ESCI Exam III
A stream begins at an elevation of 200 meters and flows a distance of 400 kilometers to the ocean? What is the average gradien
0.5 m/km
Spreading rates of _______ are common along the mid-Atlantic and mid-Indian ridges.
1-5 cm per year
Approximately how long ago did the last of the great North American ice sheets melt?
15,000 years
The oceans cover approximately ________ percent of Earth's surface.
70%
Which statement best describes slumping, a mass wasting process?
A block or blocks of unconsolidated regolith slide downhill along a curved slip surface.
a stream valley, deepened by glacial erosion, that floods as sea level rises
A fiord is ________.
According to the crustal, gravitational balance idea, which of the following statements is true?
A mountain range undergoing erosion should uplift slowly.
________ involves movement on a zone of compressed air and would most likely be triggered by an earthquake.
A rock avalanche
Which one of the following would typically have the widest continental shelf?
A tectonically passive, trailing continental margin
Mass wasting can be classified into the following category (or categories):
All the above
_______ is an abandoned, cutoff, meander loop.
An oxbow
Volcanism along a continental arc is dominated by the eruption of _____.
Andesitic lavas and pyroclastic materials
The __________ are a geologically old mountain range folded and formed during the Paleozoic.
Appalachian in US
Which of the following mountains is oldest?
Appalachians
The _________ are a geologically old mountain range folded and deformed during the Paleozoic
Appalachians in the eastern United States
Topographically high standing, mountainous areas generally ________.
Are underlaid by greater than average thickness of lower density, crystal rocks.
The ranges of the central and Southern Rocky Mountains __________.
Are uplifted blocks that typically have cores of Proterozoic igneous and metamorphic rocks.
Where in the oceans are biological communities thriving without sunlight?
Around seafloor hotspring vents
Accretionary wedges are formed _________.
At the edge of the overriding plate facing a subduction zone.
Which of the following is an extrusive igneous rock found on the ocean floor?
Basalt
The ________ have crust about twice as thick as normal.
Basin range and Province in Arizona and Nevada.
________ is not part of the hydrologic cycle.
Calcium carbonate dissolving in soil water and groundwater
________ describes the total sediment load transported by a stream
Capacity
East Africa, the Rhine Valley, and the Baikal in Siberia are all examples of ________.
Continental rifts
The ______ lies at the base of the continental slope.
Continental rise
The gently sloping submerged surface extending from the shoreline toward the deep ocean is termed the ________.
Continental shelf
Geologically, ________ are actually submerged parts of the continents.
Continental shelves
Which type of mass wasting induces serious hazard in dry areas with heavy rains?
Debris flow
__________ develop where oceanic lithosphere bends downward and sinks into the mantle.
Deep ocean trenches
At the head of a delta, the major channel splits into smaller channels that follow different paths to the sea. These smaller channels are known as ________.
Distributaries
The Sierra Nevada, CA, and Teton WY ranges are examples of _______.
Fault blocks uplifted by late tertiary to quaternary normal faulting.
Which of the following best describes if the geology of the Pacific coastal regions of western North America including Alaska?
Geologically different, micro-continent sized fragments and terranes, formed elsewhere, were tectonically accreted to North America.
What is the term for a submerged, flat topped seamount?
Guyot
Consider a weathered rock or soil particle lying on a slope. How will the gravitational force pulling the particle downward along the land surface vary with the inclination of the slope?
It will decrease as the slope angle is lessened.
How were the Ural Mountains (in Russia) formed?
Marine strata in a basin between the former Asian and European plates were squeezed, folded, and uplifted as the two plates joined to form the Eurasian plate.
As an erosional process, how is mass wasting unique from wind, water, and ice?
Mass wasting does not require a transporting medium.
Oceanic ridges are elevated compared to the surrounding ocean floor because ________.
Newly formed lithosphere is hotter and therefore less dense than the surrounding rocks.
Many larger rivers in the Colorado Plateau region meander in deep, narrow canyons and have no floodplains. How could this happen?
Original, old age streams downcut as the land gradually rose.
