Geographical Terms

ANTIPODES A region or place on the opposite side of a point on the earth. ANTICYCLONES Winds which blow outward from the center. APHELION  Position of the earth in its orbit when is at the maximum distance from the sun. ARCHIPELAGO  A cluster of islands, e.g., Pearl Islands in the Gulf of Panama. ATOLL  Coral reef resembling a horse shoe, enclosing a lagoon. AXIS An imaginary line joining north and south poles. AVALANCHE A vast mass of snow mixed with earth or stones. BIOSPHERE Animate or inanimate organic kingdom on earth. CANYON A deep valley cut by a river through a mountain region, e,g., the Grand Canyon of the Colarado river in the USA. CONTINENTAL SHELF Land adjoining a continent submerged in the sea. CYCLONES A low pressure system area in which the wind blows spirally inward. CROP ROTATION Growing different crops needing different minerals for their growth in the same piece of land in order to get more yield. DATE LINE An imaginary line pointing north-south approximating to the Meridian 180 (east or west) where the date changes by one day the moment it is crossed. DELTA Alluvial deposit shaped like Greek letter, formed at the mouth of the river, where it falls into the sea, e.g., the Sunderban delta. DEW Condensed atmospheric water vapours due to the cooling of the air. DRY FARMING Growing of crops in low rainfall areas by moisture conservation, crop rotation but without irrigation. EQUATOR An imaginary line dividing the earth into two equal parts. EQUINOXES The day on which nights and days are of equal duration, e.g., March 22 and September 23. EROSION Wearing away of the earth's land surface by rain, wind, water, etc. rendering the land infertile. ECLIPSE When one earthly body obscures another one partially or completely. FOG When the atmospheric moisture touches cold earth and condenses on dust particles. FROST When the atmospheric moisture deposits in the shape of icy flakes on the exposed objects or near the ground due to below freezing point temperature. HIGH SEAS The parts of the sea which do not come under the territorial jurisdiction of the nations. ICEBERG Huge mass of ice separated from glacier in the polar regions. These masses of ice float in the oceans with 9 parts submerged in the ocean and one part visible. ISOBARS Lines on the map connecting the places of the same pressure. ISOTHERMS Lines on the map joining the places of the same temperature. ISTHMUS Narrow neck of land joining two land areas. KUNDAN Anew variety of wheat which gives high yields in both rained and irrigated tracts and responds well to low dose of water and fertiliser. LAGOON A shallow stream of water at the mouth of a river enclosed bu dunes of river silt. LIGHT YEAR The distance traveled by light in one year. It is equal to 9.4*10612 km. LOCAL TIME Time calculated from the sun at noon at any place of earth. MERIDIAN Imaginary line joining north and south poles and cutting the equator at right angles. MIST It is just like fog but contain more moisture. OASIS A part of the desert where water and vegetation are found. ORBIT The path of the heavenly bodies. PYGMALLION POINT The southernmost point of India, 700 km away from mainland India. PRAIRIES Smooth, treeless, green plain of Central and North America. REEF Jutting of rock or shingle or sand at just above or below sea level. SAVANNA Land covered with natural grass. SIDEREAL DAY Time taken by the earth to rotate once round its axis. SNOW LINE Altitudinal line along which the area remains snow clad. SPRING TIDES Higher tides in the ocean caused by the sun and the moon together. When the sun, the earth and the moon are positioned in a straight line. NEAP TIDES Tides caused by the differences of the forces exerted by the moon and the sun when both are at right angles to each other. TORNADO A brisk and violent storm generally having rotator motion. TUNDRAS Peripheral area of Arctic ocean. TYCOON Violent hurricane in China Sea. WEATHER SATELLITE Artificial satellite designed to forecast weather. WESTERLIES Constant winds blowing from south-west in the northern hemisphere and north-west in south hemisphere.