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Summary Eden Basin detailed case study for a-level geography
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this is a detailed case study of the Eden basin for a-level geography
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22nd February 2021The Eden Basin
Location
- The Eden basin is located in the North West of England between the mountain ranges of the
Pennines and the Lake District, the basin extends to the sea at Soloway firth, the basin
includes other smaller rivers (tributaries which flow into the river Eden such as the Petteril
and the Eamont).
- The river Eden its self has a source in the Pennines, then flowing north-west through
settlements such as Appleby-
in-Westmorland and later on
the city of Carlisle. The
mouth of the river in the
Solway Firth at the Scottish
border with England.
Rainfall in the Eden basin
- The river Eden falls around 700m from source to mouth with vast differences in topography
between the upper and lower courses of the basin and so vast differences in rainfall)
- In the upper course the average rainfall can exceed 2,800mm/year
- In Carlisle the average rain fall is around 760mm/year
- Average rainfall in the UK is 920mm/year
- Across the Atlantic the jet stream brings cooler air (from where warm and cool air meet) at
very low heights but very fast speeds
- Across the west of England in Cumbria is the
Lake district mountain range which forces this
air to raise in height
- As the air raises over the Lake district it cools
even more and condenses forming clouds,
this area would experience more rainfall
(hence the 2,800m on average) Lake
- After passing the higher ground the air will district
Air from
descend and it will warm and become drier, Carlisle
Atlantic
(hence in Carlisle which is at a much lower
height than the upper course experiences
only 760mm/year of rainfall)
, 22nd February 2021
Main factors that cause high flood risk to the population
- Total catchment area is 2,400km², only 1% is classified as urban, 244,000 total population
- Upper course is very steep, below Kirkby Stephen the valley dramatically widens the flat
floodplains and washlands provide storage which help drainage in high rainfall
- The steep upper catchment and high rainfall combine making the Eden a “fast-responding”
catchment (high river levels occur very soon after heavy rainfall, which reduces the time to
provide advance warning of flooding)
- The valley also contains areas of high-quality farmland, this does provide an opportunity to
reduce run-off and increase the time between rainfall and peak flow. However, holding
water for a longer period of time under agricultural land can lead to increased crop damage
which could drastically affect the agricultural economy and any rural settlements
- There are some developmental pressures in Cumbria which would lead to increased
impermeable material which would increase the flooding risk- however this pressure isn’t as
great as other areas of the country
- The upper parts of the catchment area are also hard, volcanic rocks, the soils are thin and in
addition to the steep gradients so there is rapid run-off in these areas which runs into the
floodplains
- Igneous rock is found in higher ground on the western side of the basin, this is impermeable,
therefore infiltration is slow and surface run-off is high
The nature and location of flood risks in the Eden catchment area
- In the steeper-middle course in semi-rural areas has lots of flooding, and in the city of
Carlisle where there are many tributaries, there is also high flooding risk
- Tidal floods are not the most significant flooding, there are only a few isolated locations that
are at risk of flooding from a tidal event
- Groundwater flooding isn’t a significant issue due to the geology (permeable limestone and
sandstone)
- Surface water flooding is a bigger issue in the Eden basin, at
the moment the events ten d to be high in frequency but low
in damage, this could be due to interactions between sewers,
surface water and watercourses (figure shows source of
flooding from Jan 2005
- Severe flooding is mainly common in the city of Carlisle,
mainly due to hydraulic overload of the sewer system
- More than 3,000 residents and commercial properties are at a 1% annual risk of flooding
(includes the A69 at Warwick road- major road links to M6)
- A 1% annual probability event would lead to a depth of flooding up to 3.5 meters in Carlisle
and put over 500 homes at risk, Carlisle has the Petteril a tributary that runs near the centre
before joining the Eden
- Hydrologists believe that the main sources of the flood risk are from flooding from the Eden,
flooding from surface water and drain (often extenuated by blockages/failure), flooding from
other watercourses and sewers
- In the future predictions state the in-winter Eden catchment flooding could increase by 15-
20% by 2050
- In addition, flood risk also comes from limited capacity at Thacka beck culvert (tunnel
carrying a stream) which raises the flood risk in Penrith
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