Geography key terms

Work that develops new knowledge and uses it to create or improve products, processes and technologies.

The overall approach to an investigation, such as comparing two places or assessing the impact of a change.

A store of water, often an artificial lake formed behind a dam, kept for later use.

Land used for homes.

The geographical arrangement of places where people live, including concentrations of different types of housing.

The remaining possibility of flooding and its consequences despite measures intended to reduce flood risk.

The danger that remains after measures have been taken to reduce a hazard’s effects.

The ability of an ecosystem to recover after a disturbance.

The ability of a rock to withstand being worn away by erosion.

A stock or supply of something that people value or use, such as food, water or an energy source.

The amount of a resource that people actually use.

Using a natural resource to meet people's needs or economic demands.

Removing natural resources, such as timber or minerals, for use or sale.

Materials and supplies that people use to meet their needs, including food, energy and water.

Having reliable and affordable access to enough food, water or energy to meet needs.

The amount of a resource available for use.

Actions taken as a hazard approaches or after it occurs, including evacuation, rescue, emergency relief and rebuilding.

The sale of goods to consumers, through physical shops or online.

The movement of people back into central urban areas, often associated with regeneration and new housing.

A desalination process in which pressure forces water through a filtering membrane that separates it from dissolved salts.

A long, narrow lake occupying a basin deepened by glacial erosion.

A logarithmic earthquake magnitude scale based on recorded ground-motion amplitude, with corrections for distance. A one-unit increase represents a tenfold increase in amplitude.

The upward section of the discharge line as river discharge increases.

The likelihood of harm occurring and the seriousness of its possible consequences.

A steep bank on the outside of a meander, formed by erosion.

The volume of water passing a point in a river each second, usually measured in cubic metres per second.

The wearing away and removal of a river’s bed and banks. Hydraulic action is erosion by the force of water; abrasion is erosion by sediment scraping against the bed and banks.