Key Concepts in Physical and Human Geography
Physical Geography
Physical geography: studies landscapes and their characteristics without considering human intervention. This includes climates, waters, landforms, living beings, and the distribution of landscapes.
Scale of a Map
Scale of a map: the relationship between dimensions on a map and the real dimensions of the represented surface.
Parallels and Latitude
Parallel: circles with decreasing radius as they approach the poles, including the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn.
Latitude: the angular distance from any point on the Earth’s surface to the Equator, measured in degrees from 0° at the Equator to 90° North or South.
Meridians and Time Zones
Meridian: imaginary circles passing through the poles, perpendicular to the Equator. Solar time is different for each meridian, with the Greenwich meridian as the reference.
Time zone: the Earth is divided into 24 time zones, based on the Greenwich meridian, which divides the Earth into two parts.
Faults and Altitude
Fault: a fracture line between two rock blocks where displacement occurs. Faults often coincide with high seismic and volcanic activity zones, creating distinctive landforms like horsts.
Altitude: the height of a point above sea level, represented by contour lines that connect points of the same height.
Plains and Basements
Pleniyanura: a landform with large, gently undulating extensions formed by old, eroded materials. It represents the final stage of the erosion cycle, resulting in a monotonous, slightly raised relief.
Zocalo: a very old, hardened geological crust forming the base of a mountain range.
Folds and Depressions
Pliego: wave-shaped geological formations of rock layers, resulting from tectonic pressure. They form anticlines and synclines, which can be upright, inclined, or overturned.
Syncline: a folded structure where strata form a broad depression, often called a valley.
Anticline: a fold where older strata are in the core, forming an arch. It can be upright, bent, or lying down.
Depression: a sunken area formed by tectonic plate movement, river action, or erosion.
Tectonic Plates and Orogeny
Tectonic plates: rigid lithospheric plates that move on the soft asthenosphere due to convection currents in the mantle. This theory explains how continents are passively carried by these plates.
Hercynian: an orogenic cycle during the Upper Paleozoic that affected central and southern Europe, resulting in mountain ranges from Precambrian and Caledonian massifs.
Massifs and Plateaus
Massif: an old, eroded rock formation, often the root of ancient folds.
Plateau: an elevated plain or basin, formed by sedimentary deposits or tectonic activity, often with folded mountain edges.
Erosion and Karst
Cárcava: gullies formed by water streams, common in clay-rich areas due to the soft, waterproof nature of clay.
Karstic: a landscape formed by the dissolution of limestone, characterized by gorges, sinkholes, and potholes.
Hoz: a narrow, deep valley with vertical walls, formed by rivers in limestone areas.
Climate and Weather
Climate: the long-term atmospheric conditions of a place, including temperature and precipitation, influenced by latitude, atmospheric circulation, marine influence, elevation, and relief.
Time: the atmospheric state at a specific place and moment, determined by temperature, humidity, precipitation, wind, and atmospheric pressure.
Radiation and Temperature
Albedo: the portion of solar radiation reflected or diffused by a body.
Heatstroke: the amount of solar radiation received by the Earth’s surface, varying with the season and latitude.
Temperature Range: the difference between the maximum and minimum temperatures in a zone.
Isotherm: a line connecting points with the same temperature.
Pressure and Wind
Isobar: an imaginary line connecting points with the same atmospheric pressure.
Anticyclone: an area of high pressure where wind moves clockwise, typically associated with stable weather.
Front: the contact surface between two air masses, where denser air tends to wedge under lighter air.
Polar front: the front separating polar air masses from warmer air to the south, typically around 60° North latitude.
Storms and Humidity
Borrasca: a low-pressure area causing unstable weather, moving from west to east.
Humidity of the air: the percentage of water vapor in the air relative to its saturation level, determined by temperature, proximity to the sea, relief, and vegetation.
Condensation: the change of state from gas to liquid, such as when moist air cools and forms rain.
Gota fría: a meteorological phenomenon where a pocket of cold air crosses the jet stream, causing powerful vertical movements and heavy precipitation.
Precipitation and Aridity
Isohyet: a line on a map connecting points with the same amount of precipitation.
Orographic rain: rain caused by air being forced to rise over mountains, leading to condensation and cloud formation.
Convection rain: rain caused by warm, moist air rising from a heated surface, cooling, and condensing.
Acid rain: precipitation containing sulfur and nitrogen oxides, causing pollution and damage to vegetation and soil.
Aridity: characterized by a lack of rain and dry air, caused by atmospheric circulation, continentality, mountain barriers, and cold ocean currents.
Desertification and Climate Change
Desertification: the transformation of an ecosystem into an arid or semi-arid region due to human activity.
Greenhouse effect: the warming of the planet due to the accumulation of gases in the atmosphere, leading to climate change and rising sea levels.
Windward and Leeward
Barlovento: the side of a mountain where the wind blows.
Leeward slope: the side of a mountain sheltered from the wind.
Hydrography
Hydrography: the study of marine and inland waters.
Drainage Basins and Flow
Catchment management: the territory drained by a main river and its tributaries, bounded by the watershed.
Flowrate: the total volume of water discharged by a river over a period of time, usually higher at the river’s mouth.
Cone ejection: a deposit of material at the base of a torrent where the water loses force.
Drainage Types and Floods
Endorheic: a drainage system where water does not reach the ocean.
Avenida or river flood: a rapid increase in water level in a river due to rainfall.
Magra: the lowest flow level of a river during dry periods.
Rambla: a dry channel where a river flows only during heavy rainfall.
Coastal Features
Marshes: swamps located near the coast, often near river mouths.
Delta: a fluvial landform formed by sediment deposits at a river’s mouth.
Albufera: a coastal lagoon formed by a sandbar.
Estuary: the lower part of a river valley invaded by the sea.
Ecology and Biogeography
Ecosystem: a unit of the biosphere where living organisms interact with their environment.
Endemism: the restriction of a species to a specific geographic area or a term used to describe problems in underdeveloped areas.
Mediterranean Vegetation
Maquia / maquis: low, dense Mediterranean vegetation with shrubs like olive, rock rose, arbutus, heather, and rosemary.
Garriga: Mediterranean vegetation with oaks, shrubs, and herbaceous plants, often found in degraded areas.
Sclerophyll: a forest adapted to dry summers, with evergreen trees, thick bark, and tough leaves.
Elah: an evergreen tree with hard wood, producing acorns and cork.
Landa: vegetation found in temperate oceanic climate zones.
Spacio natural protected: a natural area with special landscape or biological characteristics.
Sun and Wind
Solana: a mountain slope facing the sun.
Leeward slope: a mountain slope sheltered from the wind.
Human Geography
Human geography: the study of human populations and their activities on the Earth’s surface, focusing on cultural and humanized landscapes.
Demography
Census: a demographic study that validates the number, location, cultural, social, and economic characteristics of a population.
Old demographic cycle: the pre-industrial stage characterized by high birth and death rates and slow population growth.
Birth and Fertility
Birth: the number of individuals born in a year in a specific area, measured by the birth rate.
Fertility: the number of children born, often expressed as a rate indicating the number of children born per woman of childbearing age.
Mortality and Life Expectancy
Mortality: the number of deaths in a year relative to the total population, considered high if over 30% and low if under 15%.
Hope of life: the average number of years a population is expected to live, varying by gender and development level.