Edexcel GCSE Geography A key terms

The movement of people and activities from central urban areas towards the suburbs, contributing to outward urban growth.

Relatively recent geological materials lying above the bedrock.

Water flowing over the ground surface towards a river rather than soaking into the soil.

Water flowing over the ground surface towards streams and rivers.

Water held above ground, including in rivers and lakes.

River transportation in which fine solid particles, such as silt and clay, are carried within the flowing water.

Managing energy supplies and use to meet present needs while protecting the ability of future generations to meet theirs.

Managing a forest to meet people's needs today while maintaining its biodiversity, resources and ability to support future generations.

Using and caring for an environment to meet present needs while maintaining its resources and ecological functions for future generations.

Transport that meets people's travel needs while reducing environmental damage and resource use over the long term.

Urban living that meets people’s needs while limiting environmental damage and resource consumption, so that future generations can also meet their needs.

Using a resource in a way that can continue over the long term without exhausting it or seriously damaging the environment.

Managing water to meet present needs while protecting supplies, the environment and communities for the future.

The movement of water up a beach after a wave breaks.

A lake occupying the basin of a corrie.

Expert advice, training or knowledge transfer provided to strengthen skills, organisations or policies.

An imaginary line from the River Tees to the River Exe used to describe the broad division between Britain’s north-western uplands and south-eastern lowlands.

Information associated with particular dates or times, allowing change over time to be investigated.

A ridge of till deposited at a glacier's snout, marking a former limit of the ice.

An ecosystem found on land rather than in the sea.

A disagreement over which country controls or owns an area of land.

Economic activity that provides services, such as retail, transport, healthcare and banking.

An increase in the volume of a substance as its temperature rises; warming seawater expands and contributes to sea-level rise.

Ocean circulation driven by differences in water density caused by temperature and salinity.

Unsorted sediment deposited directly by a glacier, containing a mixture of particle sizes.

Wood used as a material, for example in building construction.

An assessment against specified standards that can identify timber from forests managed according to environmental, social and economic requirements.