Geography key terms

The loss of snow and ice from a glacier, including through melting.

The wearing away of coastal rock by sediment carried by waves rubbing or striking against it.

The removal of water from a river, reservoir or other water source for use.

An advanced country: a country with high average income, well-developed services and a high standard of living for most people.

How easily people or goods can reach a location.

Countryside settlements that can be reached relatively easily from a city, allowing regular journeys for work, shopping and services.

The percentage of people who have access to drinking water that is safe to consume.

The build-up of material through deposition, which can cause a shoreline to advance.

The addition of snow and ice to a glacier.

How close a measurement is to the true value.

Precipitation made more acidic by pollutants such as sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxides reacting with water in the atmosphere.

The surface layer of ground above permafrost that thaws in summer and freezes again in winter.

Changes to buildings, infrastructure or behaviour that reduce the harm caused by present or future weather and climate hazards.

Information collected through the operation of organisations or public services, such as visa, border, tax and benefits records, rather than through a survey designed specifically to measure migration.

A country with a high level of economic development and generally high incomes and standards of living.

A photograph taken from above the ground, usually from an aircraft or drone. It may look vertically down or obliquely across the landscape.

Growing plants without soil, with their roots suspended in air and sprayed with nutrient-rich mist.

Tiny solid particles or liquid droplets suspended in the atmosphere.

Wealth that gives people greater ability to buy goods and services.

Housing whose cost is within reach of the people it is intended to accommodate.

Planting trees to establish a forest on land that was not recently forested.

An earthquake that follows the main earthquake in the same area and can cause further damage.

A group of people within a particular age range, such as those aged 0–4.

A population in which older people make up an increasing proportion of residents.

The proportions of a population in different age groups.

Large-scale commercial farming run as a business, often using intensive methods and linking farming with food processing, transport and sales.

A shortage of water in the soil that affects farming and crop growth.