Antarctic – Is that part of the earth which surrounds
the south pole.
Anticyclone – The system of winds where the wind
below spirally outward from a central region of high pressure towards the low
pressure is called anticyclone.
Apogee - A heavenly body’s point of greatest distance
from the earth.
Arctic – Is that part of the earth which surrounds
the North Pole.
Artesian well - When a permeable rock lies between
two impermeable rocks and is open at both ends the rain water enters in an open
end and fills the hole of the permeable rock. If a hole be made through the impermeable
rock up to the permeable rock, the water will gush out of hole of itself. Such a
boring is called an Artesian well.
Asteroids – Are minor Planets. They are small bodies
which revolve round the sum between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter.
Atoll - A coral Reef in the shape of a ring of horse
shoe, enclosing a lagoon.
Aurora Borealis- Is a phenomenon of light seen in the
northern hemisphere. It consists of beams of many colored light quivering in the
sky.
Avalanche – A heavy mass of snow falling down a hill
with great noise.
Canyon – Is a gorge, relatively narrow but of
considerable size, bounded by steep slopes, usually formed by a river cutting
through the soft rocks of an arid region.
Comets- Are luminous heavenly bodies moving round the
sum. The bright comet contains a nucleus, an enveloping haze and usually a tail
of luminous matter.
Coral reef - Chain of rocks lying at or near the sea.
Coniferous trees – Are trees which typically bear cones
and have needle shaped leaves; e.g. pines, firs etc. Such trees are found
mostly in Europe and Canada.
Deciduous Forests – Are forests consisting of tree
which shed their leaves at a certain period.
Delta – Is a triangular shaped land between the distributes of a river. The sunder-bans is the Delta of the Ganges.
Doldrums – A zone of the tropics where calm lasting
for some weeks prevails, broken at times by violent winds and storms.
Ecology – It is the study of plants, or of animals or
of peoples and institutions in relation to environment.
Epicenter – (Of earthquake) – is a point at which
earthquake breaks out.
Equator – Equator is the imaginary circle of the earth
every point of which is 90 degrees from the earth’s pole and dividing the northern
from the southern hemisphere. It is from the equator that latitudes of places
north and south are reckoned.
Equigravisphere – A point is space where the gravity is
constant. It is almost a spherical surface round the earth.
Equinox – (March 21 vernal or Spring Equinox;
September 23. This Autumnal Equinox) when days and nights are equal. This occurs
when the sun is vertical over the Equator on these two dates.
Estuary – A broad channel formed by the joining of
the sea and river water e.g., Thames Estuary.
Exosphere – This is the outermost Zone of the atmosphere
and begins at about 650 KMS above the earth.
Fog – It is formed when the water vapour is condensed
but remains suspended in air like a cloud close to the surface of the earth.
Geysers – These are natural hot water springs.
Glaciers – Mass of ice, formed by snow on mountains,
moving slowly along a valley.
Gulf Stream – Is a warm ocean current emerging from
the Gulf of Mexico?
Horse Latitudes – Belts of calm between regions of
the Trade winds and westerly’s of higher latitudes.
Iceberg – Amass of land ice broken off from the end
of glacier or from an ice barrier, floating on the sea ¼ of which, remains
above water, while 3/8 portion remains under water.
Igloo – Eskimos’ home-shaped hut or native house made
with ice.
Indian Standard Time –The Standard Time of India is
the local time of a place near Allahabad 82.5 degree East longitude. It is
exactly 5-1/2 hours in advance of the Greenwich Mean Time (GMT).
International Date Line – The line approximating to
the 180 degree meridian w. And E. Where the date is changed exactly on day as
it is crossed the date is advanced a day when crossing the line going West back
a day when going East.
Ionosphere – Ionosphere extends to a height of 80 to
650 kms above the earth.
Isobars - Are line on a map joining the places of
same barometric pressure.
Isohels – are lines on a map showing the place of
equal amount of sunshine.
Isohyets – lines on a map joining the places of equal
rainfall.
Isthmus – A narrow strip of land which joins two
large land areas or joins a peninsula to the main land e.g. the Isthmus of
Panama and the Isthmus of Suez.
Lagoon – A stretch of shallow water opening out upon
the sea. Venice is built on lagoons.
Leap Year – A year of 366 days, occurring every
fourth year in Christian calendar.
Magnetosphere - This is the earth’s magnetic belt. It
extends to about 40,000 miles or some 64,000 km. above the earth.
Mesosphere –
This sphere contains the ozone layer. It is up to a distance of about 80 kms.
