Edexcel GCSE Geography A key terms

A seasonal change in wind direction that produces distinct wet and dry periods in affected regions.

Mainly upland, open land with vegetation such as heather and rough grasses, often in wet and exposed conditions.

The point where a river enters the sea, a lake or another river.

A change in where someone lives within the same country.

A designated landscape managed to conserve its special qualities and provide opportunities for people to enjoy it.

The difference between births and deaths in a population. It is positive when births exceed deaths and negative when deaths exceed births.

Population growth that occurs when the number of births exceeds the number of deaths.

A feature or part of the environment that people can use to meet their needs.

A naturally occurring atmospheric event that threatens people, property or the environment.

The number of people entering a country to live there minus the number leaving it to live elsewhere.

A balance in which greenhouse gas emissions released are matched by greenhouse gases removed from the atmosphere.

An organisation independent of government, often working to provide aid or support development.

An energy resource with a finite stock that is not replaced on a human timescale, such as coal, oil, natural gas or uranium.

A finite resource that is not replaced on a human timescale, such as coal, oil or natural gas.

The warm ocean-current extension into the North Atlantic that helps moderate the climate of north-western Europe.

A broad pattern of regional economic inequality in the UK, with London and much of southern England generally wealthier than many northern areas.

The movement and reuse of nutrients between living organisms, dead organic matter and soil in an ecosystem.

A large-scale flow of seawater that transports water and heat.

Mining that removes surface material to expose and extract deposits beneath it, creating an open excavation.

Catching fish faster than their populations can replace themselves through reproduction.

Grazing that removes vegetation faster than it can regrow, reducing protective plant cover.

A curved lake separated from the main river channel after a meander has been cut off.

Farming that keeps grazing livestock, such as sheep and cattle.

The highest river discharge reached during the event.

The highest rainfall value shown for a recording interval during a storm.

The number of people passing a particular point during a stated period of time.

An amount expressed for each person, usually calculated by dividing a total by the population.