Geography key terms

The amount of energy emitted by the Sun.

Electricity generated by solar panels converting energy from sunlight.

As erosion, the dissolving of soluble rock into river water; as transportation, the carrying of dissolved material by the water.

The starting point of a river.

An ocean region in which tropical cyclones develop, rather than simply an area they later affect.

Examining location-based data to identify patterns and relationships and help answer geographical questions.

Information linked to a particular location, allowing its geographical distribution to be mapped and investigated.

The pattern of where something occurs across an area, including differences between places.

The outward expansion of an urban area's built-up land.

The ground distance represented by the width of one pixel in a satellite image; smaller pixels generally allow finer detail to be distinguished.

Differences between places in a characteristic such as income, employment or life expectancy.

A designated area offering incentives, such as lower taxes, to attract businesses and investment.

An area where a government offers favourable conditions, such as low taxes, to attract businesses and investment.

Words and phrases with precise meanings within a subject, such as geographical terms.

The surrounding area over which a place or service has an influence, defined for a particular purpose.

Long, curved bands of clouds and thunderstorms that spiral around a tropical cyclone's centre.

A narrow ridge of deposited sand or shingle extending from the coast into the sea, attached to land at one end.

Rock and other waste material removed during mining and piled up on the land.

The height above sea level of a particular point, written beside its position on a map.

Points on a map marked with a dot and a number that gives the height of the land at that point, in metres above sea level.

An area of housing built on land that residents occupy without legal permission or ownership.

An isolated column of rock offshore, left when an arch roof collapses.

A person, group or organisation affected by an issue or able to influence what happens.

The material conditions people can afford, such as housing, food and other goods and services.

The age at which a person becomes eligible to receive the State Pension; it is not necessarily the age at which they stop working.

Water flowing down plant branches and trunks towards the ground.

A graph showing how river discharge changes during and after a period of rainfall, usually with rainfall bars on the same time axis.