Valley
A low area of land between hills or mountains that typically has a river or stream throwing through it.
Vegetation
Communities of plants at a range of spatial scales, from local to global.
Vent
A gap in the ground which allows volcanic material to pass through to the surface.
Virtual Water
The total volume of water needed to produce a good or service.
Volcano
A mountain or hill created by the eruption and deposition of lava, rock fragments, vapour, gas and ashes from the Earth's crust through a vent in the ground.
Voluntary Migration
The movement of migrants whom have chose to move out of their own free will.
V-shaped Valley
A valley formed by the action of a river eroding down into a landscape, forming a V shape.
Vulnerability
The changing state by which one judges how likely a community or individual is to experience loss as a result of a natural hazard, climate change or other phenomenon.
Ward
A neighbourhood which contains around 5,000 people.
Water Scarcity
A disparity between the supply and demand of water such that the availability of water falls below 1,000 cubic metres per person per year.
Water Stress
A disparity between the supply and demand of water such that the availability of water falls below 1,700 cubic metres per person per year.
Water Table
The level below which the ground is saturated with water.
Waterfall
A sudden vertical or near vertical fall of water where a river course is interrupted by a drop away in the land over which it is flowing.
Watershed
An area or ridge of land where drainage basins meet which determines to which basin precipitation will go.
Wave Cut Platform
A narrow and flat rock platform caused when wave action erodes into a cliff causing collapse and retreat.
Wave Energy / Power
A renewable energy source that uses the power of waves to turn turbines and generate electricity.
Weather
The state of the atmosphere at a particular place and time.
Weather Front
A boundary formed where two air masses of different temperatures meet.
Weathering
The disintegration of rocks and minerals on the Earth's surface in situ.
Wilderness
An unsettled, uncultivated region left in its natural condition.
Willy-Willy
An upward spiralling, dust filled vortex of air.
Wind Vane
An instrument for showing the direction of the wind.
Windfarm
An area of land with a group of wind turbines or windmills used to generate energy.
Workers Rights
Standards of working conditions established to protect the needs and rights of workers.
World Heritage Site
A natural or man-made area or structure recognised as being of outstanding international importance and therefore under special protection.
World Trade Organisation (WTO)
An organisation that aims to support economic stability in international trade.
Zonal
Soils with a profile showing a dominant influence of climate and vegetation in its development, as contrasted with an azonal soil.