Case studies and examples

Chile's earthquake struck off the Maule coast at 3:34 am on 27 February 2010, with a magnitude of 8.8.

Source: USGS, 2010 (local time derived from UTC)

It happened at a destructive margin, where the Nazca plate sinks beneath the South American plate.

Source: USGS, 2010

Nepal's earthquake struck near Barpak, Gorkha, 76 km north-west of Kathmandu, at 11:56 am on Saturday 25 April 2015.

Source: Government of Nepal, Post Disaster Needs Assessment, 2015

It had a magnitude of 7.8, or 7.6 by Nepal's own centre, where the Indian plate pushes into the Eurasian plate.

Source: USGS, 2015; Government of Nepal, Post Disaster Needs Assessment, 2015

About 520 people died in Chile, and around 220,000 homes had to be repaired or rebuilt.

Source: USGS summary archived by NOAA, 2010; PEER report 2013-01

Over 8,790 people died and 22,300 were injured; over half a million houses were destroyed and nearly 7,000 schools damaged.

Source: Government of Nepal, Post Disaster Needs Assessment, 2015

A tsunami hit Constitución and Talcahuano; damage cost about US$30 billion; there was looting in Concepción.

Source: Memoria Chilena; IPS, 2010

Landslides buried villages in the Langtang valley; a strong aftershock came 17 days later; about 8 million people were affected.

Source: Government of Nepal, Post Disaster Needs Assessment, 2015

At least 700,000 people were pushed into poverty; damage and losses came to about US$7 billion.

Source: Government of Nepal, Post Disaster Needs Assessment, 2015

Chile declared a state of catastrophe and sent 14,000 troops within days, with a night-time curfew in Concepción.

Source: MercoPress, 2010; Al Jazeera, 2010

134 rescue teams came from 34 countries, India's first; helicopters rescued 7,558 people; the UN appealed for US$422 million.

Source: Government of Nepal, Post Disaster Needs Assessment, 2015

In March 2010, Chile announced a US$2.5 billion housing plan, paid for partly by tax rises.

Source: MercoPress, 2010

A National Reconstruction Authority was set up in December 2015; families got 300,000-rupee housing grants, paid in stages.

Source: The Himalayan Times; UNDP Nepal newsletter, 2016

Chile's earthquake was much stronger, yet Nepal's killed about 17 times as many people.

Source: Derived from the death tolls above

Typhoon Haiyan, called Yolanda in the Philippines, struck the central Philippines on 8 November 2013, first reaching land at Guiuan.

Source: Philippine disaster agency (NDRRMC), 2013

A storm surge several metres high did the worst damage in and around Tacloban, a coastal city on Leyte.

Source: Christian Science Monitor, 2014

About 6,300 people died, many drowned by the storm surge.

Source: UNHCR, 2014; Christian Science Monitor, 2014

Over a million homes were damaged or destroyed, and around 11 million people were affected.

Source: NDRRMC, reported by GMA News, 2013

About 4.1 million people were displaced from their homes.

Source: UNHCR, 2014

Many people were evacuated before the storm, but some shelters were flooded by the surge.

Source: Not checked against a source (textbook knowledge); for review in G.1

The Reconstruction Assistance on Yolanda plan set out about US$8 billion of rebuilding over four years, mostly housing.

Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer, 2013; Philstar, 2013

About 18% of Somerset lies below sea level; the Levels are crossed by the Rivers Parrett and Tone.

Source: Environment Agency briefing, 26 January 2014

From December 2013 to February 2014, Atlantic storms brought one of the wettest winters on record.

Source: Environment Agency briefing, 26 January 2014

High tides in the Bristol Channel held back river water, and silt had built up in rivers not dredged for years.

Source: Environment Agency briefing, 26 January 2014

By late January 2014, about 65 million cubic metres of floodwater covered about 65 km², the largest flood recorded there.

Source: Environment Agency briefing, 26 January 2014

Muchelney and Thorney were cut off for weeks, and a major incident was declared on 24 January 2014.

