This mass-wasting process is especially associated with the permanently frozen ground found underlying much of Alaska and Canada.
a) Debris flow
b) Slump
c) Rockslide
d) solifluction
solifluction
. When __________ occurs, a crescent-shaped scarp (cliff) is created at its head.
a) Rockfall
b) Slump
c) Debris flow
d) creep
slump
Which one of these factors played a significant role in the massive rockslide along Wyoming's Gros Ventre River in 1925?
a) Water from heavy rains and snowmelt
b) Fires that removed stabilizing vegetation
c) Oversteepened slopes caused by highway construction
d) An earthquake
Water from heavy rains and snowmelt
The steepest angle that a pile of dry unconsolidated particles can sustain before moving downslope is its angle of __________.
a) Repose
b) Talus
c) Stability
d) retention
repose
. The massive landslide in the canyon of Montana's Madison River was triggered by __________.
a) Water from heavy rains and snowmelt
b) Fires that removed stabilizing vegetation
c) Oversteepened slopes caused by highway construction
d) An earthquake
earthquake
This term is used to describe material that slides downslope as a unit along a curved surface.
a) Debris flow
b) Slump
c) Lahar
d) solifluction
slump
A debris flow composed mostly of volcanic materials is called a (an) __________.
a) Earthflow
b) Solifluction lobe
c) Lahar
d) slump
lahar
Saturating the pore spaces of weathered debris with water will usually decrease the likelihood of downslope movement. (TRUE or FALSE)
false
In the evolution of many landforms mass-wasting is the step that precedes weathering. (TRUE or FALSE
false
This mass-wasting process is most frequently associated with hillsides in humid regions during times of heavy rains or snowmelt.
a) Earthflow
b) Rockslide
c) Solifluction
d) unloading
earthflow
When and where is solifluction common?
a) Rainy season in the tropics
b) Dry season in subtropical deserts like the Sahara
c) Summer monsoon season in India
d) Summer in northern Alaska
summer in northern Alaska
The largest river in North America in terms of discharge is the __________ River.
a) Columbia
b) Colorado
c) Mississippi
d) Yukon
Mississippi
As stream discharge increases __________.
a) Stream velocity, channel width, and channel depth all increase
b) Stream velocity increases but channel width and depth decrease
c) Stream velocity, channel width, and channel depth all decrease
d) Channel depth increases but channel width and stream velocity decrease
stream velocity, channel width and channel depth all increase
The process by which water in the gas form (water vapor) changes to liquid water is referred to as __________.
a) Evaporation
b) Deposition
c) Condensation
d) sublimation
condensation
We know that the oceans contain most of Earth's water. Which one of the following ranks second?
a) Groundwater
b) Lakes
c) Glaciers
d) atmosphere
glaciers
Channel width X channel depth X velocity is the formula used to determine a stream's __________.
a) Discharge
b) Gradient
c) Longitudinal profile
d) sheetflow
discharge
Which one of the following is NOT a type of drainage pattern?
a) Radial
b) Rectangular
c) Triangular
d) dendritic
triangular
. The vertical drop of a stream channel over a certain distance defines __________.
a) Discharge
b) Laminar flow
c) Runoff
d) gradient
gradient
Which one of the following is NOT one of the four basic drainage patterns?
a) Conate
b) Trellis
c) Rectangular
d) dendritic
conate
If you were to examine the longitudinal profile of a typical river, you would probably find that the gradient is __________.
a) Steepest near the mouth
b) Steepest near the head
c) About the same at both the head and the mouth
steepest near the head
More water evaporates from the oceans than is returned to the oceans by precipitation. (TRUE or FALSE)
true
The single most important agent sculpting Earth's surface is __________ erosion.
a) Wind
b) Ice
c) Ocean current
d) stream
stream
. The continuous movement of water from the oceans to the atmosphere, from the atmosphere to the land, and from the land back to the sea is known as __________.
a) Evapotranspiration
b) Kreb's cycle
c) Hydrologic cycle
d) Atmospheric cycle
hydrologic cycle
Which two processes release water vapor directly to the atmosphere?
a) Runoff and infiltration
b) Precipitation and sublimation
c) Evaporation and transpiration
d) Discharge and condensation
evaporation and transpiration
Which one of the following factors does NOT favor increased infiltration?
