Geography Photographic Competition
The Geography department organised their annual photographic competition, inviting students and staff to submit images of geographic merit. These were accompanied by an explanatory text and could cover any aspect of the subject; human, political or physical geography. Entries were of the highest standard and the winning photographs are shared below.
Key Stage 3 Winner – Sara, Form 3 – Top of the World
The Jungfraujoch is a low point between two peaks, not a mountain itself. It connects the higher mountains of the Jungfrau and the Mönch in the Bernese Alps, and is situated on the upper slopes of the Aletsch Glacier.The primary geographical processes at the Jungfraujoch are glaciation and erosion, which created the high-altitude landscape and shaped features like the Jungfrau-Aletsch glacier.The ongoing geological process is weathering, for example, is the freeze-thaw (water expands in rock cracks as it freezes ) which continues to break down rock.’
Key Stage 4/5 Winner – Berenguela – Form 5 – When Land Meets Light
The aerial photograph reveals the distinctive urban layout of Barcelona’s metropolitan area and its surrounding coastline. The bright concentration of lights highlights the dense city centre, while the linear patterns running inland show the major transport routes connecting the coast with the interior towns. Additionally the black areas represent Montserrat and Collserola, whose steep relief limits urban expansion and therefore creates a sharp contrast between the illuminated lower land and the unlit highland.
One key geographical process visible here is urban sprawl shaped by physical constraints. Barcelona’s position between the Mediterranean and surrounding mountain ranges restricts horizontal growth, encouraging a more compact and elongated urban growth along the coast. This constraint has led to the development of satellite towns and extended commute networks, which are seen in the illuminated ribbons stretching inland. Similarly, the brightly lit port area shows how Barcelona plays a major role in trade, tourism and global connectivity thanks to its coastal location. The connection between physical geography (mountains, coastline) and human geography (transport, land use) is clear in the patterns of light that trace how people live, move and build their landscape.’
Staff Winner – Ms Canwell – Via Danarica
The photograph was taken on the Via Dinarica – a long distance hiking route along the world’s longest karst mountain range – the Dinaric Alps. A karst mountain range is a landscape dominated by soluble rocks like limestone, sculpted by water dissolving the rock to create unique features such as caves, sinkholes, underground rivers, and dramatic towers or pinnacles, rather than typical jagged peaks. Water in karst mountain ranges rapidly infiltrates through sinkholes and fractures in soluble rock to form extensive underground cave systems often disappearing from the surface only to emerge at springs.