Source: Environment Agency briefing, 26 January 2014

The Environment Agency pumped water away with 40 permanent and 25 temporary pumps.

Source: Environment Agency briefing, 26 January 2014

From 31 March 2014, about 8 km of the Parrett and Tone were dredged.

Source: GOV.UK press release, 2014

The Somerset 20-Year Flood Action Plan, published on 6 March 2014, combined dredging, raised roads and banks, pumping and tree planting.

Source: Somerset Rivers Authority, 2014

Producers, such as pondweed and algae, make their own food from sunlight by photosynthesis.

Source: Not checked against a source (textbook knowledge); for review in G.1

Primary consumers, such as water snails and tadpoles, eat producers.

Source: Not checked against a source (textbook knowledge); for review in G.1

Secondary consumers, such as sticklebacks and dragonfly nymphs, eat them; herons are tertiary consumers.

Source: Not checked against a source (textbook knowledge); for review in G.1

Decomposers, bacteria and fungi, break down dead plants and animals, returning nutrients to the water.

Source: Not checked against a source (textbook knowledge); for review in G.1

Fertiliser washed in makes algae spread; when they die, decomposers use up oxygen, and fish die.

Source: Not checked against a source (textbook knowledge); for review in G.1

Without herons, sticklebacks would multiply, eat more water fleas, and the algae the fleas eat would spread.

Source: Not checked against a source (textbook knowledge); for review in G.1

Worldwide, about 10 million hectares of forest were cut down a year in 2015–2020, down from 12 million in 2010–2015.

Source: UN Food and Agriculture Organization, Global Forest Resources Assessment, 2020

Malaysia lost 8.1 million hectares of tree cover between 2001 and 2019, a fall of 28% since 2000.

Source: Global Forest Watch (World Resources Institute), data to 2022

Malaysia lost nearly a fifth of its primary forest between 2002 and 2022, though the loss has slowed recently.

Source: Global Forest Watch (World Resources Institute), data to 2022

Malaysia is the world's second-largest palm oil producer, after Indonesia, making about a quarter of world supply.

Source: Malaysian Palm Oil Board

Oil palm and rubber plantations are the biggest cause of deforestation; hardwood logging is concentrated in Sarawak.

Source: Not checked against a source (textbook knowledge); for review in G.1

The Pan Borneo Highway opens up forest to loggers and farmers.

Source: Not checked against a source (textbook knowledge); for review in G.1

The Bakun Dam in Sarawak flooded a reservoir of about 695 km² of forest.

Source: Sarawak Energy

About 10,000 Indigenous people were moved for the Bakun Dam.

Source: Secondary sources; for G.1

Malaysia's tree cover loss from 2001 to 2019 released an estimated 3.55 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide.

Source: Global Forest Watch (World Resources Institute), data to 2022

The Thar Desert covers about 200,000 km² of north-west India, mostly Rajasthan, and eastern Pakistan.

Source: Britannica, via reference sites, 2026

Its minerals include gypsum, feldspar, phosphorite and kaolin; the Mangala oil field in Barmer district was discovered in 2004.

Source: Not checked (the 2004 date); for G.1

Bhadla Solar Park, in Jodhpur district, has a capacity of about 2,245 MW; wind farms stand near Jaisalmer.

Source: Wikipedia and RajRAS, accessed 2026

The Indira Gandhi Canal, begun in 1958, carries water about 650 km into the desert to irrigate crops.

Source: Reference and revision sites, accessed 2026

Tourists visit Jaisalmer's fort, go on camel safaris and attend the Desert Festival.

Source: Not checked against a source (textbook knowledge); for review in G.1

Phalodi recorded 51.0 °C on 19 May 2016, India's highest temperature on record.

Source: India Meteorological Department, as reported in 2016

Evaporation and over-irrigation cause salinisation, and wells are deepening as groundwater is used up.

Source: Not checked against a source (textbook knowledge); for review in G.1

Many villages are far from good roads, and shifting sand can bury roads and tracks.

