Edexcel GCSE Geography A key terms

The influence of geography, resources and power on relationships between countries.

Aligned with real-world locations using a coordinate system, so that maps or images can be compared spatially.

A model showing nutrients stored in biomass, litter and soil, and the transfers between these stores.

A measure of how unequally income is distributed. On the 0–1 scale, 0 represents complete equality and 1 represents complete inequality.

A geographical information system: computer software used to store, display and analyse information linked to locations.

The laying down of material previously transported by ice.

The wearing away and removal of rock by moving ice and the debris it carries.

A relatively cold interval when glaciers and ice sheets expand.

The movement of a glacier's end back towards its source when ice loss exceeds the replacement of ice through snowfall.

A mixture of sediment of different sizes deposited directly by glacial ice.

A wide, steep-sided valley with a relatively flat floor, also called a U-shaped valley, formed by glacial erosion.

An area of high land whose landscape has been shaped by moving ice.

An area of high land whose landforms were shaped by glaciers in the past.

A slow-moving mass of ice that can erode the land and transport rock and sediment.

The large-scale movement of air around the Earth that redistributes heat and moisture.

A unit of biologically productive area with the average productivity of the world’s productive land and sea in a given year.

The increasing connections and interdependence between countries through trade, investment, production and movements of people.

A narrow, steep-sided valley; one way it forms is through the upstream retreat of a waterfall.

The rules, institutions and decision-making processes through which resources are managed, including enforcement and community participation.

The steepness of a slope, expressed as the change in height over a horizontal distance.

An area of land around a settlement where development is restricted to help prevent urban sprawl.

Land that has not previously been developed, often farmland or other open land.

The natural warming of Earth's surface and lower atmosphere caused by greenhouse gases absorbing and re-emitting outgoing long-wave radiation.

An atmospheric gas that absorbs outgoing long-wave radiation emitted by Earth's surface, helping to warm the surface and lower atmosphere.

Gases, including carbon dioxide, that absorb outgoing heat and contribute to warming the atmosphere.

A network of green spaces and natural features managed to benefit people and wildlife. Water features are often included through the term blue-green infrastructure.

The total value of goods and services produced within a country in one year.