Essential Geographical and Geological Terms

Humidity

The amount of water vapor present in the atmosphere.

Sotavento (Leeward)

The side sheltered from the wind; the opposite of windward.

Windward

The side facing the wind.

Glacial Valley

Characterized by a U-shaped cross-section or trough, which in geomorphology is seen as the main feature differentiating these types of channels, formed by the movement or sliding of an ice tongue.

Bay

An inlet of the sea into the coast.

Archipelago

A general term for a group or chain of islands.

Coastal Breeze

A gentle movement of air that occurs in coastal locations, blowing from the sea or from land.

Zocalo (Geological Shield)

Plains and plateaus formed in the primary era as a result of the devastation by erosion of mountain ranges encountered during the orogeny of that same era.

Meseta (Plateau)

A high, flat expanse of land, typically very extensive.

Fault (Geological)

A geological rupture separating fractured crustal blocks. It can be a tear fault (strike-slip) or a normal fault.

Cordillera (Mountain Range)

A succession of geological materials, generally deposited in alignment, with common characteristics resulting from the folding of land.

Minimum River Flow

A period during which a stream of water reaches its lowest flow.

Estuary

A river mouth characterized by the creation of an inlet where the river flows into the sea, and which is governed by the rise and fall of tides.

Peneplain

A landform characterized as a broad, nearly uniform plain with gentle slopes and low relief, resulting from prolonged erosion.

Watershed

A territory whose waters drain into a main river and its tributaries. Watersheds appear separated by divides, which may overlap in areas of changing slope.

Karst Relief

A type of limestone landscape characterized by a high degree of erosion, forming narrow gorges, sinkholes, fissures, and caves, large flat-bottomed depressions that temporarily flood, and significant circulation of groundwater.

River Regime

The fluctuating flow pattern of a river, depending on the type and amount of precipitation received, thus distinguishing between nival (snowmelt), glacial, pluvial (rain-fed), and pluvio-nival (rain-snow) regimes.

Headwaters of a River

The origin or source of a river.

Peninsula

A piece of land surrounded by water on most sides, connected to the mainland by only a relatively narrow strip of land.

Borrasca (Low-Pressure System)

A low-pressure area surrounded by higher pressure zones. Winds circulate counter-clockwise around it (in the Northern Hemisphere). Often produces unstable, rainy weather.

Precipitation

Water falling from the clouds, in both solid and liquid forms. On maps, precipitation is represented by isohyets.

Temperature Range

The difference between the average temperature of the warmest month and the coldest month.

Sedimentary Basin

A structurally simple relief feature, consisting of an accumulation of rocks deposited in horizontal layers due to erosion of surrounding land, typically more than 100 meters thick and covering an area of tens of kilometers.