Source: Not checked against a source (textbook knowledge); for review in G.1

Alaska is a US state, bought from Russia in 1867, with tundra and permafrost north of the Brooks Range.

Source: Not checked (1867); for G.1

Oil was found at Prudhoe Bay in 1968: North America's largest oil field.

Source: Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation fact sheet

The Trans-Alaska Pipeline, finished in 1977, carries oil about 800 miles (1,290 km) from Prudhoe Bay to Valdez.

Source: Wikipedia; Alyeska Pipeline Service Company

Prudhoe Bay's oil output has fallen since peaking in the 1980s.

Source: Wikipedia; Alaska DEC

Over half of the pipeline is raised on supports with heat pipes, so the warm oil doesn't thaw the permafrost.

Source: EBSCO; PBS American Experience

In 2002, a magnitude 7.9 earthquake moved the zigzagging pipeline over 2 m sideways at the Denali Fault; no oil spilled.

Source: PBS; University of Alaska Fairbanks

Heated buildings can thaw permafrost and subside, so buildings stand on piles or gravel pads.

Source: Not checked against a source (textbook knowledge); for review in G.1

Alaska lands about 60% of the USA's seafood by weight; Dutch Harbor lands the most of any US port.

Source: NOAA Alaska Fisheries Science Center, 2016; Anchorage Daily News, 2020

Large mines include the Fort Knox gold mine and the Red Dog zinc mine.

Source: Not checked; for G.1

The Jurassic Coast runs 95 miles from Exmouth to Studland, records 185 million years of history, and became a World Heritage Site in 2001.

Source: UNESCO UK; GOV.UK

Bands of chalk, clays and sands, and limestone meet Swanage's east-facing coast end on: a discordant coast.

Source: Not checked against a source (textbook knowledge); for review in G.1

Soft clays and sands were eroded into Swanage Bay; chalk forms Handfast Point; limestone forms Peveril Point and Durlston Head.

Source: Not checked against a source (textbook knowledge); for review in G.1

Old Harry Rocks are chalk stacks off Handfast Point; Old Harry's Wife collapsed in 1896, leaving a stump.

Source: Geographical magazine; Wikipedia

West of Durlston Head, limestone runs along the coast: a concordant coast with straight cliffs.

Source: Not checked against a source (textbook knowledge); for review in G.1

The South Haven Peninsula grew across Poole Harbour's mouth over about 400 years; its dunes are among Dorset's largest.

Source: Dorset Life

Sandy beaches lie in the shelter of Swanage Bay and Studland Bay.

Source: Not checked against a source (textbook knowledge); for review in G.1

Lyme Regis sits on one of the most unstable, actively eroding stretches of coastline in the country.

Source: West Dorset District Council, Phase II leaflet, 2005

Clays and sands slide over seaward-sloping limestone and shale in wet weather, while the sea erodes the toe of landslides.

Source: West Dorset District Council, Phase II leaflet, 2005

Studies showed that without action, the sea wall would fail and homes, roads and services would be lost within 50 years.

Source: West Dorset District Council, Phase IV leaflet, about 2015

The scheme was planned in the early 1990s; Phase I, with a sea wall, rock armour and promenade, finished in 1995.

Source: West Dorset District Council, Phase IV leaflet, about 2015

Phase II (2005 to 2007) replenished the beach, and used 1,150 bored piles, soil nails and drains to stabilise slopes.

Source: West Dorset District Council, Phase II leaflet, 2005

Phase IV, at East Cliff, began in 2013 and took about two years, with a new sea wall and 34 km of soil nails.

Source: West Dorset District Council, Phase IV leaflet, about 2015

The eastern works cost about £19 million, including £14.6 million from Defra.

Source: West Dorset District Council, Phase IV leaflet, about 2015

Phase IV secured about 390 m of coast for 50 years, saving up to 480 homes from damage or loss of access.

