GEO: Fluvial Processes

Desertification can be caused by...

Poor agricultural practices, deforestation, and global climate change

Large cross beddings in eolian sandy dunes are formed by ...

Sand dune migration in the direction of the effective wind.

Braided streams are characterized by...

Sediment deposition in the cannel resulting in the formation of sand and gravel bars and numerous small "channels" and a heavy sediment load in relation to its discharge.

Stream transport involves all of the following except for...

soil creeping

Which of the following is correct about the Basin and Range Province in the western U.S.?

- The Basin and Range Province is a tensional landscape fractured by many faults - In the Basin and Range Province, upward-faulted blocks form the "Ranges" and downward fault-bounded blocks form the "Basins" - Alluvial fans and bajada form along the hillside of the "Ranges"

Which of the following is true of the Mississippi River and New Orleans?

- The possibility of a sudden, major shift in the river's course now exists - New Orleans could become a "city without a river" - Accumulation pf sediments in the Mississippi Delta has caused portions of New Orleans to sink below Sea Level

When a river enters a large body of standing water, its forward velocity rapidly decreases and _blank_ is formed.

A delta

John Wesley Powell put forward the idea of stream base level. The stream base level refers to...

An imagined surface that extends inland from sea level and a level below which a stream cannot erode its valley.

A cutoff on a meandering stream results in the formation of...

An oxbow lake

The degradation of a landscape by weathering, erosion and transportation will ultimately reduce the landscape down to the...

Base Level

As a stream velocity decreases, which of the following sizes of sediments will be deposited last?

Clay

Which of the following statements is true regarding the erosion and transport of clay by winds?

Clay is difficult to be lifted from a moisturized surface, but is easy to keep suspended in the air

The effect of urbanization on a typical stream hydrograph is to...

Decrease lag time between storm peak and peak stream discharge

-blank- refers to the wind-erosion process that blows away loose or non-cohesive sediments, whereas -blank- refers to the wind-erosion process that grinds the rocks surfaces by the "sandblasting" action of particles captured in the air.

Deflation and abrasion

Which of the following stream channel types is likely to develop on gently sloping surfaces composed of rocks or sediments with approximately the same resistance to erosion?

Dendritic

Which of the following is not true about loess?

It is formed by river flooding events

What happens to the flow velocity and erosive power of a stream during a high discharge event if high artificial levees have been created to confine the flow in the channel?

It may increase the flow velocity and the erosive power of the river

Stream drainage patterns are influenced by which of the following?

Slope, differing rock resistance, and climatic and hydrologic variability.

Desert pavement refers to...

Surfaces of concentrated pebbles and gravels

The Nile River is referred to as an exotic stream because...

The discharge of the Nile River decreases with distance from its source due to high evaporation rates in the arid area downstream.

The spatial distribution of Earth's dry regions is attributable to all of the following factors except for...

The equatorial low-pressure region and the ITCZ

Drainage density refers to...

The length of all stream channels divided by the area of the drainage basin.

Stream capture refers to...

The process by which one channel erodes through a drainage divide and captures the headwater regions of another stream.

Which of the following is likely to occur if the gradient of a stream increases?

The stream will begin to erode its channel and/or its banks

Which of the following is not true about alluvial fans?

They are found more frequently in eastern U.S. than in the Death Valley region of west U.S.

Which of the following landforms is incorrectly matched with a drainage pattern?

Topographically disrupted areas -- parallel

The valley and ridge province is characterized by which of the following drainage patterns?

Trellis

Which of the following is NOT true regarding the processes that create desert pavement?

Upward gravel displacement may influence the desert pavement formation

As you journey from the headwaters of the Rio Grande to the Gulf of Mexico, you would observe that the river load of the Colorado River decreases in size from boulders to sand and silt due to the processes of...

abrasion and sorting

Elongated, streamlined ridges aligned parallel to the most effective wind direction are called...

yardangs