Geography Terms Explained: Altitude, Climate, Landforms, and More
Altitude
Altitude is the vertical distance of a point on Earth with respect to sea level.
Temperature Range
Temperature range is the difference between the highest and lowest temperatures recorded in a place or area over a period of time.
Anticyclone
An anticyclone is a high-pressure area surrounded by lower pressure. Winds circulate clockwise around it in Spain. Anticyclones produce stable weather.
Aridity
Aridity is the relationship between heat and humidity in a specific area. It increases with temperature and low rainfall. It is measured by the Gaussen index.
Deciduous Forest
A deciduous forest consists of tall trees with straight trunks, smooth bark, and large leaves that fall in autumn, like oak and beech. Ferns and mosses grow in the understory.
Evergreen Forest
An evergreen forest consists of trees of medium height, with thick, rough bark, like holm oak and cork oak. The understory consists of mountain broom and common broom.
Coastal Breeze
Coastal breezes are local winds blowing in relation to factors that modify theoretical pressure fields.
River Head
A river’s head is the source, beginning, and origin of the river system.
River Flow
River flow is the amount of water a river transports at a certain point, expressed in cubic meters per second.
Continental Effect
The continental effect describes areas far from seas and oceans. It is characterized by a marked increase in thermal amplitude (temperature range) and a decrease in precipitation.
Mountain Range
A mountain range is a series of mountains linked together, formed during the Alpine orogeny of the Tertiary period.
Watershed
A watershed is an area of land whose waters drain into a main river and its tributaries. Watersheds are divided by watershed lines that coincide with areas of change in the slope of the land.
Sedimentary Basin
A sedimentary basin is a place where eroded materials accumulate. These basins are the source of the creation of reliefs in orogenic movements.
Dehesa
A dehesa is a Mediterranean woodland, generally a cleared enclosure, that integrates agricultural land use, livestock, and forestry.
River Delta
A river delta is a triangular area between the outer arms of a river where the river deposits material that it has carried in suspension.
Sustainable Development
Sustainable development is the rational use of natural resources to meet the needs of present generations without compromising the development of future generations.
Equinox
An equinox occurs when the sun is perpendicular to the equator at noon (spring and autumn).
Map Scale
Map scale is the mathematical relationship between the actual dimensions and the dimensions represented on a map.
Low Water Level
Low water level is the minimum level of water in a river due to drought or the absence of seasonal rainfall.
Estuary
An estuary is the part of a river mouth where seawater mixes with freshwater. Sedimentary basins and river action are countered by the action of tidal drag.
Geological Fault
A geological fault is a break in the Earth’s crust with separation of fractured blocks (vertical = uplifted block and a sunken block, horizontal = tear fault).
Polar Front
A polar front is the surface that separates tropical and polar air masses. These fronts are responsible for major rainfall in Spain (cold fronts and warm fronts).
Globalization
Globalization is the process of economic integration on a global scale, associated with the spread of capitalist production, consumption, and trade.
Isobars
Isobars connect points of equal atmospheric pressure. They also indicate wind direction.
Isotherms
Isotherms connect points of equal temperature.
Isohyets
Isohyets connect points of equal rainfall. They refer to the annual total or the total for each month.
Glacial Lake
A glacial lake is a body of water formed from the excavation of a valley by a glacier or in a glacial cirque, or caused by obstructions from glacial moraines in the valley.
Latitude
Latitude is the angular distance of any point on Earth from the equator (north-south).
Longitude
Longitude is the angular distance of any point on Earth from the prime meridian (0° or Greenwich) (east-west).
Topographic Map
A topographic map is a representation of the Earth’s surface relief at a defined scale. It includes contour lines that reflect the elevation of the land surface.
Marsh
A marsh is a wetland formed with sediments deposited by rivers or tides.
Meridian
A meridian is a semicircle that runs from pole to pole (0° or Greenwich). It serves as the basis for determining longitude.
Meridional
Meridional means pertaining to the south or midday.
Mesa
A mesa is a flat, elevated landform with steep sides, formed by erosion.
Karst Morphology
Karst morphology is formed by the action of water dissolving limestone, creating joints, fractures, and caves.
Parallel
A parallel is a circle formed by the intersection of the Earth with a plane perpendicular to its axis of rotation (equator).
Peneplain
A peneplain is a wide, almost uniform plain with slight slopes, formed by prolonged erosion of a pre-existing relief.
Continental Shelf
A continental shelf is the gently sloping underwater surface that extends from the edge of a continent, from the coastline to the beginning of the continental slope.
Precipitation
Precipitation is water falling from clouds in either solid or liquid form (measured with a pluviometer and represented by isohyets).
Atmospheric Pressure
Atmospheric pressure is the force exerted on a surface by the weight of the atmosphere (measured with a barometer in millibars and represented by isobars).
River Network
A river network is the set of all natural watercourses, whether permanent or seasonal, through which water flows.
River Regime
River regime is the average behavior of a river’s flow over the years.
Rainfall Regime
Rainfall regime is the cyclical rhythm of precipitation (shown on a climograph).
Temperature Regime
Temperature regime refers to the set of average monthly temperatures (shown on a climograph).
Alpine Relief
Alpine relief emerged during the Tertiary period through Alpine orogeny.
Hercynian Relief
Hercynian relief emerged during the Paleozoic era through the Hercynian orogeny.
Ria
A ria is a drowned river valley. It is formed by the rising sea level penetrating the lower course of a river.
Septentrional
Septentrional refers to the north.
Solstice
A solstice occurs when the sun reaches its maximum northern or southern position (summer: Tropic of Cancer, winter: Tropic of Capricorn).
Leeward
The leeward side is sheltered from the wind, and therefore drier. If the contrast is very sharp, it is called a foehn effect.
Torrent
A torrent is a stream of water in a mountainous area, with a steep slope, irregular flow, and great erosive capacity. It can be intermittent.
Glacial Valley
A glacial valley is a valley carved or shaped by a glacier, leaving behind clear geomorphological evidence of glaciation.
Plain
A plain is a flat or gently rolling land area formed by erosion, often as a result of the leveling of mountain ranges formed during orogeny.