Key Words

Question 1

Carrying capacity

Answer 1

The ability of a landscape to absorb the activity of people without any lasting damage.

Question 2

Honey pot sites

Answer 2

Places that attract many tourists and which are often congested at peak times.

Question 3

Upland

Answer 3

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

Question 4

Abrasion

Answer 4

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

Question 5

Attrition

Answer 5

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

Question 6

Deposition

Answer 6

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

Question 7

Drainage basin

Answer 7

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

Question 8

Floodplain

Answer 8

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

Question 9

Gorges

Answer 9

Steep sided, narrow valleys often found below a waterfall.

Question 10

Hydraulic action

Answer 10

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

Question 11

Meander

Answer 11

A sweeping curve or bend in the river’s course

Question 12

Plunge pool

Answer 12

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

Question 13

Slip-off slope

Answer 13

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

Question 14

Transport (in rivers)

Answer 14

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

Question 15

Arches

Answer 15

Natural arch-shaped features in cliffs on the coastline that are formed by the erosion of a cave in a headland.

Question 16

Fetch

Answer 16

The distance over which wind has blown to create waves on the sea. The greater the fetch, the larger the waves.

Question 17

Landslide

Answer 17

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.

Question 18

Longshore drift

Answer 18

A process by which beach material Is moved along the coast.

Question 19

Retreat

Answer 19

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

Question 20

Rock falls

Answer 20

The sudden collapse of rocks from a cliff or steep slope.

Question 21

Spits

Answer 21

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.

Question 22

Stacks

Answer 22

Natural features of an eroded cliff landscape. Stacks are formed by the collapse of a sea arch.

Question 23

Wave-cut notch

Answer 23

A slot with overhanging rocks that has been cut into the bottom of a cliff by wave action.

Question 24

Wave-cut platform

Answer 24

A coastal landform made of rocky shelf in front of a cliff. The wave cut platform is caused by erosion and left by the retreat of the cliff.

Question 25

Annual regime

Answer 25

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

Question 26

Discharge

Answer 26

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

Question 27

Hydrograph

Answer 27

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.

Question 28

Overland flow

Answer 28

The flow of water across the ground surface.

Question 29

Throughflow

Answer 29

The downhill flow of water through soil.

Question 30

Ageing population

Answer 30

A country which has a high proportion of people aged over 65 is said to have an ageing population.

Question 31

Brownfield site

Answer 31

A development site where older buildings are demolished or renovated before a new development takes place

Question 32

Hard engineering

Answer 32

Artificial structures such as sea walls or concrete river embankments.

Question 33

Hazard map

Answer 33

A type of plan or map that shows the extent of a hazard such as flood risk.

Question 34

Managed retreat (realignment)

Answer 34

A coastal management strategy in which creates a natural line of defence against flooding which is further inland than before.

Question 35

Shoreline Management Plan

Answer 35

The plan that details how a local authority will manage each stretch of coastline in the UK in the future.

Question 36

Small Island Developing States

Answer 36

58 small and remote islands and coastal communities that are vulnerable to sea level rise and the effects of climate change.

Question 37

Soft engineering

Answer 37

Alternative method of reducing floods by planting trees or allowing areas to flood naturally.

Question 38

Vulnerability

Answer 38

The risk experienced during a natural disaster such as a coastal flood. Some groups of people in society are more vulnerable to risk than others.

Question 39

Global circulation system

Answer 39

The movement of air around the world

Question 40

High pressure weather

Answer 40

When cold air presses down on Earth. Generally leads to clear, and pleasant, weather.

Question 41

Prevailing wind

Answer 41

Wind from the most common direction in any given place

Question 42

Beaufort Scale

Answer 42

Measure used to measure wind

Question 43

Convectional rainfall

Answer 43

Rainfall, often heavy, that occurs when thick clouds form because of warm air rising quickly

Question 44

Relief rainfall

Answer 44

Rainfall that occurs when clouds rise up over mountains

Question 45

Frontal rainfall

Answer 45

Rainfall that occurs when warm air rises over cold air

Question 46

Storm surges

Answer 46

Abnormal rises in sea level that occur when low air pressure raises sea levels, especially when a tropical storm nears land

Question 47

Ridge push

Answer 47

Gravitational force that causes a plate to move away from the crest of an ocean ridge, and into a subduction zone

Question 48

Fold mountains

Answer 48

Fold mountains are formed when two plates move together. The movement of the two plates forces rocks upwards into a series of folds

Question 49

U-shaped valleys

Answer 49

Valleys in a U shaped created by a glacier moving downwards