Everest in Europe?

A worrying article in the Guardian today has said that 1 in 3 people questioned thought Mount Everst was in Europe... I am sure none the the geographers at MCS think this... Could you answer these other questions correctly though? Many people couldn't...

What is the longest river in the world? Nile / Amazon / Mississippi / Yangtze

How many countries are there in the world? 237 / 184 / 114 / 65

What is the capital of the USA? New York / Washington / Los Angles

Answers on a postcard...

Lost to the sea

The Holderness coast is eroding at a frightening speed. We will use this for our case study of coastal erosion. You have been given a GeoActive sheet which provides details of the situation. Use this and the online resources included in this section to create a case study sheet using Word or PowerPoint about the coastal erosion problem at Holderness. Include the following sections:

Introduction

• Include a map of the area showing the location of the major settlements
• Information on the background of the coastal management issue at Holderness
• Describe how the area has developed from 30000 years ago

Causes

• Describe the waves and the coastal erosion processes which lead to the rapid erosion of the coast
• How is Spurn Head formed?
• Include a couple of images showing how the coastline has eroded in the last 150 years

Impacts

• Describe the impacts at Mappleton and Hornsea

Solutions

• Describe the coastal management techniques used at Mappleton and Hornsea
• Is coastal management the correct option? What are the possible knock-on effects of the management techniques used here?

Some excellent photos.

Rowing across the Atlantic

A Merchistonian (and a university friend of RDH) is rowing across the Atlantic. His progress can be followed here. the team will have to deal with huge waves, storm winds and man-eating sharks - not forgetting the blisters and living with 3 other smelly blokes in a boat this size!

The population debate II

Here is another slide show which discusses the difference between the various views in the population debate. You need to understand the differences between Malthus and Boserup's theories of population growth.

Animation of river meanders and oxbow lakes

Try this link to see how river meanders develop through time, forming oxbow lakes in meander cutoffs. (If you have trouble forwarding the animation from one screen to the other, right-click and select 'play' from the menu).

Flood warning!

The UK was on flood alert last week as a tidal surge flooded down the east coast. In event the flood levels never breached the defences, but the many areas were on high alert. Shell are about to start studying coastal defences and there are a number of excellent resources on the web.

The story began on the 9th November with alerts all down the east coast of Britain. However fortunately the water did not reach the heights which were feared and the people who had been evacuated from their homes were allowed back. There are some good pictures and video on the BBC site.

The event was a reminder of the deadly floods of 1953 which killed 300 people. Footage from the 1953 flood can be seen here.

Shell we be studying the impact of coastal erosion in the Holderness area.

Sustainable forestry in Malaysia

Here is a good link to a website giving detailed information about forestry in Malaysia