Geology Reference
In-Depth Information
14
QUATERNARY LANDSCAPES
The environmental vicissitudes of the last couple of million years have brought about adjustments in landforms and
landscapes. This chapter covers Pleistocene and Holocene changes in:
Fluvial landscapes
Aeolian landscapes
Coastal landscapes
River changes in Swinhope Burn, 1815-1991
Swinhope Burn is a tributary of the upper River Wear, in the northern Pennines, England. It is a gravel-bed stream
with a catchment area of 10.5 km
2
(Warburton and Danks 1998). Figure 14.1 shows the historical evidence for
changes in the river pattern from 1815 to 1991. In 1815 the river meandered with a sinuosity similar to that of the
present meanders (Plate 14.1). By 1844 this meandering pattern had broken down to be replaced by a fairly straight
channel with a bar braid at the head, which is still preserved in the floodplain. By 1856 the stream was meandering
again, which pattern persists to the present day. The change from meandering to braiding appears to be associated
with lead mining. A small vein of galena cuts across the catchment, and there is a record of 326 tonnes of galena
coming out of Swinhope mine between 1823 and 1846. It is interesting that, although the mining operations were
modest, they appear to have had a major impact on the stream channel.