Source: West Dorset District Council, Phase IV leaflet, about 2015

Much of the East Cliff work lies in the World Heritage Site and protected wildlife sites; stabilising cliffs stops natural landslides.

Source: West Dorset District Council, Phase IV leaflet, about 2015

During Phase II, the council kept the main beach and at least one garden open each summer holiday.

Source: West Dorset District Council, Phase II leaflet, 2005

The River Tees rises on Cross Fell in the North Pennines and flows about 137 km east to the North Sea.

Source: Wikipedia; Internet Geography

Cow Green Reservoir, a dam across the upper Tees, stores water for industry on Teesside.

Source: Discovering Britain (Royal Geographical Society)

The Tees Barrage at Stockton, opened in 1995, holds back the tide.

Source: Wikipedia; Canal & River Trust

At High Force, the river drops about 21 m over the Whin Sill: hard dolerite on softer limestone, sandstone and shale.

Source: Wikipedia; Newcastle University

High Force is retreating upstream, and has left a gorge about 700 m long below it.

Source: Wikipedia

Past Barnard Castle, in the middle course, the valley widens and the river meanders across a flood plain.

Source: Not checked against a source (textbook knowledge); for review in G.1

Large meanders loop around Yarm in the lower course, with a wide flood plain and levées.

Source: Not checked against a source (textbook knowledge); for review in G.1

The estuary has docks and industry at Middlesbrough, and mudflats and salt marsh at Seal Sands.

Source: Not checked against a source (textbook knowledge); for review in G.1

At Easter 1998, the River Cherwell flooded about 125 homes and 35 businesses in Banbury, causing more than £12.5 million of damage.

Source: Black & Veatch, UK Water Projects, 2012

The 1998 flood closed the railway station and many roads; Banbury flooded again in summer 2007.

Source: Black & Veatch, UK Water Projects, 2012

The scheme was designed in 2001, but funding changes and public inquiries delayed building until 2011.

Source: Black & Veatch, UK Water Projects, 2012

A 2,850 m earth embankment holds back floodwater in a storage area on the Cherwell's flood plain, upstream of the town.

Source: Black & Veatch, UK Water Projects, 2012

860 m of the A361 was raised, and a 210 m sheet pile wall protects an industrial estate and the football club.

Source: Black & Veatch, UK Water Projects, 2012

Shaped openings control the flow out, so the storage area needs no gates, power or operator.

Source: Black & Veatch, UK Water Projects, 2012

Completed in 2012, it cost about £18.5 million and lowers flood risk for about 441 homes and 73 businesses.

Source: Several secondary sources that agree; for G.1

It created 12 hectares of habitat, with ponds, trees, hedgerows and stretches of river moved to meander.

Source: Black & Veatch, UK Water Projects, 2012

Digging uncovered prehistoric flint tools and medieval field patterns, which archaeologists recorded.

Source: Black & Veatch, UK Water Projects, 2012

The Lake District has England's highest mountain, Scafell Pike (978 m), and its largest natural lake, Windermere.

Source: Not checked (978 m); for G.1

It became a national park in 1951, and a World Heritage Site in 2017.

Source: Lake District National Park Authority (1951); not checked (2017)

In the ice age, glaciers flowed outwards from the high central fells like the spokes of a wheel.

Source: Not checked against a source (textbook knowledge); for review in G.1

Red Tarn is a tarn in a corrie on the east side of Helvellyn (950 m), held in by its rock lip.

Source: Not checked (950 m); for G.1

Striding Edge and Swirral Edge are arêtes on either side of Red Tarn.

Source: Not checked against a source (textbook knowledge); for review in G.1

Great Langdale and Borrowdale are glacial troughs, with truncated spurs along their sides.

Source: Not checked against a source (textbook knowledge); for review in G.1

Windermere, Ullswater, Coniston Water and Wastwater are ribbon lakes in glacial troughs.

Source: Not checked against a source (textbook knowledge); for review in G.1

Moraine lies on many valley floors, and the surrounding lowlands are covered in till, with drumlins in places.

