S1 Geography End of Year Revision

Vocabulary revision flashcards covering the water cycle, drainage basins, river landforms (meanders and oxbow lakes), and causes of flooding.

Evaporation

The process where water is heated and turns from liquid into water vapour.

Condensation

The process where water vapour cools and forms clouds.

Precipitation

Any form of condensation that falls to the ground, such as rain, snow, or sleet.

Throughflow

When water moves sideways through the soil towards a river or stream.

Groundwater flow

When water moves slowly through rock underground, usually towards a river, lake, or the sea.

Overland flow / Surface flow

When water flows across the ground surface towards a river, lake, or the sea because the soil cannot absorb it quickly enough.

Drainage basin

The area of land drained by a river.

Watershed

The edge or boundary of a drainage basin.

Source

The start of a river.

Confluence

The point at which two rivers or streams join.

Tributary

A stream or smaller river which joins a larger stream or river.

Mouth

The point where the river comes to an end, usually when entering a sea.

Meander

A horse-shoe shaped bend in a river that forms in the middle and lower course, featuring erosion on the outside bend and deposition on the inside bend.

Oxbow lake

A curved water body formed when a river cuts through a narrow meander neck during a flood and deposition seals off the old abandoned loop.

Urbanisation (as a cause of flooding)

A human cause of flooding where impermeable tarmac and concrete prevent infiltration, leading to increased surface runoff.

Deforestation (as a cause of flooding)

A human cause of flooding where the removal of trees reduces interception, causing water to enter rivers at a quicker rate.