ABSTRACT
Mountains and uplands are generally found where rocks are resistant to erosion, for example over 60 per cent of the British upland and marginal upland landscapes are found where the predominant rock is acid igneous or metamorphic (Bunce et al. 1996). Although the rocks associated with the uplands are generally resistant to weathering most show evidence of glacial erosion from the last glaciation during the period 50000 to 15000 BP. The distributions of rock types in Britain means that uplands are largely absent from the east and south. Indeed there are no significant uplands south of a line drawn between Scarborough and Bath, while north of that line much of the land is upland or mountain (Figure 2.1). Consequently most of Britain’s upland habitat is found in Scotland and Wales (Table 2.1). It is the combination of this northwestern distribution, combined with Britain’s position on the western edge of Europe that gives our uplands their unique character.