What caused the lahars (mudflows) in 1985 on the Nevado del Ruiz volcano?
Pyroclastic flows melt snow and ice near the summit.
A ________ stream pattern is developed only on growing mountains like volcanoes or where the land surface is tectonically doming upward.
Radial
________ are characteristics of downcutting streams and a youthful stage of valley evolution.
Rapids and lots of whitewater
Seafloor spreading occurs along relatively narrow areas at the crests of oceanic ridges called _______.
Rift zones
Water depths and seafloor topography are now routinely determined by ________.
Ship-mounted echo sounders
________ make up the suspended loads of most rivers and streams.
Silt and clay-sized detrital grains
Which of the following was a major factor leading to the Gros Ventre, Wyoming slide?
Soils and shallow bedrock were very wet and locally saturated.
An echo sounder operates by measuring the time required for a ________.
Sound pulse to travel from a ship to the seafloor and back
________ generally constitutes the highest percentage of the annual sediment load moved by a stream.
Suspended Load
Which of the following is the correct definition of stream gradient?
The drop in elevation of a stream divided by the distance the water travels
In the absence of cutoff, how does a river meander loop behave over time?
The gradient is lowered as the channel lengthens and migrates toward the cut or outer bank of the loop.
Which one of the following would cause stream rejuvenation?
The land is uplifted
A natural, meandering, river channel is modified into a more or less straight and smooth, canal-like channel. Which of the following statements is correct?
The natural channel had a lower gradient and higher friction than the straight channel.
When creep occurs, what happens to telephone poles and wires?
The poles will bend downward in the direction of the creep.
How do freezing, thawing, wetting, and drying contribute to soil creep?
The soil expands and contracts, lifting particles and dropping them a slight distance downslope.
________ is the oceanward edge of a continental shelf.
The top of the continental slope
A ________ stream pattern develops on lands underlain by tilted or folded, alternating hard and soft, sedimentary strata.
Trellis
In a ________ drainage pattern that is generally developed in areas underlain by tilted or folded strata, tributary streams flow along outcrop areas of the softer strata.
Trellis
A ________ cross-valley profile is typical of canyons and valleys eroded and deepened by alpine or valley glaciers.
U
A ________ is an erosional feature specifically produced by alpine glaciation.
U-shaped valley
How do the strength and cohesion of clay-rich regolith or soil change with the addition of water?
Water lowers the strength and cohesion.
lateral, valley or alpine glacier
What type of moraine would be most useful for tracing diamond-bearing kimberlite fragments directly to their bedrock source area?
calving
Which process occurs where a glacier enters the sea?
Which of the following best describes how geysers erupt?
With a slight reduction in pressure, water in a saturated, natural conduit suddenly boils, sending a plume of steam and hot water into the air above the vent.
Where are the most extensive geothermal features in the world?
Yellowstone National Park, U.S.
the water table is ______.
a boundary between saturated rock below and unsaturated rock above
a perched water table develops when _____.
a horizontal aquitard above the regional water table lies below an aquifer
Which one of the following applies to a valley glacier that lengthens (extends its terminus downslope) over a period of many years?
accumulation exceeds wastage
Which of the following is the factor affecting mass wasting?
all of the above
"Black smokers" are associated with ______.
all of these
All of the following are possible indicators that creep is occurring except for ________.
an extremely thick soil profile
a disappearing (sinking) creek is _____.
an influent stream in a karst area
Vegetation affects slope stability by
anchoring the slope in place.
