Geography technical vocabulary

Here are a list of technical vocabulary your child might encounter during their geography journey at Sherwood.  

Vocabulary is taught throughout the units of work and children are encouraged to explore new vocabulary.

• active volcano: a volcano that has had an eruption in the last 10,000 years, and it is possible it may erupt in the future
• altitude: the height of something above sea level
• Amazon Basin: the area drained by the River Amazon and all of its tributaries
• Amazon River: the longest river in South America. It flows through Peru, Bolivia, Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador and Brazil
• ancient: something that belongs to the past, and is often no longer in existence
• Antarctic: a polar region in the South Pole
• Antarctic circle: imaginary line/circle about 66.5° south of the Equator
• Arctic: a polar region in the North Pole
• Arctic circle: imaginary line/circle about 66.5° north of the Equator

• bay: an indentation of a shoreline. Usually of softer rock
• beach: a landform by the sea. usually sand and/or rock
• biome: geographical area defined by its climate, plant and animal life and the activities of the people who live there

• Channel: a landform, it is the outline of the path that a river takes
• city: a large town or human settlement.
• cliff: a vertical or near vertical rock feature, usually on the coast
• climate: weather patterns in a place over a long period, such as seasonal rainfall, sunshine and temperatures
• clock: an instrument for measuring and recording time
• coast: the region where land meets sea
• colour words: red, brown, yellow, green etc.
• common: land that everyone can use
• compass points: points on a magnetic compass marking the four main directions: North, South, East, West
• condensation: the change of a state of matter – from gas to liquid
• confluence: the meeting of two or more streams of water
• continent: land mass defined by physical, human, or cultural features: Europe, Africa, Antarctica, Asia, Oceania, North America or South America
• coral: marine invertebrates that typically live in compact colonies in the sea
• country: political area defined by physical, human or cultural features
• crater: a cup-shaped depression in the surface of the earth, caused by volcanic activity’

• day: time from sunrise to sunset each day, in relation to the Earth’s rotation on its axis
• descriptive temperature words: warm, cold, cool, dry, hot etc.
• desert: A dry area of land which receives very little rain or precipitation
• dock: a structure for handling boats and ships and their cargo
• dormant volcano: a volcano that has not erupted in the last 10,000 years, but it is possible that it will erupt in the future
• drought: period with very little or no rain
• dunes: sandy mounds by the sea or in a desert

• earthquake: movements, fractures and vibrations in the earth’s crust as tectonic plates move
• endangered: a species which is at risk of becoming extinct
• environment: conditions to which a plant, animal or person is adapted
• equator: imaginary line/circle of latitude around the Earth, midway between North and South Poles, dividing the Earth into Northern and Southern Hemispheres. The Equator lies at 0° latitude: the midday Sun is always high in the sky. Because the sun is never far from being overhead, the Sun’s rays are very concentrated and so temperatures are high
• erosion: a process where the surface of the earth is worn away by, e.g. water, wind, waves etc.
• eruption: the ejection of rock and gas from a volcano
• estuary: where the mouth of a river broadens as it meets the sea

• evaporation: the change of a state of matter – from liquid to gas
• extinct volcano: a volcano that has not had an eruption in the last 10,000 years, and will not erupt in the future

• far: distant
• farm: where animals and crops are raised and grown
• fauna: animals native to an area, such as birds, reptiles and insects
• flora: plants native to an area, such as trees, climbers, flowers and grasses
• forest: large area covered with trees

• glacier: a mass of ice that moves very slowly down from mountains
• Global Positioning Systems (GPS): internationally used way of pinpointing an exact location on the Earth’s surface using space-based satellite technology
• grassland: large area covered with grasses

• harbour: a sheltered port where boats can dock
• headland: promontory of land jutting into the sea. Usually of harder rock
• high street: an area of a town where many of the shops and businesses are found
• human feature: Somethignt that has been built by humans and would not have existed in nature without humans.

