Key Concepts in Geography and Climatology
Key Geographical and Climatological Terms
Climate and Weather
Rainfall Regime: Change in rainfall characteristics in terms of frequency, duration, and dominant eras. These define a climate or region.
Isohyets: Lines on weather maps connecting points on the Earth’s surface that have the same level of rainfall in a unit of time.
Isotherms: Curved lines on a weather map linking areas with the same temperature.
Anticyclone: A high-pressure area surrounded by lower pressure; winds circulate clockwise.
Aridity: The relationship between heat and moisture in a given space.
Isobars: Lines connecting points of equal atmospheric pressure.
Pressure: Atmospheric pressure exerted by the weight of air, measured with a barometer.
Landforms and Relief
Deciduous Forest: Formed by trees that lose their foliage for part of the year, usually in cold weather.
Hercynian Relief: Landform resulting from the Late Paleozoic orogenic movement, which affected Europe and central Asia.
Littoral: The part of the territory bordering the sea, also called the coast.
Estuary: Land at the mouth of a river invaded by marine waters at high tide, with salinity between freshwater and saltwater.
Glacial Lake: Landform resulting from the occupation by water of egg masses eroded by glacial ice.
Marshes: A low field or swamp, usually located at the mouth of a river, flooded with seawater, resulting in a wetland ecosystem with freshwater and saltwater.
River Delta: Landform characterized by being a land formed at the mouth of a river from sediment accumulation, creating ground penetrating into the sea, similar to the Greek letter delta (Δ).
Rivers and Water
Flow Rate of a River: The amount of water a river carries, passing in one second by the observation station; it is calculated in cubic meters per second.
Hydrographic Network: A group of rivers, creeks, and streams formed by rainwater as it flows through the Earth’s surface.
Geographical Concepts
North: Relates to the north; synonymous with northern.
Continental Shelf: The area immediately offshore from the coast, sloping gently to a depth of 200m. The most noteworthy are those of Northwest Europe and Southeast Asia.
Scale: The proportional relationship represented on a map. For example, 1/100 means 1cm on the map corresponds to 100 cm in reality.
Equinox: The time when the sun is over the Equator, and days are equal to nights all over the Earth. It happens annually from March 20-21 and September 22-23.
Parallel: Each of the imaginary circles on the celestial sphere parallel to the Equator, indicative of latitude.
Longitude: The angular distance anywhere on the surface and the prime meridian.
Latitude: The angular distance between a point on the Earth’s surface and the Equator, measured in degrees.
South: Refers to the south; synonymous with southern.
West: Refers to the west.
Oriental: Means to the east.
Altitude: The vertical distance between a point and sea level, considering sea level as zero.
Continental Climate: A climate characteristic of the interior, caused by the lack of marine influence, resulting in significant temperature variations and low rainfall.