Geography key terms

A country with relatively low average income, often with limited access to services and economic opportunities.

An area of relatively low land, often with flat or gently rolling terrain.

Molten rock beneath Earth’s surface. Once it erupts onto the surface, it is called lava.

The size or amount of something, such as the size of a geographical event.

A theory that population can grow geometrically while food production grows arithmetically, eventually causing population demand to exceed food supply.

Deliberately allowing the sea to flood selected coastal land, often by moving defences inland, to create space for water and habitats such as saltmarsh.

Allowing the coastline to move inland in a planned way, often by removing or abandoning existing defences; also called coastal realignment.

The thick layer of rock beneath Earth’s crust. It is mostly solid, but parts can deform and flow very slowly.

The process of making products from raw materials or components.

The explanation of the symbols, lines and colours used on a map.

The explanation of the colours, patterns and symbols used on a map.

The relationship between a distance on a map and the corresponding distance on the ground.

An ecosystem in seawater, including coastal waters and seabed habitats.

The wearing away and removal of coastal rock or sediment by the sea.

A climate strongly influenced by the sea, usually with relatively mild winters, cool summers and a smaller annual temperature range than inland continental areas.

The downhill movement of rock or soil under the influence of gravity.

A measure of how frequently women die from causes associated with pregnancy and childbirth.

The number of maternal deaths associated with pregnancy or childbirth per 100,000 live births.

The sum of all values divided by the number of values.

A winding bend in a river channel, shaped by erosion on the outside and deposition on the inside.

Average coastal retreat per unit of time, commonly calculated as total retreat in metres divided by elapsed time in years.

A statistic describing the centre or typical value of a dataset, such as its mean, median or mode.

The physical breakdown of rock into smaller pieces without changing its chemical composition.

The use of machinery to carry out work previously performed by people or animals.

Media products, such as television programmes and films, sold or licensed for use in other countries.

A band of glacial debris down the centre of a glacier, formed where the lateral moraines of joining glaciers meet.

The middle value when data are arranged in numerical order; with an even number of values, it is the mean of the two middle values.