KSEAB II PUC Geography flashcards
KSEAB II PUC Geography · Build recall with a focused review session.
32 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.
- Normal lapse rate
- The average rate at which temperature falls with height in the troposphere, about 6.5 degrees Celsius per 1000 metres. It explains why hill stations are cooler than plains at the same latitude.
- Coriolis force
- An apparent deflection of moving air or water caused by Earth's rotation. Winds are deflected to the right in the Northern Hemisphere and to the left in the Southern Hemisphere, shaping planetary wind belts.
- Spring tide
- The unusually high tide occurring at new moon and full moon, when the Sun and Moon pull in line. High tides are higher and low tides lower than average.
- Karst topography
- Landscape formed by chemical weathering of soluble limestone, producing swallow holes, dolines, caves, stalactites and stalagmites. It needs jointed limestone and abundant percolating water.
- Ox-bow lake
- A crescent-shaped lake left when a river abandons a meander loop by cutting across its narrow neck. It is a depositional and erosional feature of a river's mature stage.
- Ocean salinity
- The mass of dissolved salts in seawater, averaging about 35 parts per thousand. It is highest in warm subtropical seas with strong evaporation and lowest near river mouths and melting ice.
- Demographic transition
- A four-stage model tracing a population from high birth and death rates to low ones. Death rates usually fall before birth rates, causing rapid growth in the middle stages.
- Population pyramid
- A bar graph showing the age and sex structure of a population. A broad base indicates high fertility and a young population; a narrow base indicates declining fertility and ageing.
- Primate city
- A city disproportionately larger than the second-ranked city of the same country, dominating its economy and administration. Bangkok and Lima are often cited examples.
- Nucleated settlement
- A compact village or town where houses cluster closely together. It commonly develops where defence, a shared water source, or fertile land favours concentration.
- Subsistence farming
- Farming whose output mainly feeds the farmer's own household, using small plots and little machinery. It contrasts with commercial farming, which is market-oriented and capital-intensive.
- Quaternary activity
- Economic work based on knowledge, information and research, such as software development, consultancy and education. It is distinct from primary extraction, secondary manufacturing and routine tertiary services.
- Regur soil
- Black cotton soil formed from weathered Deccan Trap basalt. It is clayey, retains moisture well, and swells when wet, making it suited to cotton and other dry crops.
- Western disturbances
- Temperate cyclones travelling eastward from the Mediterranean region that bring winter rain and snow to northwest India. This moisture supports the rabi crop, especially wheat.
- Laterite soil
- A leached, iron-rich soil formed in areas of heavy rainfall and alternate wet and dry seasons. It hardens on exposure and supports plantation crops such as cashew and tea.
- Monsoon retreat
- The withdrawal of the southwest monsoon from northwest India during October and November. It brings rain to the Coromandel coast, including Tamil Nadu, from the northeast monsoon.
- Golden Quadrilateral
- A national highway network linking Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata. It forms a quadrilateral connecting India's four largest metropolitan regions to speed freight and passenger movement.
- Mullayanagiri
- The highest peak in Karnataka, standing at about 1930 metres in Chikkamagaluru district within the Western Ghats. It lies in the Baba Budangiri range.
- Malnad region
- The hilly western belt of Karnataka along the Western Ghats, receiving heavy rainfall. It supports evergreen and moist deciduous forests, coffee, arecanut and short west-flowing rivers.
- Bayaluseeme
- The Maidan, Karnataka's open plateau region east of the Western Ghats. It has lower rainfall, red and black soils, and dominates ragi, jowar and cotton cultivation.
- Jog Falls
- A waterfall on the Sharavathi river in Shivamogga district, Karnataka, among India's highest plunge falls. It drops in four distinct segments over the Western Ghats escarpment.
- Karnataka black soil
- Cotton-growing black soil found mainly in the northern Maidan districts such as Dharwad, Belagavi and Kalaburagi. It derives from Deccan Trap basalt and holds moisture well.
- Representative fraction
- A map scale written as a ratio such as 1:50,000, meaning one unit on the map equals 50,000 of the same units on the ground. It is unit-free and comparable across maps.
- Contour interval
- The constant vertical distance between successive contour lines on a topographic map. It is stated in the sheet legend and determines how much detail the relief shows.
- Six-figure grid reference
- A map coordinate giving eastings then northings to three digits each, locating a point within a one-kilometre grid square. It is read right along the bottom, then up the side.
- Dendritic drainage pattern
- A branching, tree-like stream network that develops on rock of uniform resistance. Tributaries join larger streams at acute angles, resembling the veins of a leaf.
- Choropleth map
- A map using graded shades or patterns to show the density or percentage of a variable across administrative areas. Values must be normalised by area, not shown as raw totals.
- Pie diagram angle
- The sector angle for a category equals its value divided by the total, multiplied by 360 degrees. All sector angles must sum to 360 degrees for the diagram to be valid.
- Isohyet
- A line on a map joining places receiving equal rainfall. Isohyets are drawn by interpolating between rain-gauge stations and reveal the spatial pattern of precipitation.
- Hythergraph
- A graph plotting temperature on one axis against rainfall on the other to summarise a station's climate. The shape of the plotted polygon indicates the climatic type.
- Mercator projection
- A cylindrical conformal projection that preserves shape and direction but greatly exaggerates area at high latitudes. It suits navigation charts but distorts world maps near the poles.
- Cross-section profile
- A side view of terrain drawn by plotting contour crossings at their elevations along a straight line on a map. It reveals peaks, valleys and steep segments along that line.