P is for Population
Park and ride schemes: car parks on the edge of towns where buses pick up customers and take them to the city centres. This reduces congestion
Percolation: the downward movement of water within the soil surface
Permeable rock: a rock that allows water to pass through it
Permafrost: land that is permanently frozen all year round such as in Northern Russia
Periglacial: Area of lands that is not glaciated but exposed to very cold conditions
Pervious: rock that allows water to soak into it via spaces between particles
Photosynthesis: the process in green plants and certain other organisms by which carbohydrates are synthesised from carbon dioxide and water using light as an energy source, usually releasing oxygen as a by-product. The carbohydrates produced by photosynthesis are then used as food by the organism
Pillar: a calcite feature stretching from floor to ceiling in a cavern
Pingo: the expansion of ice underneath cause he sediment to heave upwards into a dome-shape
Pioneer plant: the first plant species to colonise an area that is well adapted to living in a harsh environment
Plate: a section of the earth’s crust
Plate margin: the boundary where two plates meet
Pleistocene period: a geological time period lasting from about 2 million years ago until 10,000 years ago. Sometimes this period is called the Ice Age
Plucking: The glacier freezes to rock and when it moves it pulls the rocks away
Pollarding: cutting off trees at about should height to encourage new growth
Population density: the number of people living in an area. The density of population is obtained by dividing the total population of a country of region by the total area of the country or region.
Population structure: the proportion of males and females in an area, usually in an area, usually in the form of age distributions
Population pyramid: a way of representing the population structure of a country
Pores: holes in rock
Porous: rock that allows water to soak into via spaces between particles
Potholes: cylindrical holes drilled into the rocky bed of a river by turbulent high-velocity water
Precipitation: the conversion and transfer of moisture in the atmosphere to the land and sea. It includes all forms of rain, snow, frost, hail and dew
Prediction: attempts to forecast an event – where and when it will happen – base upon current knowledge
Preparation: organising activities so that they are safe to live in and will not collapse
Pressure (atmospheric): pressure exerted on the Earth’s surface by the mass of the overlying atmosphere
Prevailing winds: the dominant wind direction
Primary consumers: animals and occasionally plants that obtain their energy by eating green plants
Primary effects: the immediate effects of the eruption, caused directly by it
Primary energy: energy sources in raw form such as oil, natural gas or running water. They are used to produce secondary energy
Primary industry: the collection of raw materials – e.g. farming, mining, fishing
Primary (virgin) rainforest: rainforest that represents the natural vegetation in the region unaffected by the action of people
Prisere: the whole process from a pioneer community to the climax vegetation
Processes: jobs done on the farm to produce outputs
Producers: organisms that obtain their energy from a primary source such as the sun
Protection: constructing buildings so that they are safe to live in and not collapse
Pull factors: these are the attractions and opportunities of a place that encourage people to move there
Push factors: these are negative aspects of a place that encourage people to move away
Pyramidal peak: three or more corries eroding back into a mountainside
Percolation: the downward movement of water within the soil surface
Permeable rock: a rock that allows water to pass through it
Permafrost: land that is permanently frozen all year round such as in Northern Russia
Periglacial: Area of lands that is not glaciated but exposed to very cold conditions
Pervious: rock that allows water to soak into it via spaces between particles
Photosynthesis: the process in green plants and certain other organisms by which carbohydrates are synthesised from carbon dioxide and water using light as an energy source, usually releasing oxygen as a by-product. The carbohydrates produced by photosynthesis are then used as food by the organism
Pillar: a calcite feature stretching from floor to ceiling in a cavern
Pingo: the expansion of ice underneath cause he sediment to heave upwards into a dome-shape
Pioneer plant: the first plant species to colonise an area that is well adapted to living in a harsh environment
Plate: a section of the earth’s crust
Plate margin: the boundary where two plates meet
Pleistocene period: a geological time period lasting from about 2 million years ago until 10,000 years ago. Sometimes this period is called the Ice Age
Plucking: The glacier freezes to rock and when it moves it pulls the rocks away
Pollarding: cutting off trees at about should height to encourage new growth
Population density: the number of people living in an area. The density of population is obtained by dividing the total population of a country of region by the total area of the country or region.
Population structure: the proportion of males and females in an area, usually in an area, usually in the form of age distributions
Population pyramid: a way of representing the population structure of a country
Pores: holes in rock
Porous: rock that allows water to soak into via spaces between particles
Potholes: cylindrical holes drilled into the rocky bed of a river by turbulent high-velocity water
Precipitation: the conversion and transfer of moisture in the atmosphere to the land and sea. It includes all forms of rain, snow, frost, hail and dew
Prediction: attempts to forecast an event – where and when it will happen – base upon current knowledge
Preparation: organising activities so that they are safe to live in and will not collapse
Pressure (atmospheric): pressure exerted on the Earth’s surface by the mass of the overlying atmosphere
Prevailing winds: the dominant wind direction
Primary consumers: animals and occasionally plants that obtain their energy by eating green plants
Primary effects: the immediate effects of the eruption, caused directly by it
Primary energy: energy sources in raw form such as oil, natural gas or running water. They are used to produce secondary energy
Primary industry: the collection of raw materials – e.g. farming, mining, fishing
Primary (virgin) rainforest: rainforest that represents the natural vegetation in the region unaffected by the action of people
Prisere: the whole process from a pioneer community to the climax vegetation
Processes: jobs done on the farm to produce outputs
Producers: organisms that obtain their energy from a primary source such as the sun
Protection: constructing buildings so that they are safe to live in and not collapse
Pull factors: these are the attractions and opportunities of a place that encourage people to move there
Push factors: these are negative aspects of a place that encourage people to move away
Pyramidal peak: three or more corries eroding back into a mountainside
Interesting Geographical fact
Mexican volcano
“Parikutin” eruption lasted 9 years (from 1943 to 1952). During this time the
cone of the volcano climbed to 2774 meters.