GCSE Geography - Physical landscapes key terms

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Abrasion
1) Rocks carried along a river wear down the river bed and banks 2) The sandpaper effect of pebbles grinding over a rocky platform often causing it to become smooth
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Arch
A wave-eroded passage through a small headland. This begins as a cave which is gradually widened and deepened until it cuts through
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Attrition
Rock fragments carried by the sea knock against one another causing them to become smaller and more rounded
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Bar
Where a spit grows across a bay, a bay bar can eventually enclose the bay to create a lagoon
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Beach
A zone of deposited material that extends from the low water line to the limit of storm waves
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Beach nourishment
Adding new material to a beach artificially, through the dumping of large amounts of sand or shingle
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Beach re-profiling
Changing the profile or shape of the beach
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Biological weathering
Actions of flora and fauna weakening the rocks
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Cave
A large hole in a cliff caused by waves forcing their way into cracks in the cliff face
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Channel straightening
Removing meanders from a river to make it straighter
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Chemical weathering
The decomposition (or rotting) of rock caused by a chemical change within that rock
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Cliff
A steep high rock face formed by weathering and erosion
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Constructive waves
Low waves that surge up the beach with a powerful swash and weak backwash
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Corrasion
Fragments of rock are picked up and hurled by the sea at the cliff
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Cross profile
The side-by-side cross section of a river channel and/or valley
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Dam and reservoir
A barrier built across a valley to interrupt river flow and create a man-made lake to store water and control river discharge
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Deposition
Occurs when material being transported by the sea is dropped due to the sea losing energy
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Destructive waves
Waves that ‘destroy’ the beach with a strong backwash and a weak swash
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Discharge
Quantity of water that passes a given point on a stream or riverbank within a given period of time
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Dune regeneration
Building up dunes and increasing vegetation to prevent excessive coastal retreat
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Drainage basin
An area of land drained by a river and its tributaries
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Embankments
Artificially raised river banks often using concrete walls
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Erosion
Wearing away and removal of material by a moving force, such as a breaking wave
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Estuary
Tidal mouth of a river where it meets the sea – wide banks of deposited mud are exposed at low tide
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Faults
Cracks in the rocks
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Flood
Where river discharge exceeds river channel capacity and water spills onto the floodplain
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Floodplain
Relatively flat area forming the valley floor either side of a river channel that is sometimes flooded
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Floodplain zoning
Identifying how a floodplain can be developed for human uses
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Flood relief channels
Artificial channels that are used when a river is close to maximum discharge; they take the pressure off the main channels when floods are likely
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Flood warning
Providing reliable advance information about possible flooding
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Fluvial processes
Processes relating to deposition, erosion, and transport by a river
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Freeze-thaw weathering
A common process of weathering involving repeated cycles of freezing and thawing that can make cracks in rocks bigger
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Gabion
Steel wire mesh filled with boulders used in coastal defences
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Geological structure
The way layers of rocks are folded or tilted
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Gorge
A narrow steep-sided valley – often formed as a waterfall retreats upstream
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Groyne
A wooden barrier built out into the sea to stop the longshore drift of sand and shingle, and allow the beach to grow
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Hard engineering
Using concrete or large artificial structures to defend against natural processes, either coastal or fluvial
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Headlands and bays
A rocky coastal promontory (highpoint of land) made of rock that is resistant to erosion: headlands lie between bays of less resistant rock where the land has been eroded by the sea
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Hydraulic action
Power of the water eroding the bed and banks of a river
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Hydraulic power
Process where breaking waves compress pockets of air in cracks in a cliff; the pressure may cause the crack to widen, breaking off rock
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Hydrograph
A graph which shows the discharge of a river, related to rainfall, over a period of time
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Interlocking spurs
Outcrops of land along the river course in a valley
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Lateral erosion
Erosion of river banks rather than the bed – helps to form the floodplain
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Levee
Raised bank found on either side of a river, formed naturally by regular flooding or built up by people to protect the area against flooding
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Long profile
The gradient of a river, from its source to its mouth
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Longshore drift
Transport of sediment along a stretch of coastline caused by waves approaching the beach at an angle
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Managed retreat
Controlled retreat of the coastline, often allowing flooding to occur over low-lying land
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Mass movement
Downhill movement of weathered material under the force of gravity
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Meander
A wide bend in a river
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Mechanical weathering
Physical disintegration or break up of exposed rock without any change in its chemical composition. i.e. freeze thaw
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Ox-bow lake
An arc-shaped lake on a floodplain formed by a cut-off meander
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Rock armour
Large boulders deliberately dumped on a beach as part of coastal defences
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Saltation
Hopping movement of pebbles along a sea or river bed
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Sand dune
Coastal sand hill above the high tide mark, shaped by wind action
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Sea wall
Concrete wall aiming to prevent erosion of the coast by reflecting wave energy
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Sliding
Loose surface material becomes saturated and the extra weight causes the material to become unstable and move rapidly downhill
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Slumping
Rapid mass movement where a whole segment of a cliff moves down-slope along a saturated shear-plane or line of weakness
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Soft engineering
Managing erosion by working with natural processes to help restore beaches and coastal ecosystems or to reduce the risk of river flooding
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Solution (or corrosion)
Chemical erosion caused by the dissolving of rocks and minerals by river or sea water
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Spit
Depositional landform formed when a finger of sediment extends from the shore out to sea, often at a river mouth
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Stack
Isolated pillar of rock left when the top of an arch has collapsed
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Suspension
Small particles carried in river flow or sea water, i.e. sands, silts and clays
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Traction
Where material is rolled along a river bed or by waves
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Transportation
The movement of eroded materials
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Vertical erosion
Downward erosion of the river bed
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Waterfall
A step in the long profile of a river usually formed when a river crosses over a hard (resistant) band of rock
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Wave cut platform
Rocky, level shelf at or around sea level representing the base of old, retreated cliffs
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Waves
Ripples in the sea caused by the transfer of energy from the wind blowing over the surface of the sea
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Other cards in this set

Card 2

Front

Arch

Back

A wave-eroded passage through a small headland. This begins as a cave which is gradually widened and deepened until it cuts through

Card 3

Front

Attrition

Back

Preview of the front of card 3

Card 4

Front

Bar

Back

Preview of the front of card 4

Card 5

Front

Beach

Back

Preview of the front of card 5
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