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Chapter 6

Terms in this set (50)

What is the energy source for the water cycle?
The sun
Define the water cycle
When water constantly moves among the oceans, the atmosphere, the solid earth in the biosphere
Plants release water into the atmosphere through a process called
Transpiration
In order to maintain earths water balance evaporation exceeds precipitation over_____, but precipitation exceeds evaporation over
Oceans, continents
The average annual precipitation worldwide must equal to the quantity of water
Continents
The ability of a stream to be Road entrance but material depends largely on its
Velocity
List the three factors that influence stream velocity
Gradient, shape,size, roughness and discharge
The single most important erosional agent on earth is
Gravity
Along straight stretches of the stream channel the highest velocities of water are found in what part of the stream?
Hear the center of the channel
If you were to examine the profile of a typical stream, you would probably find that the gradient is
Steep
The vertical drop of a stream channel over a certain distance is called
A gradient
A streams discharge does what between its source and mouth?
Discharge increases
In a typical stream, where the gradient is steep the discharge will
Increase
If a river originates 200 meters above sea level and travels 400 kilometers to the ocean what is the average gradient in meters per kilometer?
.5m/km
As stream discharge increase list 3 other factors that also increase
Width, depth,velocity
Base level is defined as
The lowest point to which a stream can erode it's channel
What is the ultimate base level of a stream?
Sea level
Lowering a streams base level will cause the stream to
Meander
Most streams carry the largest part of their load as
Meander
The suspended load of a stream usually consists of what 3 particles?
Sheet flow, mass movements, groundwater
The capacity of a stream is directly related to its
Discharge
What is the measure of the largest particles a stream can carry?
Alluvium
A depositional feature that forms where a stream enters a lake or ocean is a(n)
Delta
A natural levee is defined as a
Landform that parallels some streams
In a stream channel which size particle will be deposited first?
Sediment
Occasionally deposition causes the main channel of a stream to divide into several smaller channels called
Distributaries
The flat portion of the valley floor adjacent to a stream channel is called
Floodplain
The most prominent features of a narrow V-shaped valley where the stream profile drops rapidly are
Waterfalls and Rapids
A floodplain forms where a stream does what?
Side to side cutting of a stream
What type of stream valley would form any mountainous area?
Meander
One a major cause a flood is
Rapid spring snow melts or storms that bring heavy rains over a large region
One traditional flood control method has been to attempt to keep the streams flow within its channel by creating
A dam
Limiting development on floodplains is effective because it
Absorbs floodwaters with little harm
A drainage basin is
The land area that contributes water to a stream
What are the boundaries called that separates streams in addition drainage basins
Divide
Water is found underground in the zone of
Saturation
Pre-mobile rock layers or sediments that transmit groundwater freely are called
Aquifers
Centage of the total volume of rock or sediment that consist of poor spaces is called
Porosity
Which of the following is a measure of a materials ability to transmit fluids through interconnected pore spaces?
Permeability
Describe how springs form
Whenever the water table intersects the ground surface
When groundwater enters underground fractures or caverns in hot igneous rocks where it is heated to boiling temperatures what feature can form?
Hot spring (geyser)
Which of the following is not a major source of groundwater pollution
Compost
Any formation in which groundwater rises on its own under pressure is a
Artesian well
The depression often produce in the water table when water is pumped from a well is called
Cone of depression
Groundwater contamination by sewage from a ruptured septic tank can sometimes be naturally purified by flowing for a relatively short distance through a
Sandstone aquifer
A cavern is an underground chamber formed by
Erosion
Caverns most commonly form in what type of bedrock?
Limestone
What does groundwater naturally contain that allows it to dissolve limestone and form caverns?
Carbonic acid
Which type of rock usually underlies a karst landscape?
Limestone
Describe how sinkholes form
Rains water containing carbon dioxide dissolves underground
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