Meteorites – These are shooting stars or solid celestial
bodies which become heated and visible as they pass through the atmosphere of
the earth.
Midnight sun – The sun rises at the North Pole on the
21st of March and this pole remains in night till the 23rd
September. Thus even at night for some months, the sun is visible near the
North Pole. This phenomenon is called midnight sun.
Pampas (in Argentina) - Vast plains stretching from
Rio Negro in south to the Gran Chaco in the North and East from the Andes to
the Atlantic; Woodless level country. Grassland is known as ‘Pampas’.
Peninsula – It is a stretch of land almost surrounded
by water e.g., Indian Peninsula.
Perigee - A celestial body’s point of lowest
distances from the earth.
Prairies –Extensive treeless tracts situated in
Central part of North America, Covered with tall grass.
Quasars – Abbreviated from of Quasi Stellar Radio
sources. They are the most distant celestial bodies with are neither stars nor
galaxies, but they are moving away at great speed.
Rain shadow – An area which has a relatively small
average rainfall because it is sheltered from the prevailing rain-bearing winds
by a range of mountains of hills; it is situated on the low side of the range.
Roaring Forties – Westerly winds blowing throughout
the year over the oceans of the southern hemisphere between 40 degree and 60
degree south. Being unhindered by land and regular, these winds are extremely
tempestuous.
Sargasso Sea – It is a part of the North Atlantic
between 20 degree and 35 degree north latitude and 30 degree and 70 degree west
longitude. It is so called on account of quantity of drifting sea weed
sargassum bacciferum.
Satellites – These are secondary bodies which revolve
round a planet as the planets revolve round the sun. The moon is a satellite of
the earth.
Savannas – tropical grassland. It is the region
bordering the equatorial region in each hemisphere. The Llanos and Pampas of
South America and extensive savannas in Africa are examples.
Sea of Tranquillity – The place on the moon where
astronauts Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin
Ianded on July 21, 1969.
Sedimentary of Stratified rocks – Are rocks which
have been laid down in beds or layers by wind, running water or the sea.
Sidereal day – Is the time during which the earth
makes a complete revolution of its axis in respect of the fixed stars – being 23
hours 56 minutes and 4.092 Seconds.
Snow line – The line on a mountain slope which
represents the lower limit of perpetual snow- blow this line any snow which
falls is melted during summer season.
Solstice - 21st June 22nd Dec. when
the days are the longest and the shortest respectively. It indicates the time
when the sun reaches its maximum distances from the Equator. It is called
summer solstice when it touches the Tropic of Cancer about the 21st
June and winter solstice when it touches that of Capricorn about 22nd
December.
Steppes – This is the region of temperate grasslands in
the northern hemisphere especially in Asian and Europe.
Stratosphere – Second layer of the earth’s
atmosphere; begins at a height of nearly 16 kms above the Equator, 8 kms at
latitude 50 and 6 kams at the poles.
Stratosphere – Second layer of the earth’s
atmosphere; begins at a height of nearly 16 kms above the Equator, 8 kms at
latitude 50 and 6 kms at the Poles.
Titan – The name of the saturnine moon where the
European Space Probe mission Huygens spacecraft landed.
Tornadoes – Are violent and tempestuous Whirlwinds
characterised by a black funnel-shaped cloud hanging from heavy cumulonimbus.
Trade Winds – Winds which blow steadily towards the
equator and are deflected westward by the eastward rotation of the earth. North
of the equator they have a south westerly direction and are called the N.E trades,
while, south of it they blow towards the N.W. and are called the S.E. trades. It
is these winds which are called the monsoon in the Indian Ocean.
Tributary – A small revered which runs into main
stream of a river.
Troposphere - This is the lowest gaseous layer of the
atmosphere and extends to a Height of about 10 kms from the earth.
Tundra’s - Tundra’s are vast stretches of desert land
in Arctic and Antarctic regions. The region is too cold for the trees to grow. The
reindeer is the only animal which is found here and is a source of milk and
meat and dress for the poor denizens of these lands.
Twilight – Light from the sky when the sun is below
the horizon either in the morning or evening.
Typhoons – Tempestuous storms occurring between July
and October along the eastern seaboard of Asia between the Philippines and Japan.
Ursa Minor – The lesser bear constellation. Like the
Ursa Major, it has seven permanent stars, of which the pole star is the
brightest.
Ursa Major - the greater bear, a constellation
familiar to all observers because of the brilliance of the Seven Starts forming
its outline.
Water table – the surface below which fissures and
pores in the strata are saturated with water.
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