Source: Not checked against a source (textbook knowledge); for review in G.1

About 18 million visitors come to the Lake District each year.

Source: Lake District National Park Authority, 2025

Visitors come for the mountains, lakes, walking and water sports, and the homes of Wordsworth and Beatrix Potter.

Source: Not checked against a source (textbook knowledge); for review in G.1

The national park accounts for over half of Cumbria's tourism spending and tourism jobs.

Source: Lake District National Park Authority

Most visitors arrive by car, so honeypot sites such as Windermere, Keswick and Grasmere suffer congestion.

Source: Not checked against a source (textbook knowledge); for review in G.1

At the 2011 Census, 24% of the national park's homes had no permanent resident.

Source: Lake District National Park Authority evidence (2011 Census)

About half of Keswick's homes are second homes or holiday lets.

Source: Keswick Reminder, 2020

Fix the Fells repairs eroded paths by stone pitching; mending 400 m of path near Grasmere cost £34,070.

Source: Fix the Fells

A 10 mph speed limit for powered boats on Windermere began in March 2005.

Source: News reports, 2005; Lake District National Park Authority guide

Hill sheep farming, forestry at Grizedale and Whinlatter, and slate quarrying at Honister compete with conservation and tourism.

Source: Not checked against a source (textbook knowledge); for review in G.1

Rio lies on Brazil's south-east Atlantic coast, on Guanabara Bay, with forested mountains between its districts.

Source: Not checked against a source (textbook knowledge); for review in G.1

Rio was Brazil's capital until 1960, when the government moved to Brasília.

Source: Not checked; for G.1

Rio is a major port and centre of oil, finance and media; Petrobras has its head office there.

Source: Not checked; for G.1

Rio's landscape became a World Heritage Site in 2012, and the city hosted the 2016 Olympic Games.

Source: UNESCO, 2012

Rio grew through the 20th century through rural-urban migration, especially from Brazil's north-east, and natural increase.

Source: Not checked against a source (textbook knowledge); for review in G.1

About 6.2 million people lived in the city itself at Brazil's 2022 census.

Source: IBGE, 2022 census (not opened); for G.1

Across Brazil, about 40% of workers had informal jobs in 2019.

Source: WIEGO statistical brief, 2023

Across Brazil, 16.4 million people, 8.1% of the population, lived in favelas and similar communities in 2022.

Source: IBGE, 2022 census results, 2024

Rocinha, in Rio, was Brazil's largest favela in 2022, with 72,021 residents.

Source: IBGE, 2022 census results, 2024

Pacifying Police Units were placed in favelas from 2008, starting with Santa Marta; results were mixed and the programme was scaled back.

Source: Wikipedia; RioOnWatch; for G.1

Much of the city's sewage still flows untreated into Guanabara Bay.

Source: Reuters, 2016

The Favela Bairro Project, begun by Rio's city government in 1994, upgraded favelas into neighbourhoods instead of knocking them down.

Source: MIT Urban Upgrading case summary

The Inter-American Development Bank lent money towards it.

Source: Inter-American Development Bank

It added paved roads and footpaths, street lighting, water supply, sewers, drains, nurseries and sports areas.

Source: MIT Urban Upgrading case summary

Families living where landslides or floods were a danger were rehoused, and residents were helped to gain legal ownership.

Source: MIT Urban Upgrading case summary; Inter-American Development Bank

Its first phase reached about 253,000 residents in 73 communities.

Source: MIT Urban Upgrading case summary

The first phase benefited about 250,000 of Rio's roughly 1.2 million favela residents.

Source: Inter-American Development Bank

A bank study found services improved most in the poorest areas, though limited data made full evaluation hard.

Source: Soares and Soares, Inter-American Development Bank working paper, 2005

In the second phase, legal home ownership rose more in participating favelas than in others.

Source: Inter-American Development Bank

The UK had about 68.3 million people in mid-2023.

Source: Office for National Statistics, 2024

Bristol had about 472,500 people at the 2021 census, the largest city in the South West.

