email BARLOW@blanch.org.uk with your name on, I will then send an invitation to your email.

Take part in the Geography social network. Dare you miss out!



Visit abblanchgeography

Year 11 - Geography Podcasts

The BBC have produced a series of mp3 files to assist your Geography revision.

Click here to go direct to the bitesize website to download the files. Remember that we don't study all of the topics.

Year 11 - Exam Technique

So, all the lessons ahave stopped and its almost over, bar the shouting, but Year 11 you don't get away that easily!!
I'm sure that you are all spending every given hour revising for your exams so here is a short video (produced by Daniel Raven-Ellison) to help along with your GCSE Geography exam.
Remember that you've worked so hard over the past 2 years, make sure that you get what you want!



Unsure of what each exam command word means?

Click here to downlaod a word document of exam comand words

Year 11 - Population and Development

Population characteristics between MEDCs and LEDCs can often be quite striking. There are often key differences in the birth rate, natural increase, their stage in the Demographic Transition Model and population structure. The death rates of MEDCs and LEDCs, when compared can often be similar, although the death rates in LEDCs are falling due to advances in medication whilst death rates in MEDCs are rising slightly due to ageing populations.

Using birth rate as an example, we can examine a country's level of development. If a country can control it's birth rate then this is usually accompanied by a growth in national and personal wealth. With an increase in national wealth a government can spend funds on birth control campaigns and set up family planning clinics. With increase personal wealth, attitudes towards children change as they are seen as an economic burden rather than asset. Closing the gap between birth rate and death rate lowers the natural increase, which allows transition through the Demographic Transition Model.

Year 11 - An introduction to development

What is development?

Development almost means the same as ‘wealth’. Although wealth is an economic factor, variations in wealth affect quality of life, health, literacy and housing, which are examples of social conditions. Therefore development can be measured by both economic and social factors.

Countries can be observed at being at different levels of developement. We often categorise countries as 'developing' or 'developed'. The developing countries are known as Less Economically Developed Countries (LEDC), whilst the developed countries are known as More Economically Developed Countries (MEDC). Of course it is almost impossible to split countries into either of these categories, but various methods of measurement are used to assess whether a country is an MEDC or LEDC.

Location of MEDC's and LEDC's

Although it is difficult to split MEDC's and LEDC's, the diagram above displays the Noth/South divide that tends to separate the two. MEDC's are mainly located in the northern hemisphere and dominate the continents of North America and Europe. The exception to this rule is Australasia, which is located in the sothern hemisphere. Japan is seen as the only representative from Asia, though this is changing rapidly. The LEDC's are located mainly in the couthern hemisphere and dominate the continents of Africa, South America and Asia.

As mainly Asian countries continue to industrialise this image will be subject to change as we see increased wealth in countries such as China.

Measuring Development

GNP (Gross National Product) per person is the most widely used indicator of a country’s level of development. It is the US dollar value of a country’s final output of goods and services in a year, divided by its population.

GNP is a more relaible indicator of wealth in MEDC’s than LEDCs for two reasons:

1.The statistics for working it out are more likely to be readily available and more accurate.

2.Only the values of products sold are included in its calculation. Food produced by farmers for subsistence purposes (to feed themselves and their families) does not have a recorded money value. In LEDCs, farming remains the main occupation, so it is likely that the GNP represents and undervaluation for poor countries.

There are various further measures of a countries level of development. These include factors such as:

Birth rate - The number of live births per 1000 of population.

Death rate - The number of deaths per 1000 of population.

Infant mortality - The number of deaths in babies before the age of 1 per 1000 of population.

Adult Literacy rate - The percentage of people over the age of 15 who can read.

Number of people per doctor - The average number of people for each doctor.

Population with access to safe water - The percentage of people with a safe water supply nearby.

Food consumption - Food intake in calories per day, minimum 2000.

Urban population - The percentage of people who live in cities.

Children in primary school - The percentage of children under 11 who go to school.

Energy consumption - The average amount of fuel used by one person in a year. Measured in kilograms of oil.

Follow up links

BBC GCSE Bitesize geography: What is development?

Cyber School Bus InfoNation website. Allows you to compare development indicators for upto 6 countries.

