Geography key terms 3 Flashcards
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
Water in the ground below the water table.
Groundwater flow
The flow of water through rocks.
Hazard map
A type of plan or that shows the extent of a hazard such as flood risk.
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.
Impermeable
Soil or rock which does not allow water to pass through it, such as clay.
infiltration
The movement of rain water or snow melt into the soil.
Overland Flow
The flow of water across the ground surface.
Permeability
The ability of a rock to allow water to pass through it.
Permeable
A rock which allows water to pass through it, such as limestone.
Porosity
The ability of a rock to store water in tiny air spaces (pores).