Source: Census 2021, via City Population

Bristol is on the River Avon near the Severn estuary, close to the junction of the M4 and M5.

Source: Not checked against a source (textbook knowledge); for review in G.1

After the Second World War, people from the Caribbean settled in St Pauls, where the St Pauls Carnival celebrates their culture.

Source: Not checked against a source (textbook knowledge); for review in G.1

Bristol has people from over 185 countries of birth, speaking over 90 languages, with at least 45 religions.

Source: Bristol City Council (2021 Census)

Bristol was European Green Capital in 2015; One Tree Per Child, started that year, has planted over 119,000 trees.

Source: Bristol City Council, tree planting report 2025–26

Trees covered 18.2% of the city in 2023.

Source: Bristol City Council, tree planting report 2025–26

In 2019, 15% of Bristol's people, about 70,400, lived in England's most deprived 10% of areas; three areas were in the most deprived 1%.

Source: Bristol Joint Strategic Needs Assessment (Indices of Deprivation 2019)

In 2025, 9 of Bristol's 10 most deprived neighbourhoods were in south Bristol, five in Hartcliffe and Withywood.

Source: Bristol City Council, Deprivation in Bristol 2025

Bradley Stoke, built north of the city from the 1980s, is an example of urban sprawl.

Source: Not checked against a source (textbook knowledge); for review in G.1

Portishead and Keynsham are commuter settlements for people working in Bristol.

Source: Not checked against a source (textbook knowledge); for review in G.1

Bristol Temple Quarter covers over 130 hectares of brownfield land around Temple Meads station.

Source: Bristol Temple Quarter; news reports, 2022

Much of the land was underused former railway and industrial land beside the city centre.

Source: Bristol Temple Quarter

It plans up to 10,000 homes and 22,000 jobs over 25 years.

Source: Bristol Temple Quarter; news reports, 2022

In 2022, the government gave £95 million towards the first phase, around the station.

Source: GOV.UK, 2022

The first phase aims for about 2,500 homes by 2032, and new station entrances.

Source: Network Rail, 2022

The University of Bristol's £500 million Enterprise Campus is next to the station.

Source: ITV News, 2023; University of Bristol

The Engine Shed, in Brunel's old station building, supports new businesses.

Source: Not checked against a source (textbook knowledge); for review in G.1

In 2024, Jamaica had about 4.27 million visitors, who spent about US$4.35 billion.

Source: Jamaica Tourist Board, via Jamaica Information Service, 2025

Tourism brings jobs in hotels, restaurants, transport and tours, and for farmers and craftspeople who supply them.

Source: Not checked against a source (textbook knowledge); for review in G.1

Tourist spending brings foreign currency, and taxes help pay for roads, airports and water supplies.

Source: Not checked against a source (textbook knowledge); for review in G.1

Many all-inclusive resorts are foreign-owned, so much tourist spending leaks out of Jamaica.

Source: Not checked against a source (textbook knowledge); for review in G.1

Many tourism jobs are low-paid and seasonal, and tourism can damage coral reefs and beaches.

Source: Not checked against a source (textbook knowledge); for review in G.1

Hurricane Melissa hit Jamaica as a Category 5 storm on 28 October 2025, damaging many hotels before the peak season.

Source: Skift, 2025; news reports

Nigeria, in West Africa on the Gulf of Guinea, became independent from Britain in 1960; Abuja is its capital.

Source: Not checked; for G.1

Nigeria had about 232.7 million people in 2024: Africa's most, and the world's sixth most.

Source: UN World Population Prospects, 2024

Nigeria leads in the African Union and ECOWAS, whose headquarters are in Abuja.

Source: Not checked against a source (textbook knowledge); for review in G.1

Nollywood, Nigeria's film industry, is one of the world's biggest.

Source: Not checked against a source (textbook knowledge); for review in G.1

Nigeria had a civil war from 1967 to 1970 and long military rule; it has been a democracy since 1999.

