Value of Glaciated Landscapes

Glaciated landscapes are valued by diverse stakeholders for economic, cultural, ecological and scientific reasons. Understanding these values — and the conflicts that arise between them — is central to Edexcel A-Level Geography Enquiry Question 2 (EQ2): How are glaciated landscapes used and managed? This lesson examines the multiple values of glaciated environments and the tensions between competing uses.

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Economic Value

Tourism and Recreation

Tourism is the most significant economic activity in many glaciated landscapes. The dramatic scenery created by glacial erosion — corries, arêtes, U-shaped valleys, ribbon lakes — attracts millions of visitors annually.

Region	Annual Visitors	Economic Value	Key Activities
Lake District, England	~19.4 million (2022)	~£3.5 billion annually	Hiking, climbing, sailing, cycling, wildlife watching
Swiss Alps	~37 million overnight stays/year	Tourism = ~3% of Swiss GDP	Skiing, mountaineering, glacier tourism, wellness tourism
Banff & Jasper, Canada	~4.6 million (Banff, 2019)	~CAD $1.8 billion (Banff)	Skiing, hiking, wildlife, heritage tourism
Svalbard, Norway	~145,000 (2019)	Rapidly growing "last chance" tourism	Glacier visits, Arctic wildlife, Northern Lights
Iceland	~2.3 million (2023)	Tourism = ~8% of GDP	Glacier hiking, ice caves, geothermal pools

Tourism creates employment in rural areas with few alternative economic opportunities. In the Lake District, tourism supports approximately 36,000 full-time equivalent jobs. However, tourism also creates pressures (see Lesson 10).

Hydroelectric Power (HEP)

Glaciated landscapes provide ideal conditions for hydroelectric power generation:

• High precipitation in mountainous glaciated areas provides reliable water supply
• U-shaped valleys can be dammed to create reservoirs (the steep sides and flat floor provide natural containment)
• Hanging valleys offer steep gradients for water flow through turbines
• Reliable meltwater from glaciers supplements rainfall

Country/Region	HEP Contribution	Key Schemes
Norway	~92% of electricity	Extensive use of fjords and glacial valleys for reservoirs
Switzerland	~57% of electricity	Grande Dixence dam (285 m — one of the world's tallest gravity dams)
Iceland	~70% of electricity	Glacial rivers and geothermal combined
Scotland	Significant contribution	Cruachan pumped-storage scheme (inside Ben Cruachan); Loch Sloy dam

Water Supply

Glaciated landscapes serve as critical water sources:

• Glaciers act as natural water storage, releasing meltwater during summer when demand is highest
• Ribbon lakes in glaciated valleys serve as natural reservoirs (e.g., Thirlmere and Haweswater in the Lake District supply Manchester)
• Glacial aquifers — sand and gravel deposits from glacial and fluvioglacial processes store groundwater
• Globally, an estimated 1.9 billion people depend on glacier and snowmelt for their water supply

Exam Tip: When discussing the water supply value of glaciated landscapes, make the synoptic link to the Water Cycle topic (Topic 5). Glaciers are a crucial store in the water cycle, and their retreat reduces long-term water security — particularly in regions like the Andes, Himalayas and Central Asia. This cross-topic link is highly valued by Edexcel examiners.

Agriculture

Glaciated landscapes support agriculture, though often at relatively low productivity:

• Valley floors covered with glacial till provide fertile, well-drained farmland (e.g., the Vale of Eden, the Cheshire Plain)
• Outwash plains may support arable farming where soils have developed on well-drained sands and gravels
• Upland pastures support sheep and cattle grazing — a traditional land use in the Lake District, Scottish Highlands, Welsh uplands, Alps and Scandinavia
• Glacial deposits influence soil character — clay-rich tills produce heavy soils; sandy outwash produces lighter soils

Quarrying and Mining

Glacial deposits are economically important for construction materials:

• Sand and gravel from outwash plains and eskers are quarried as aggregate for construction
• Slate quarried from metamorphic rocks in glaciated uplands (e.g., Honister Slate Mine, Lake District; Llanberis, Snowdonia)
• Granite quarried from glacially exposed igneous intrusions

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Cultural and Spiritual Value

Landscape and Identity

Glaciated landscapes hold deep cultural significance:

• The Lake District's landscape inspired the Romantic poets (Wordsworth, Coleridge, Southey) and the conservation philosophy of John Ruskin and Beatrix Potter
• The Scottish Highlands are central to Scottish cultural identity, from clan history to the Gaelic language
• Alpine culture in Switzerland, Austria and northern Italy is inseparable from the glaciated mountain landscape — Alpine farming traditions (transhumance), architecture and festivals are shaped by the environment
• Indigenous peoples in Arctic and subarctic regions (Inuit, Sámi, Nenets) have cultural identities deeply connected to glaciated and periglacial landscapes

UNESCO World Heritage Status

Several glaciated landscapes have been designated as UNESCO World Heritage Sites, recognising their outstanding universal value:

Site	Year Inscribed	Criteria
English Lake District	2017	Cultural landscape shaped by agro-pastoral traditions in a glaciated mountain environment
Swiss Alps Jungfrau-Aletsch	2001 (extended 2007)	Outstanding example of Alpine mountain-building and glacial processes; includes the Aletsch Glacier
Te Wahipounamu, New Zealand	1990	Outstanding glacial landscapes including Milford Sound (a fiord) and the Franz Josef and Fox Glaciers
Los Glaciares, Argentina	1981	Perito Moreno and Upsala Glaciers in the Patagonian Andes

Spiritual and Aesthetic Value

Many people value glaciated landscapes for their intrinsic beauty and wilderness qualities:

• Mountains, glaciers, fjords and wild landscapes evoke awe and spiritual connection
• The concept of sublime landscape — beauty combined with terror and grandeur — originated partly from experiences of glaciated Alpine landscapes
• Wilderness advocates argue that glaciated landscapes have value independent of any human use — the ecocentric perspective

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