Geographical and Atmospheric Terms Explained

Fault: Fracture and displacement of rock.

Aquifer: Combination of groundwater and the rock that stores and circulates water.

Cliff: A steep and variable height coastal feature.

Anticyclone: A mass of heavy air with a downward trend, rotating clockwise in the Northern Hemisphere.

Anticline: An arched, convex fold where sides diverge toward the base.

Berrocal: Landscape featuring accumulations of boulders of varying sizes at the foot of a mountain.

Delta: Fluvial deposit with a fan shape at a river's mouth, formed by sediment deposition.

Depression: A light air mass with an upward trend, rotating counter-clockwise.

Foehn Effect: A rainfall phenomenon dependent on mountain slope exposure to prevailing winds (windward and leeward).

Erosion: The destruction and shaping of landforms by agents like water and wind, through chemical, physical, or biological processes.

Runoff: Water that flows over the surface.

Front: The interface between two air masses with different characteristics, such as temperature, humidity, and density.

Atmospheric General Circulation: The movement of air in the form of pressure areas and wind systems.

Climate: The usual succession of weather types over the course of a year.

Valley: Consists of a talweg and slope; can be V-shaped or U-shaped.

Slope: The incline overlooking the talweg of a valley, where water flows.

Vocabulary

• Cape: An arm of land extending into the sea from a continent or island.
• Equator: A circle on the celestial sphere, 40067 km in circumference, coinciding with the 0° parallel of latitude.
• Equinox: Each of the two points in Earth's orbit where the planet is directly aligned with the sun.
• Scale: The relationship between a distance on a map and the corresponding distance on the terrain.
• Hill: An elevation of land that is not high enough to be considered a mountain.
• Gulf: A large sea inlet extending into a coastline.
• Hemisphere: Each of the two halves of the celestial sphere.
• Latitude: The angular distance of any point from the Equator, measured in degrees.
• Longitude: The angular distance between a point and the 0° meridian of Greenwich.
• Meridian: A line joining the poles, indicating the north-south direction. Meridians are numbered from 0° to 180°.
• Plateau: A region that is somewhat uneven, inclined in a certain direction, and cut by valleys.
• Terrain: The configuration of the relief in a particular geographic region.
• Landscape: A highly variable area resulting from the dynamic combination of elements and physico-chemical and biological processes, forming a constantly changing whole.
• Parallel: A line on a map's grid running east-west.
• Slope: A measure of the difference in elevation between two points.
• Solstice: Each of the two positions of Earth in its orbit where the sun is directly over a tropic at noon.
• Talweg: The line joining the lowest points of a valley.
• Translation: The movement of the Earth around the Sun, taking 365 days and six hours.
• Tropics: Parallels located at 23° 21' north and south of the Equator.