Source: Not checked; for G.1

In 2019, agriculture was about 26% of GDP, industry 21% and services 53%, on the rebased figures.

Source: National Bureau of Statistics, GDP rebasing, 2025

Crude oil made up between about 65% and 81% of Nigeria's exports in each quarter of 2024.

Source: National Bureau of Statistics, foreign trade, 2024

Shell, a British TNC, sold its onshore Nigerian company in 2025 to a group of mainly Nigerian firms.

Source: Amnesty International, 2025

In 2008, two spills from Shell pipelines polluted creeks near Bodo; in 2014, Shell agreed a £55 million settlement.

Source: Leigh Day, 2025; Amnesty International, 2025

Shell brought jobs, taxes and investment, but also oil spills, gas flaring and profits that went abroad.

Source: Not checked against a source (textbook knowledge); for review in G.1

A UN Environment Programme study in 2011 found cleaning up Ogoniland could take 25 to 30 years.

Source: UNEP, 2011, as reported by Greenpeace

In 2020, the World Health Organization declared Africa free of wild polio, after Nigeria stopped its spread.

Source: Not checked; for G.1

Life expectancy was 54.5 years in 2023, and Nigeria's HDI was 0.560, 164th in the world.

Source: World Bank, 2023; UNDP Human Development Report, 2025

Torr Quarry, in Somerset's Mendip Hills, is one of the UK's largest limestone quarries.

Source: Wikipedia (Torr Works)

Its crushed stone is used for roads and building, much of it in south-east England.

Source: Wikipedia (Torr Works)

The quarry covers about 205 hectares north of the A361, near Leighton.

Source: Somerset County Council report, 2023

Much of the stone leaves by train on the quarry's own rail link, cutting lorry traffic and emissions.

Source: Wikipedia (Torr Works); for G.1

About 60 of its 205 hectares have been landscaped with earth banks and trees to screen the workings.

Source: Wikipedia (Torr Works); Somerset County Council report, 2023

When quarrying ends, plans are for the quarry to flood, making a lake for wildlife and recreation.

Source: World Cement, 2009 (approval not confirmed); for G.1

Thanet Earth, on the Isle of Thanet in Kent, is the UK's largest greenhouse complex.

Source: Wikipedia; Isle of Thanet Gazette, 2025

In 2025, it grew about 400 million tomatoes, 33 million cucumbers and 24 million peppers a year.

Source: Isle of Thanet Gazette, 2025

Crops grow hydroponically, without soil, in controlled warmth and light.

Source: Not confirmed by the sources checked; for G.1

Combined heat and power plants supply electricity and heat, and their carbon dioxide is fed to the plants.

Source: Wikipedia

Tomatoes are picked every day, all year round.

Source: Isle of Thanet Gazette, 2025

It grows salad crops in the UK all year, cutting imports and food miles, and creates local jobs.

Source: Not checked against a source (textbook knowledge); for review in G.1

It burns natural gas, was built on farmland, and its lights can be seen far away at night.

Source: Not checked against a source (textbook knowledge); for review in G.1

Makueni County, in south-east Kenya, is semi-arid, with short rainy seasons and rivers that run dry.

Source: Not checked against a source (textbook knowledge); for review in G.1

A sand dam is a low concrete wall across a seasonal river that traps sand, which stores rainwater.

Source: WOCAT; Excellent Development

Water stored in the sand is protected from evaporation, and drawn from wells or pipes in the dry season.

Source: WOCAT; Christian Science Monitor, 2013

Local self-help groups build the dams with charities such as the Utooni Development Organisation.

Source: Christian Science Monitor, 2013

By 2014, the Utooni Development Organisation had helped build more than 1,500 sand dams in Makueni and neighbouring counties.

Source: Embassy of Japan in Kenya, 2014

Families can grow vegetables in the dry season, and spend less time fetching water.

Source: The Standard (Kenya)

They only work on rivers that carry sand, and building them takes hard labour.