• infiltration: the process where water seeps into the ground (soil or rock)
• International Date Line (iDl): a line of latitude. It is an imaginary north-to-south line/circle running through the Pacific Ocean, approximately along the 180° meridian from avoiding land

• key: symbols on a map, and what they mean

• latitude: imaginary horizontal line used to show NSS position on the Earth’s surface
• lava: molten, fluid rock that is ejected from a volcano and solidifies as it cools
• lines of latitude: imaginary parallel lines/circles, horizontal to the Equator, that never meet, and get smaller towards the Poles
• lines of longitude: imaginary north-to-south lines/ circles, meeting at the North and South Poles to make segments. They are all the same length and go from pole to pole
• longitude: imaginary vertical line used to show E-W position on the Earth’s surface

• man-made: something built by humans
• map: plan of a place, from above
• migration: the movement of people or animals from one place to another
• modern: something that belongs to the present
• mountain: large landform, often with a peak, rising and earth rising high above the surrounding area; higher and steeper than a hill
• mountain range: a chain of mountains

• natural: the opposite of man-made, something created naturally through a process of the earth, such as wind, water, volcanoes, earthquakes or plants growing.
• near: close
• night: time from sunset to sunrise each day, in relation to the Earth’s rotation on its axis
• North Pole: the most northerly place of the Earth
• north, south, east, west: compass points, locational vocabulary
• Northern Hemisphere: half of the Earth north of the Equator

• ocean: a body of salt water
• often: many times
• Ordnance Survey (OS) grid references: the UK is covered by a grid of maps that are given letters.

• park: land or large garden where people walk or play
• passport: a document that entitles you to travel to different countries.
• peak: the top of a mountain
• percolation: the movement of rainwater through soil and rock
• Physical feature: naturally occurring, e.g. rivers, mountains, lakes
• pier: a structure built on posts that extends out to sea
• plan: outlines of a room or rooms, from above
• plant: a living organism that gets its food through photosynthesis
• plate boundary: where two tectonic plates meet
• port: a place where ships load or unload
• precipitation: forms of water that fall through the sky, e.g. rain, snow, sleet etc.
• Prime Meridian (Greenwich Meridian, PM): imaginary line/circle passing through the Royal Observatory at Greenwich, London, marking 0° longitude
• processed: food that has been treated by chemicals or changed in some way
• promenade: a public walk by the seaside

• quay: a solid structure built parallel to the shoreline where boats can dock

• rainfall: measured level of water that has fallen as rain, snow, sleet or hail in a given period
• rarely: not often
• remote: a location far away from cities or towns – away from people and populations

• Richter scale: a scale to measure the magnitude of an earthquake
• river: natural watercourse, flowing downhill towards the sea, ocean or a lake
• rock pool: an area by the shoreline that is filled with seawater at high tide, and exists as a separate pool at low tide
• Rockies: another name for the Rocky Mountains These are a mountain range in North America that stretches N-S across Canada and the USA
• run-off: water that flows over the earth and does not evaporate away or filter into the ground

• salt marsh: a coastal wetland that flooded by salt water at high tide and drained at low tide’
• sand: Fine particles of rocks and stones
• school: building where children learn
• scree: a pile of rock material that has eroded off a cliff and fallen to the base
• seaside: a tourist resort by the coast
• seasons: a time of year marked by certain conditions: spring, summer, autumn, winter
• slum: a densely-populated and run-down area of a city, associated with poverty
• source: the original point where a river begins
• South Pole: the most southerly place of the Earth.
• Southern Hemisphere: half of the Earth south of the Equator
• symbol: picture on a map to show a feature on land

• tectonic plate: a massive slab of rock that ‘floats’ on top of the mantle (and inner layer) of the Earth
• temperature: measured level of heat or cold in the air
• tide: the periodic rise and fall of the sea caused by the movement of the moon and the sun
• time zone: area between lines of longitude following a standard time
• tourism: a worldwide industry based on travel for leisure, pleasure, business, and other reasons that provides information, amenities, attractions, accommodation etc.
• tributary: a river or stream that flows into a larger river
• tropic of Cancer: imaginary line/circle about 23.5° north of the Equator; the furthest north where the Sun appears overhead once a year
• tropic of Capricorn: imaginary line/circle about 23.5° south of the Equator; the furthest south that the Sun appears overhead once a year.
• tropical: to do with the region on either side of the Equator, between the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn
• tsunami: a series of waves of water caused by the movement of tectonic plates below the surface
• tundra: land where the soil beneath the surface is frozen all year and trees cannot survive the low temperatures and short growing season

• vegetation: area where similar types of plant life grow, adapted to the conditions there
• village: place where people live, smaller than a town.
• volcano: a vent in the earth’s crust where lava, steam and ash is ejected during an eruption.

• weather: conditions in the atmosphere on a particular day, such as temperature, windiness, rainfall, hours of sunshine or cloud cover.
• weather words: sun, rain, clouds, rainbow etc.
• wetland: swamp or marsh near a river or coast
• wild: land not farmed, used for parks or gardens, or built on
• wood: land covered with trees, smaller than a forest