levo

Glacial Systems and Landscapes

Cwm Idwal and the Ogwen valley case study

  • 3 things to know
  • Component 1

Overview

Cwm Idwal and Nant Ffrancon in Eryri as the local glaciated case study: corrie and trough landforms, geology, Devensian and Loch Lomond Stadial history, till fabric and clast data, and visitor pressure.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

Your recallNot started
Process

How does geology influence the landforms of Cwm Idwal?

Key term

What is the glacial history of Cwm Idwal?

Process

What human pressures affect Cwm Idwal today?

Questions from this subtopic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

  1. 1

    Where is Cwm Idwal, and why is it a good local case study of a glaciated environment?

    Model answer

    It is a corrie in the Glyderau mountains of Eryri (Snowdonia) above the Ogwen valley, with a clear set of erosional and depositional landforms close together; it became Wales's first National Nature Reserve in 1954.

  2. 2

    Describe the corrie landforms of Cwm Idwal.

    Model answer

    A steep backwall split by the cleft of Twll Du (the Devil's Kitchen), a rock basin holding Llyn Idwal, and a lip of rock and moraine at its outlet.

  3. 3

    How does geology influence the landforms of Cwm Idwal?

    Model answer

    The cwm is cut into Ordovician volcanic and sedimentary rocks folded into a syncline; the Idwal Slabs are a smooth dip slope, and lines of weakness were exploited by plucking to form the backwall and Twll Du.

  4. 4

    Describe the glacial landforms of the Ogwen valley.

    Model answer

    Nant Ffrancon is a classic U-shaped glacial trough with steep sides and a flat floor, and Cwm Idwal is a hanging valley above it, with Llyn Ogwen in a rock basin and the Ogwen falls where the river drops from the higher level.

  5. 5

    What is the glacial history of Cwm Idwal?

    Model answer

    The area was buried by the Devensian ice sheet, which reached its maximum about 22,000 years ago; after it melted, a small corrie glacier returned during the Loch Lomond Stadial, about 12,900–11,700 years ago, and left the moraines in the cwm.

  6. 6

    What depositional landforms are found in Cwm Idwal?

    Model answer

    Hummocky moraines around and below Llyn Idwal, left by the Loch Lomond Stadial glacier, along with erratics and roches moutonnées shaped by moving ice.

Other ways to work this

The same content, four other ways.

What is inside Levo

Six ways to work the same material.

1Closed book
2Open book
3Closed book

The 3-step method, run for you

Answer cold, learn it, then prove it stuck. Levo tracks the jump between your first attempt and your last.

Water and Carbon Cycles
Hot Desert Systems and Landscapes
Coastal Systems and Landscapes
Glacial Systems and Landscapes

Cram a whole paper in one sitting

Sort every topic into what you know and what you do not, then drill only the weak ones.

China and .
IndiaAustraliaJapan

Blank Blitz makes facts automatic

Rapid timed gap-fills on the terms and numbers you need to recall without thinking.

AThe horns have less sand volume, so they move more quickly.
BSand is transported up the gentle windward slope via saltation.
CSand accumulates at the crest.

Build It gets the exam shape right

Assemble a full-mark answer from its marking points, in the order an examiner wants them.

Weathering means breakdown of rock in place.
TrueFalse

Test It catches misconceptions

Spot the fault in a statement. The traps are the mistakes students actually make.

721941163128510

Brain Breaks between sessions

Short focus games to reset attention, so the next set lands better than the last.

Every question in Glacial Systems and Landscapes, on a schedule.

Attempt a question from memory, write the correct version, then attempt it again. Levo records the jump between your first attempt and your last, and brings each question back on the day you are due to forget it.

Or £46 a year, about £3.83 a month. Cancel anytime.