Geography

• 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
• Scale

  A geographical concept used to describe the size or area covered by a feature. Scale varies from small (or local) through to regional, national and global
• Upland


  A landscape that is hilly or mountainous. Upland landscapes contain large areas of open space with few field boundaries
• Abrasion


  Erosion caused by friction which occurs when a river carries sand, gravel or pebbles and uses them to wear away the landscape
• Attrition


  A type of erosion where rocks smash against each other making them smaller and more rounded
• Deposition

  The laying down of material in the landscape. Deposition occurs when the force that was carrying the sediment is reduced
• Drainage basin


  The area a river collects its water from. This is also called the river's catchment area
• Floodplain


  The flat area beside a river channel that is covered in water during a flood event
• Gorges


  Steep sided, narrow valleys often found below a waterfall
• Hydraulic action

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


  Soil or rock which does not allow water to pass through it, such as clay
• Lateral erosion


  The process by which a river can cut sideways into its own river bank
• Load


  The sediment carried by a river
• Meander


  A sweeping curve or bend in the river's course
• Plunge pool


  The pool of water found at the base of a waterfall, are erosional features created by abrasion and hydraulic action of the plunging water.
• Retreat

  The gradual backward movement of a landform due to the process of erosion. A waterfall retreats towards the source of a river as it is eroded
• Slip-off slope

  The gentle slope on a river beach (or point bar) that is formed by deposition of sediment on the inside bend of a meander
• Source


  The starting point of a river
• Transport


  The movement of material as it is carried by a river through the landscape
• Tributary

  A smaller river which flows into a larger river channel
• Abrasion


  Erosion caused by friction when waves carry sand or pebbles and use them to wear away the landscape
• Backwash


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


  The sudden collapse of a hillside under its own weight. Landslides are sometimes triggered on a cliff by erosion at the foot of the slope
• Longshore drift


  A process by which beach material Is moved along the coast
• Retreat


  The gradual backward movement of a landform due to the process of erosion. The coastline retreats due to the erosion of a cliff
• Rock falls


  The sudden collapse of rocks from a cliff or steep slope
• Spits


  Coastal landforms formed by the deposition of sediment in a low mound where the coastline changes direction, for example, at the mouth of a river
• Swash


  The flow of water up the beach as a wave breaks on the shore
• Annual regime


  The way in which a river's discharge varies throughout the year
• Cumecs


  An abbreviation of cubic metres per second - which is a measure of the discharge of a river
• Discharge


  The amount of water flowing through a river channel or out of an aquifer. Discharge is measured in cubic metres per second (cumecs)
• Flash floods


  Flooding caused by a sudden downpour of rain. The rain falls so quickly it cannot soak into the ground
• Frequency


  A number that describes the mean time gap between similar events such as floods or landslides
• Groundwater (store)


  Water in the ground below the water table
• Groundwater flow


  The flow of water through rocks
• Hydrograph


  A type of line graph that shows variation in discharge of a river. Time, which is on the horizontal axis, could be in hours, days or weeks
• Infiltration


  The movement of rain water or snow melt into the soil
• Overland flow


  The flow of water across the ground surface
• Permeable


  A rock which allows water to pass through it, such as limestone