NCEA L1 Geography key terms

The study of places and the relationships between people and their environments, exploring where things are found, why they are there, and how they change over time.

The total surroundings of a place, including natural features such as landforms, climate and living things, and human-made features such as buildings and infrastructure, and the interactions between them.

The arrangement or distribution of features across an area, such as clustered, dispersed, linear or random, which helps geographers describe and explain where things occur.

The way a feature or group of people is spread across space, described by pattern, density and concentration, for example the distribution of a population or a resource.

The number of something per unit of area, such as people per square kilometre, used to compare how crowded or concentrated a feature is between places.

The level of detail or size of area being studied, from local to national to global, which affects which patterns and processes are visible and relevant.

A simplified, scaled representation of part of the Earth's surface drawn from above, using symbols and conventions to show selected features and information.

A set of numbers used to locate a point on a map, with eastings read before northings, giving an accurate position within a map grid.

A line on a map joining points of equal height above sea level, allowing the shape and steepness of land to be interpreted from closely or widely spaced lines.

The variation in height and shape of the land surface, shown on maps by contours and spot heights and described as steep, flat, undulating or mountainous.

A natural feature of the Earth's surface such as a mountain, valley, plain or delta, shaped by processes including erosion, deposition, weathering and tectonic movement.

The wearing away and removal of rock or soil by agents such as water, wind, ice or waves, which shapes landforms and moves material to new locations.

The breakdown of rock in place by physical, chemical or biological processes, producing fragments or dissolved material without transporting it away.

The laying down of material carried by water, wind or ice when the transporting agent loses energy, building features such as beaches, deltas and floodplains.

The theory that the Earth's outer shell is divided into large moving plates whose interactions at boundaries cause earthquakes, volcanoes and mountain building.

A fracture in the Earth's crust where rocks on either side have moved relative to each other, often releasing energy as an earthquake.

A natural or human-made event or condition that poses a potential threat to people, property or the environment, such as a flood, earthquake or landslide.

The likelihood of harm occurring from a hazard, combined with the value of what could be affected, so it reflects both probability and potential consequences.

The degree to which people or places could be harmed by a hazard, influenced by factors such as location, building quality, wealth and access to warning and support.

The ability of a community or environment to absorb disturbance, respond to a hazard and recover afterwards, reducing long-term harm.

Meeting present needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet theirs, balancing environmental, social and economic considerations in how resources are used.

The total number of people living in a defined area, together with characteristics such as age structure, distribution and growth that geographers analyse.

The movement of people from one place to another to live, either within a country or between countries, driven by push and pull factors.

A condition that encourages people to leave a place, such as unemployment, conflict, natural disaster or lack of services.

A condition that attracts people to a new place, such as job opportunities, safety, better services or family connections.

The increasing proportion of a population living in towns and cities, often driven by rural-to-urban migration and natural population growth.

The purpose for which land is used, such as residential, commercial, agricultural, industrial or recreational, often mapped to show patterns within an area.

Something found in the environment that people value and use to meet needs, such as water, soil, minerals or energy, which may be renewable or non-renewable.

The average weather conditions of a place over a long period, described by patterns of temperature, rainfall, wind and seasons.

A large region with a characteristic climate and set of plants and animals, such as tropical rainforest, desert or tundra, shaped by temperature and rainfall.

A community of living organisms interacting with each other and their non-living surroundings, such as soil, water and air, within a defined area.

The area of land from which all water drains into a particular river, lake or outlet, bounded by ridges, and important for managing water quality and supply.

The collection of data outside the classroom at a real place, using methods such as surveys, measurements and observations to answer a geographic question.

Information collected first-hand by the researcher, for example through fieldwork measurements, questionnaires or interviews, gathered for the specific question being studied.

Information already gathered by someone else, such as census statistics, maps, reports or websites, used to support or compare with primary data.

Software for capturing, storing, combining and displaying spatial data in layers on digital maps, allowing patterns and relationships to be analysed.

A particular viewpoint or way of seeing an issue, such as an economic, cultural, environmental or social perspective, which influences how people value and respond to places.