Geography key terms

A large, continuous built-up area formed when expanding towns or cities join together.

The transfer of heat through the movement of a liquid or gas: warmer, less dense material rises and cooler, denser material sinks.

Circulating movement in which hotter, less dense material rises and cooler, denser material sinks, transferring heat.

Oil and gas sources from which the fuel can flow relatively freely through the rock towards a well, making extraction comparatively straightforward.

The movement of air flows towards one another, which can force air to rise.

A plate boundary where plates move towards one another, causing subduction or continental collision.

Changing forest land into land used for crops or livestock.

Cutting tree stems close to ground level and allowing new shoots to regrow from the remaining stump before a later harvest.

The loss of colour in corals when they are stressed, including by unusually warm seawater.

Earth's central metallic region, consisting of a liquid outer core and a solid inner core.

A relatively developed region where investment, economic activity, infrastructure and services are concentrated.

The deflection of moving air caused by the Earth's rotation: to the right of its movement in the northern hemisphere and to the left in the southern hemisphere.

An association between two variables: positive when they tend to increase together, and negative when one tends to decrease as the other increases.

An armchair-shaped mountain hollow with a steep back wall, deep basin and raised lip, formed by glacial erosion.

The misuse of an official position or public funds for private benefit.

An index ranking countries and territories by perceived public-sector corruption, scored from 0 (highly corrupt) to 100 (very clean).

A method of comparing management options by weighing their estimated costs against their estimated benefits over a specified period.

The movement of people from towns and cities to rural areas.

A landform consisting of a resistant bedrock crag and a sheltered, tapering tail of less resistant material extending downstream.

Writing that weighs evidence, explanations or methods by examining their strengths, limitations and implications.

A small agricultural holding, especially in the Highlands and islands of Scotland.

The amount of crop produced per unit area of farmland.

A cross-section taken across a river channel or its valley, at right angles to the direction of flow.

A drawing showing the shape of the land along a line, as though a vertical slice had been taken through the landscape.

The area occupied by water in a slice across a river channel, measured in square metres (m²).

A liquid fossil fuel formed from the remains of ancient organisms over millions of years, which can be refined into fuels and other petroleum products.

The thin, solid outer layer of the Earth, made of rock.