Geography WJEC GCSE Paper 1 all key terms

A collection of geography vocabulary flashcards created to aid exam preparation.

Distinctive landscapes

Landscapes that have unique characteristics making them recognizable or notable.

Carrying capacity

The ability of a landscape to absorb the activity of people without any lasting damage.

Honey pot sites

Places that attract many tourists and which are often congested at peak times.

Place

A geographical concept used to describe what makes somewhere special, unique, or distinct.

Scale

A geographical concept used to describe the size or area covered by a feature, varying from local to global.

Spatial

Patterns or geographical features that vary over two dimensions, capable of being represented on a map.

Upland

A landscape that is hilly or mountainous, typically containing large areas of open space.

Abrasion

Erosion caused by friction when a river carries sand, gravel, or pebbles that wear away the landscape.

Attrition

A type of erosion where rocks smash against each other, becoming smaller and more rounded.

Deposition

The laying down of material in the landscape when the force carrying the sediment is reduced.

Drainage basin

The area a river collects its water from, also known as the river's catchment area.

Floodplain

The flat area beside a river channel that is covered during a flood event.

Gorges

Steep sided, narrow valleys often found below waterfalls.

Gulley

A narrow, V-shaped channel cut by running water on steep slopes.

Hydraulic action

Erosion caused when water and air are forced into gaps in rock or soil.

Impermeable

Soil or rock that does not allow water to pass through, such as clay.

Interlocking spurs

Features of V-shaped valleys where the river meanders side to side, interlocking like teeth in a zipper.

Lateral erosion

The process by which a river cuts sideways into its own bank.

Load

The sediment carried by a river.

Meander

A sweeping curve or bend in the river’s course.

Oxbow lake

A loop of an old meander not connected to the river channel by flowing water.

Plunge pool

The pool of water found at the base of a waterfall, created by erosion.

Retreat

The gradual backward movement of a landform due to erosion.

Slip-off slope

The gentle slope on a river beach formed by sediment deposition on the inside bend of a meander.

Source

The starting point of a river.

Transport

The movement of material carried by a river through the landscape.

Tributary

A smaller river that flows into a larger river channel.

Vertical erosion

Erosion where the force of water is concentrated downwards.

Backwash

The flow of water back into the sea after a wave has broken on a beach.

Fetch

The distance over which wind has blown to create waves on the sea.

Longshore drift

A process by which beach material is moved along the coast.

Spits

Coastal landforms formed by the deposition of sediment where the coastline changes direction.

Swash

The flow of water up the beach as a wave breaks on the shore.

Wave-cut notch

A slot cut into the bottom of a cliff by wave action.

Discharge

The amount of water flowing through a river channel or out of an aquifer.

Flash floods

Flooding caused by a sudden downpour of rain that cannot soak into the ground.

Groundwater flow

The flow of water through rocks.

Hydrograph

A line graph that shows the variation in the discharge of a river over time.

Infiltration

The movement of rainwater or snowmelt into the soil.

Permeable

Rocks that allow water to pass through, such as limestone.

Porosity

The ability of a rock to store water in tiny air spaces.

Urban-rural continuum

A sliding scale with urban areas at one end and remote rural areas at the other.

Globalisation

Flows of people, ideas, money, and goods linking distant places.

Informal settlements

Homes without legal rights to the land, commonly known as shanty towns.

Mega-cities

Urban areas with a population greater than 10 million people.

Rural to urban migration

The movement of people from the countryside to towns and cities.

Vulnerability

The risk experienced during a natural disaster, with some groups more affected than others.