Source: Not checked against a source (textbook knowledge); for review in G.1

Lesotho is a small, mountainous country surrounded by South Africa; its highlands get plenty of rain.

Source: Not checked against a source (textbook knowledge); for review in G.1

Dams in Lesotho's mountains, including Katse and Mohale, store water; tunnels carry it to the Vaal River system serving Gauteng.

Source: Wikipedia; South African Government News Agency

About 780 million cubic metres a year are transferred; Phase II, with Polihali Dam, aims to raise this to 1,260 million.

Source: African Development Bank, via Afrik21

South Africa pays Lesotho royalties for the water, an important income for Lesotho.

Source: Mail & Guardian

The scheme's hydroelectric station supplies electricity to Lesotho.

Source: Mail & Guardian

Villages, farmland and grazing land were flooded by the reservoirs, and many people had to move.

Source: Not checked against a source (textbook knowledge); for review in G.1

Some contractors were convicted of bribery over the project.

Source: Not checked; for G.1

The Wakel River Basin is in the hills of southern Rajasthan, in north-west India.

Source: Internet Geography (revision site), accessed 2026; a weak source, for G.1

Rain falls mainly in the summer monsoon; outside it, water is scarce, and over-pumping had made wells run dry.

Source: Internet Geography (revision site), accessed 2026; a weak source, for G.1

Many of the basin's farmers are from tribal communities.

Source: Internet Geography (revision site), accessed 2026; a weak source, for G.1

Taankas are underground tanks that collect rainwater from roofs.

Source: Internet Geography (revision site), accessed 2026; a weak source, for G.1

Johads are small earth dams that hold rainwater, so it soaks in and refills the groundwater.

Source: Internet Geography (revision site), accessed 2026; a weak source, for G.1

Check dams across streams slow the water, so more soaks into the ground.

Source: Internet Geography (revision site), accessed 2026; a weak source, for G.1

Pats are channels that carry water to fields, shared in turn by farmers.

Source: Internet Geography (revision site), accessed 2026; a weak source, for G.1

Alberta's oil sands, in western Canada, are sand and clay mixed with bitumen, a thick, heavy oil.

Source: Alberta Geological Survey

They hold about 167 billion barrels of proven oil reserves.

Source: Alberta Geological Survey (reserves at the end of 2023)

They produced just under 3.5 million barrels a day in 2024.

Source: Canada Energy Regulator, 2024

Shallow bitumen is surface-mined after forest is cleared; deeper bitumen is heated with steam underground and pumped up.

Source: Canada Energy Regulator; Alberta Energy Regulator

Benefits include jobs, taxes and royalties, and secure energy for Canada, with exports mainly to the USA.

Source: Not checked against a source (textbook knowledge); for review in G.1

Extraction uses much energy and water, so it releases more greenhouse gas per barrel than most oil.

Source: Not checked against a source (textbook knowledge); for review in G.1

Toxic waste water is stored in tailings ponds, and First Nations communities downstream worry about river pollution.

Source: Not checked against a source (textbook knowledge); for review in G.1

Chambamontera is a remote farming community in the Andes of northern Peru, over two hours by rough track from Jaén.

Source: Internet Geography (revision site), accessed 2026; a weak source, for G.1

It had no connection to the electricity grid, and families farmed, including growing coffee.

Source: Internet Geography; tutor2u, accessed 2026

Micro-hydro takes water from a stream down a pipe to turn a turbine, which generates electricity for homes.

Source: Practical Action

The scheme cost about US$51,000, paid for partly by the government, Japanese investment and the community.

Source: Internet Geography (revision site), accessed 2026; a weak source, for G.1

Local people are trained to run and repair it, so it doesn't depend on outside experts.

Source: Practical Action; Ashden

Across Peru, Practical Action has built 47 micro-hydro schemes serving about 5,000 families.

Source: Ashden, Practical Action Peru award

The supply falls in the dry season, when streams run low.

Source: Not checked against a source (textbook knowledge); for review in G.1