Geography Key Terms

Question 1

traction

Answer 1

large stones are rolled or dragged along the bottom of the river bed.

Question 2

saltation

Answer 2

pebbles and sand can be bounced along the bottom of the river bed.

Question 3

suspension

Answer 3

fine particles of mud can be carried along the river bed.

Question 4

solution

Answer 4

dissolved chemicals are carried along.

Question 5

Drainage Basin

Answer 5

An area of land drained by a river and its tributaries.

Question 6

source

Answer 6

the start of the river.

Question 7

mouth

Answer 7

The end of a river..

Question 8

Watershed

Answer 8

The boundary between two river basins.

Question 9

Tributary

Answer 9

A smaller river which joins a larger river.

Question 10

confluence

Answer 10

The point where two rivers meet.

Question 11

escarpments

Answer 11

Resistant rocks like chalk which form deep escarpments

Question 12

Undulating

Answer 12

gently rolling hills.

Question 13

Anticline

Answer 13

A dome of folded rocks which forms and arch.

Question 14

Dip-slope

Answer 14

Land that follows the same gentle slope as the layers of rock underneath.

Question 15

Vale

Answer 15

Low flat land.

Question 16

carbon dating

Answer 16

Uses radioactive testing to find the age of the rocks which contained living material

Question 17

strata

Answer 17

layers

Question 18

Topography

Answer 18

Shape/ height of land

Question 19

Convection currents

Answer 19

Currents that move tectonic plates

Question 20

Misfits

Answer 20

Small rivers that flow in valleys where glaciers used to be

Question 21

Biologic weathering

Answer 21

The process of rocks being broken down by living things

Question 22

Chemical weathering

Answer 22

Rock dissolved by acid rain mainly on chalk and limestone

Question 23

Physical Weathering

Answer 23

(freeze thaw) When rain water enters cracks in the rocks and freezes.

Question 24

Spring-line settlements

Answer 24

found where there is a ridge of permeable rock lying over impermeable rock. With a line of springs along the boundary between two layers.

Question 25

Coppices

Answer 25

Woodland where the trees or shrubs are cut back every few years for firewood and timber.

Question 26

Biodiversity

Answer 26

the variety of living species in an ecosystem or area.

Question 27

flood plains

Answer 27

The wide flat valley surrounding the river

Question 28

Levees

Answer 28

Large natural embankments formed along the banks of rivers that carry a large load.

Question 29

Delta

Answer 29

Sediment that builds up in layers

Question 30

Width

Answer 30

The distance from one bank to the other

Question 31

Depth

Answer 31

The distance from the surface of the water to the river bed

Question 32

velocity

Answer 32

How fast the river water is flowing

Question 33

discharge

Answer 33

The volume and speed at which water flows through the channel

Question 34

gradient

Answer 34

The steepness of the river bed

Question 35

channel roughness

Answer 35

How rough the river bed and banks are

Question 36

sediment size and shape

Answer 36

The material carried by the river

Question 37

soft engineering

Answer 37

A more natural way to manage floodwater. Often creating space for floodwater in the landscape

Question 38

Hard engineering

Answer 38

The building of permeable concrete defences to control the flow of water.

Question 39

attrition

Answer 39

When rocks bash against each other and become smaller and more rounded.