a) Porous and sandy soil
b) Gentle rainfall
c) Saturated ground
d) Gentle slope
saturated ground
. A river originates 200 meters above sea level and travels 400 kilometers to the ocean. What is the average gradient in meters per kilometer?
a) 0.5 m/km
b) 2 m/km
c) 5 m/km
d) 0.2 m/km
.5 m/km
. The amount of water flowing past a certain point in a given unit of time is termed the infiltration capacity. (TRUE or FALSE)
false (discharge)
. Which one of the following rivers has the greatest average discharge?
a) Ganges
b) Congo
c) Nile
d) Mississippi
e) Amazon
Amazon
Which of the following represents the greatest volume of water?
a) Lakes
b) Rivers
c) Groundwater
d) atmosphere
groundwater
Which one of the following is NOT a subdivision of the zone of aeration?
a) Zone of soil moisture
b) Capillary fringe
c) Zone of ablation
d) Intermediate belt
zone of ablation
. A measure of a material's ability to transmit groundwater through interconnected pore spaces is known as its __________.
a) Permeability
b) Transmission coefficient
c) Porosity
d) Artesian flow
permeability
. In the United States, more groundwater is used for this purpose than for any other.
a) Drinking
b) Industry
c) Flushing toilets
d) irrigation
irrigation
At any one location, the height of the water table generally does not fluctuate. (TRUE or FALSE)
false
The natural flow of groundwater that exists when the water table intersects the ground surface is called a(n) __________.
a) Well
b) Acquitard
c) Sinkhole
d) spring
spring
This term is used to describe an impermeable layer that hinders or prevents the movement of groundwater.
a) Artesian
b) Aquitard
c) Aquifer
d) speleothem
aquitard
The term __________ applies to any situation in which groundwater under pressure rises on its own above the level of the aquifer.
a) Aeration
b) Aquitard
c) Artesian
d) perched
artesian
A hole dug into the zone of saturation is called a __________.
a) Cone of depression
b) Well
c) Spring
d) aquifer
well
. This is a measure of the amount of groundwater that can be stored by rock or sediment.
a) Capillary capacity
b) Soil moisture index
c) Porosity
d) Hydraulic gradient
porosity
As ice sheets get larger, sea level __________.
a) Rises
b) Drops
c) Remains unchanged
d) Fluctuates widely
drops
During the last major advance of the Ice Age about 18,000 years ago, sea level was about __________ meters __________ than at present.
a) 50; higher
b) 200; higher
c) 100; lower
d) 300; lower
100 lower
As a glacier moves down a valley, the ice in the center moves __________ than the ice along the sides.
a) Faster
b) Slower
c) About the same rate as
faster
Where was the Atlantic shoreline of North America 18,000 years ago when ice sheets of the most recent glacial episode were at a maximum?
a) To the east of the present shoreline
b) To the west of the present shoreline
c) Very near its present location
to the east of the present shoreline
Alpine glaciers typically widen and deepen valleys, creating a U-shaped glacial __________.
a) Horn
b) Arête
c) Trough
d) moraine
trough
The broad deposit of stratified drift that is deposited beyond the end moraine of an ice sheet is a (an) __________.
a) Drumlin
b) Outwash plain
c) Kame
d) esker
outwash plain
. During the Ice Age, ice sheets covered about __________ times more land area than present day ice sheets.
a) 2
b) 3
c) 4
d) 5
3
. An end moraine forms when __________.
a) Accumulation exceeds wastage
b) Wastage exceeds accumulation
c) Accumulation exceeds wastage
wasting equals accumulation
The outer limit of a glacier's zone of accumulation is defined by the __________.
a) End moraine
b) Terminus
c) Snowline
d) tarn
snowline
The ridge of till (unsorted glacial sediment) that is deposited along the terminus of a glacier when the ice front is stationary is called a (an) __________.
a) Kettle
b) Esker
c) End moraine
d) Outwash plain
end moraine
The largest ice sheet on Earth today covers __________.
a) Greenland
b) Iceland
c) North Pole
d) Antarctica
greenland
Estuaries form when sea level __________.
a) Rises
b) Drops
c) Remains unchanged
d) Fluctuates widely
rises
Studies have shown that the margins of some North American ice sheets advanced at rates of about 50-320 meters per __________.
a) Day
b) Week
c) Month
d) year
Year
Fractures in the uppermost part of a glacier are called __________.
