AQA GCSE Geography key terms

The amount of a resource that people actually use.

Having reliable and affordable access to enough food, water or energy to meet needs.

The amount of a resource available for use.

A long, narrow lake occupying a basin deepened by glacial erosion.

The likelihood of harm occurring and the seriousness of its possible consequences.

A steep bank on the outside of a meander, formed by erosion.

The wearing away and removal of a river’s bed and banks. Hydraulic action is erosion by the force of water; abrasion is erosion by sediment scraping against the bed and banks.

Returning an altered river towards a more natural condition, for example by restoring meanders and connections with wetlands.

A main river and the tributaries that feed into it.

Large boulders placed along the shore to absorb wave energy and protect the coast; also called riprap.

The curved movement of glacial ice within a hollow, helping to deepen a corrie.

A decrease in the number of people living in a countryside area.

The zone at the edge of a town or city where urban and rural land uses meet and mix.

The movement of people from the countryside to towns and cities to live.

The build-up of salts in soil, which can reduce crop growth.

Transportation in which small stones and pebbles bounce along the river bed.

The number of observations, measurements or participants included in a sample.

Selecting part of a population or area for investigation rather than studying every person or location.

A small wall across a seasonal river channel that traps sand, allowing water to be stored in the spaces between sand grains.

A mound or ridge of wind-deposited sand, often stabilised by vegetation.

The safe collection, removal and treatment of human waste and wastewater.

An image produced using measurements collected by a satellite. Its colours may be natural-looking or assigned to highlight particular features.

Soil whose pore spaces are filled with water, leaving little capacity to absorb further rainfall.

The relationship between a distance on a map or image and the corresponding distance on the ground.

A graph plotting paired numerical values as separate points to show the relationship between two variables.

A site containing research and technology-based businesses, usually with links to a university.

Food harvested at its usual time of year in a particular place.