Where is the world's largest ice sheet located today?
antarctica
Seamounts ______.
are volcanoes that form on the ocean floor
During late Paleozoic time, the tectonic configuration of the Appalachian region in eastern North America was most similar to the ________.
areas of Africa and Arabia bordering on the Red Sea
________ is one of the two major flow mechanisms in a glacier.
basal slip
How do icebergs in the North Atlantic Ocean originate?
by calving of large piedmont glaciers in greenland
Which common, rock-forming mineral or mineral group is most readily dissolved by groundwater?
calcite
________ are erosional features produced by valley/alpine glaciers.
cirques
which of the following materials has the highest porosity?
clay
What type of materials earthflow commonly involve?
clay and silt
Which mass wasting process has the slowest rate of movement?
creep
Since the early Mesozoic, the ________ has been passive tectonically.
eastern margin in the United States
after ice sheets and glaciers, ____ contain(s) the next highest percentage of the Earth's freshwater
groundwater
karst topography is a type of landscapes that have been shaped by
groundwater
A(n) ________ is likely to host a waterfall or steep rapids today.
hanging valley
Which of the following glacial features would typically be found in close proximity?
hanging valley and truncated spur
________ are characteristics found in all good aquifers.
high porosity and high permeability
Basaltic rocks of the oceanic crust are altered by heated seawater moving through fractures in a process known as ________.
hydrothermal metamorphism
How does urbanization (paving, etc.) affect runoff and infiltration in a small, previously forested, drainage basin?
infiltration decreases runoff increases
The concept that rocks of the crust and upper mantle are floating in gravitational balance is known as ________.
isostasy
A ________ forms when stagnant, glacial ice melts after being buried by drift.
kettle
A(n) ________ is similar in appearance to a sinkhole of a karst area.
kettle
the hot spring deposits at Mammoth Hot Springs, Yellowstone National Park, are travertine. What rock probably lies somewhere beneath the hot springs?
limestone
Folded limestones that occur high in the Himalayas were originally deposited as sediments in a ________.
marine basin between India and Eurasia
What type of moraine is formed by the merging of two lateral moraines at a junction of two valley glaciers?
medial
________ is the best explanation for a glacial surge.
melting at the base of the glacier resulting in increased rates of basal slip
Plate subduction occurs because the ________, not the oceanic crust, is denser than the underlying asthenosphere.
oceanic lithosphere
Where is erosion concentrated along a meandering stream?
on the outer parts of the meander loops or bends
Consider a steep highway cut made by removing slightly weathered to fresh, fractured, granite bedrock. Which of the following situations is most stable against rockslides?
one set of widely spaced, sub-horizontal fractures
The term _______ refers specifically to geologic mountain building.
orogeny
______ controls the ease (or difficulty) of groundwater transmission through a porous material.
permeability
The ________ of the geologic time scale represents the time of the most recent "Ice Age."
pleistocene epoch
______ is the volume of voids or open space in a rock or unconsolidated material.
porosity
What force pushes groundwater from pore to pore below the water table?
pressure gradient or hydraulic gradient
The most rapid type of mass movement is a ________.
rock avalanche
Which of the following must result in a lower base level for rivers and streams?
sea level falls; land rises
The valley and ridge province of the Appalachian mountains is characterized by _______.
sedimentary strata folded in late Paleozoic time
Which one of the following operates primarily in areas of permafrost?
solifluction
A ________ is the icicle-like speleothem that grows down from the roof of a cavern.
stalactite
which one of the following concerning stalactites and stalagmites is not true?
stalagmites form on the floors of caves below the water table.
______ are specific features of karst topography.
streams flowing into depressions and continuing underground
The zone where two continents collide
suture zone
Which of the following is often associated with a cirque basin in high, mountainous terrain?
tarn lake
the term karst topography was first used in ______.
the Republic of Slovenia, a province of the former Yugoslavia
Abrasion and plucking generally involve what part of a glacier?
the basal, sliding zone
A stream is said to be perennial and effluent when ______.
the local water table is above the channel bottom year round
Why was the Alaskan pipeline built above ground and insulated?
to protect the pipeline against damage due to thawing ground and to keep the crude oil hot and fluid
Which one of the following is an example of isostatic movement?
uplift of areas recently covered by thick, continental ice sheets
Which of the following is the only correct response concerning the location and causes of the extraordinarily severe, 1993, flooding on the Mississippi River, the Missouri River and tributaries?
upper basin; very heavy, sustained rainfall in the late spring and early summer
an artesian well is one in which _____.
water rises above the top of the aquifer without any pumping