Geography & History Notes | KCSE, NECTA, ZIMSEC & GCSE

  Although weathering is all about wear and tear of the earth’s surface, in the process it leads to the formation of landforms, especially within the karst regions . Karst regions are regions made up of limestone rocks. These landforms include; Glikes and clints: These are formed during the process of carbonation where by rainfall dissolves CO 2 in the atmosphere to form weak carbonic acids. These carbonic acids act on limestone rocks to form calcium carbonates or converted to a more readily dissolvable form of calcium bi carbonates. In areas where limestone rocks alternate with rocks with different minerals, the weak CaCO3 are removed in solution to form ditch-like depressions called grikes while the hard resistant rocks remaining behind form round topped ridges called clints e.g. at Kajjansi near Kampala . Stalactites. These are features found mostly in karst regions (areas with limestone rocks ). They are protrusions found on the roof of a chemically weathered limestone ca...

  Loss of lives. Severe landslides especially those associated with heavy rains and earthquakes result into rock falls and rock slides that destroy settlements and kill people living in s uch settlements like on the lower slopes of mountains like the Bulecheke landslides in 1996 killed about 100 people, in Buhweju many people were killed by the landslide s that occurred in May 2002, 2010 and 2018 on the slopes of mountain Elgon. Loss of property by the falling and sliding of rocks of various sizes. Many houses and settlements are normally destroyed for example in 1996 in Bundibugyo, a land slide occurred and destroyed several homes and properties for example roads, and electric poles connecting Bundibugyo to Fort Portal were destroyed and that from Kabale to Kisoro. Many crops and the would be agricultural land are often destroyed as they are buried by the debris from the upper slopes. Destruction of forest resources. When a slope with forests fails, chances are that those forests ...

  Temperature inversion is a condition in which the temperature of the atmosphere increases with altitude in contrast to the normal decrease with altitude. When temperature inversion occurs, cold air underlies warmer air at higher altitudes. There are four kinds of temperature inversions: ground, turbulence, subsidence, and frontal. A ground inversion develops when air is cooled by contact with a colder surface until it becomes cooler than the overlying atmosphere; this occurs most often on clear nights, when the ground cools off rapidly by radiation . If the temperature of surface air drops below its dew point, fog may result. Topography greatly affects the magnitude of ground inversions. If the land is rolling or hilly, the cold air formed on the higher land surfaces tends to drain into the hollows, producing a larger and thicker inversion above low ground and little or none above higher elevations. A turbulence inversion often forms when quiescent air overlies turbulent...

  Soil organic matter (SOM) is the organic matter component of soil, consisting of plant and animal residues at various stages of decomposition, cells, and tissues of soil organisms, and substances synthesized by soil organisms. The following are factors affecting decomposition of soil organic matters: Temperature: Cold periods retard plant growth and OM decomposition. Warm summers may permit plant growth and humus accumulation.  Soil moisture: Extremes of both arid and anaerobic conditions reduce plant growth and microbial decomposition. Near or slightly wetter than field capacity moisture conditions are most favourable for both processes.   Nutrients: Lack of nutrients particularly N slows decomposition.   Soil PH: Most of the microbes grow best at pH 6 – 8, but are severely inhibited below pH 4.5 and above pH 8.5.   Soil Texture: Soils higher in clays tend to retain larger amounts of humus.   Other Factors: Toxic levels of elements (A...

  Use of chemical spraying to control weeds and pests. Provisions of soft loans to reduce shortage of capital for developing the regions. Encourage crop rotation to ensure soil fertility and high productivity. Construction of valley dams to store water for the dry season. Establishing ranches to act as demonstration farms for the pastoralists. Extending veterinary services to reduce animal diseases. Construction of roads to reduce remoteness of such areas. RELATED POSTS IMPORTANCE OF SOIL STRUCTURE     7 CHARACTERISTICS OF EQUATORIAL CLIMATE    7 ADVANTAGES OF WETLANDS     7 FACTORS INFLUENCING MASS WASTING    5 CONDITIONS FOR EXISTENCE OF CORAL REEFS    3 TYPES OF WEATHERING AND THEIR PROCESSES    6 LANDFORMS OF HIGHLANDS GLACIATION CAUSES AND EFFECTS OF OCEAN BREEZE AND SEA BREEZE PLATE TECTONICS THEORY EXPLAINED 9 CHARACTERISTICS OF COMMERCIAL LIVESTOCK FARMING Characteristics of tropical northern climate 12 F...