a) Crevasses
b) Eskers
c) Fissures
d) Ice faults
crevasses
As the front of a glacier is retreating, a layer of unsorted glacial sediment (till) known as a (an) __________ is deposited.
a) Ground moraine
b) Outwash plain
c) Zone of accumulation
d) Deflation veneer
ground moraine
When ice accumulation exceeds ice wastage, the front of a glacier will __________.
a) Advance
b) Remain stationary
c) Retreat
d) disappear
advance
Maine's Acadia National Park and vicinity is an excellent example of ______________.
a) A portion of New England that was not glaciated during the Ice Age
b) A region eroded by alpine glaciers
c) An area flooded by the post-Ice Age rise in sea level
an area flooded by the post Ice Age rise in sea level
Which one of the following regions has NOT been modified by glacial erosion and /or deposition ?
a) Yosemite Valley, CA
b) Great Lakes
c) Stone Mountain, GA
d) Cape Cod, MA
stone mountain, ca
Desert streams are usually dry and carry water only after periods of rain. Such streams are said to be __________.
a) Peripheral
b) Ephemeral
c) Anticlinal
d) dendritic
ephemeral
Approximately __________ percent of the world's land area is characterized by dry climates.
a) 10
b) 20
c) 30
d) 40
30
. Which one of the following statements about deserts is accurate?
a) Infrequent desert rains are often heavy
b) They consist of mile after mile of sand dunes
c) Wind is the most important erosional agent
d) Deserts are lifeless or almost lifeless
infrequent desert rains are often heavy
Steppe climates can also be described as __________.
a) Ultra-dry
b) Glacial
c) Humid
d) semiarid
semiarid
Many middle latitude deserts may also be characterized as __________ deserts.
a) Orographic
b) Ephemeral
c) Rainshadow
d) parabolic
rainshadow
Climatologists define dry climates as those in which annual precipitation is exceeded by potential annual __________.
a) Runoff
b) Infiltration
c) evaporation
evaporation
Which one of the following is NOT a rainshadow desert?
a) Arabian Desert
b) Great Basin Desert
c) Patagonian Desert
d) Gobi Desert
Arabian Desert
Rainshadow deserts occur on the __________ sides of mountains.
a) Leeward
b) Steepest
c) South
d) windward
leeward
The lifting and removal of loose material by wind is known as __________.
a) Deflation
b) Inflation
c) Refraction
d) ablation
deflation
A surface of tightly packed coarse pebbles on the desert surface is called __________.
a) Desert pavement
b) Pedalfer
c) Desert varnish
d) blowout
desert pavement
A __________ is a depression excavated by wind in easily eroded materials.
a) Sinkhole
b) Kettle hole
c) Barchans
d) blowout
blowout
Desert pavement __________.
a) Represents a layer of stream-deposited pebbles
b) Is created when wind carries away finer particles, leaving coarse particles behind
c) Is formed when strong winds roll coarse pebbles into an area
is created when wind carries away finer particles, leaving coarse particles behind
A ridge of sand that extends into the mouth of an adjacent bay is a __________.
a) Tombolo
b) Spit
c) Sea arch
d) groin
spit
A __________ is an isolated mass of rock standing just offshore produced by wave erosion of a headland.
a) Seamount
b) Seawall
c) Sea arch
d) Sea stack
sea stack
Longshore currents are responsible for producing all of the following features EXCEPT a __________.
a) Spit
b) Baymouth bar
c) Tombolo
d) groin
groin
Which one of the following is NOT a factor that influences the characteristics of a wave?
fetch, wind speed, length of time wind has blown, wave length and crest all effect
Over time, the beach behind a breakwater tends to __________.
a) Widen as more sand accumulates
b) Get narrower because it is starved for sand
c) Show little or no change
widen as more sand accumulates
. In bays, wave __________ causes waves to diverge and weaken, resulting in the accumulation of sediments to form sandy beaches.
a) Oscillation
b) Reflection
c) Refraction
d) return
refraction
. In the open sea, the form of a wave moves forward while the water itself moves backward. (TRUE or FALSE)
false
The bending of waves is called __________.
a) Reflection
b) Diffusion
c) Refraction
d) dispersion
refraction
Expanding air is responsible for breaking rocks and enlarging fractures as a wave withdraws. (TRUE or FALSE)
true
Breakwaters are wall-like structures built parallel to the shore to protect boats from the force of breaking waves. (TRUE or FALSE)
true