Eduqas GCSE Geography A key terms

The laying down of sediment when moving water or wind can no longer transport it.

An area of low atmospheric pressure, associated with rising air and often cloud, rain and unsettled weather.

A lack of resources or opportunities needed for an acceptable standard of living, potentially involving income, employment, housing, health, education or services.

The degradation of land in dry regions, including persistent loss of vegetation and soil productivity.

A plate boundary where plates move towards each other and one plate is forced beneath another into the mantle.

Improvement in people's standard of living and quality of life, including economic and social conditions.

A sliding scale of economic development, rather than a division into only rich and poor countries.

A difference in levels of development between countries or groups of people, which can change over time.

A specified improvement that development efforts aim to achieve, against which progress can be assessed.

A relationship in which two quantities change by the same multiplying factor, so their ratio remains constant.

The volume of water passing a point in a river each second, usually measured in $\text{m}^3/\text{s}$.

A coastline where bands of different rock types run at right angles to the shore.

Numerical data consisting of separate, countable values, such as the number of vehicles passing a site.

A place whose combination of physical features and human influences gives it a recognisable character.

The way a feature or quantity is spread across an area.

A movement pattern that varies over the course of a day.

The movement of tectonic plates away from one another.

A widening of the range of products or economic activities on which a country depends.

A settlement where many residents travel elsewhere to work, leaving fewer people there during the day.

The area of land drained by a river and its tributaries.

An extended period of below-average rainfall that can reduce available water and harm people, vegetation and animals.

A low-lying hollow between sand dunes, often containing wetter conditions than the surrounding ridges.

A situation in which a population’s ecological footprint exceeds the biocapacity of the area being considered.

The biologically productive land and sea area needed to provide the resources consumed by a person or population and absorb its waste, especially carbon dioxide emissions.

Growth and change in an economy that can increase incomes, employment opportunities and material living standards.

A community of organisms interacting with one another and with their physical environment.

A benefit that people receive from an ecosystem, such as water regulation, medicines or tourism opportunities.