Year 11 - Introduction to Rocks and Landscapes

Mount St Helens Eruption (MEDC)

Where is Mount St Helens?

Located in Washington State, North West USA. Mount St Helens is a volcano in the Cascade Range of Mountains.

Click here for the Mount St Helens Volcano Web Cam, for up-to-date images of the volcano.
Key Dates:

Click here to see the key dates in the 1980 eruption from the volcanolive website.

Video of the 1980 Eruption



What happened?

The volcano didn't just erupt from the top, as expected. The side of the volcano was blown away as well due to the main vent being plugged by solidified lava from a previous eruption.

A pyroclastic flow (a hot avalanche of gas , ash, and rocks that rushes down the side of a volcano after an explosive eruption) moved at 300 km/hr. Trees over 360 square kilometres were burnt! 7000 animals were killed and 12 million salmon in a fish farm were killed.
61 people died.
Hot magma melted snow on the top of the volcano, this caused mudslides that flowed at 35 metres a second.
An ash cloud rose 24 km into the sky. Planes had to be diverted.
When the ash settled, it made a layer 15 cm deep. This made roads unusable and ruined crops.
Cost of the damage by the ash was $175 million!
After the eruption the volcano was 365 metres lower than it used to be.

Long-Term Effects

The US Government gave $951 million in aid to rebuild industry and compensate people.
The area is now a tourist attraction. the local economy is now wealthier than before the eruption.
There is now an increased danger from flooding, due to the new landscape.

Click here to visit the 'Geography-site' for a report on the eruption.
USDA Forestry Service website with further information about Mount St Helens. Click here
Click here for further in-depth information about the eruption.

Click here for a 360 degree panorama of Mount St Helens in 2006 (you will need QuickTime to view this)

Image courtesy of bbc.co.uk

Year 11 Montserrat Eruption (LEDC)

Montserrat is a small Caribbean island located on the plate boundary between the North American and Caribbean plate.
In 1995 it had a population of 11,000.

On July 18th 1995 the dormant volcano, Chances Peak, began to wake.

To gain up-to-date information about volcano activity on Montserrat, click here.

Short Term Effects of the Eruption

• Forests and rich farmland destroyed by lahars and covered by layers of ash.
• 23 people died.
• Many settlements buried in ash.
• Many people evacuated: To the 'safe' north of the island, to other islands and to the UK.
• Capital City (Plymouth) almost totally destroyed and evacuated.
• Only hospital destroyed.
• Airport destroyed.
• Many roads destroyed.

Responses to the Eruption

• People evacuated to the North of the island, housed in tents and makeshift homes, with little food, poor sanitation and no power.
• UK government provided £55 million in aid.
• Hospital reopened in a former school.

Long Term Effects of the Eruption

• Many people left unemployed as the islands tourist industry collapsed.
• Capital City left abandoned, most people resettled in the North of the island.

Image courtesy of bbc.co.uk

Year 11 Volcanoes

A volcano is a vent in the earths surface where magma erupts to the surface. Above ground magma is called lava.

Volcanoes do have a distinct structure, but this does vary depending upon the type of plate boundary that the volcano is located on.

Click here for a useful site for volcanic terminology

Where are volcanoes found?

Volcanoes occur in narrow belts along compressional (destructive) and tensional (constructive) plate boundaries. Many of the worlds volcanoes located along compressional plate boundaries are found around the Pacific Ring of Fire. An example of where volcanoes are located on tensional plate boundaries is the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, which has over time constructed the country of Iceland.


Structure of a volcano










Although volcanoes do have a distinct structure, their appearance depends upon the type of plate boundary they are found upon.

Shield Volcanoes
These are found along tensional plate boundaries.

They are low with gently sloping sides.

Lava is basic so it flows quite a distance before it cools.

Eruptions are quite frequent and tend to be gentle.

Composite Volcanoes

Composed of alternating layers of lava and ash.

Eruptions maybe a pyroclastic flow, rather than a lava flow. A pyroclastic flow is a mixture of hot steam, ash, rock and dust.

Eruptions tend to quite violent.

Found along compressional plate boundaries.

Images courtesy of bbc.co.uk