Geology Chapters 10-12
When the crest of two waves meet in the open ocean, it leads to larger waves through a process called______
(not destructive interference)
How deep do wave motions go into the water, i.e. the wave base?
1/2 wavelength
When looking at the distribution of precipitation in the United States, the ________ meridian approximately divides the wet eastern from the dry western states.
100th
When a well pumps ground water out of an aquifer, it can affect the shape of the water table in the area near the well, Which of the following diagrams shows the shapes of the water near a well during pumping?
A
What is the "Law of the River"?
A complex of agreements among Colorado Basin states and between the United States and Mexico regarding allocation of Colorado River water.
Which of these streams has the highest discharge?
A stream that is 20 feet across, 3 feet deep, and moving at 10 feet per second.
What features are associated with karst regions? select four
A. Caverns B. Meandering floodplains C. Braided streams D. Sinking creeks E. Rock towers F. Sinkholes Answers: A. D. E. F.
Which of these landslide dammed a lake and caused flooding? select three
A. Gros Ventre B. La Conchita C. Madison Canyon B. Yosemite Rock Falls D. Thistle Answers: A. C. D.
Which of the following are formed by wave erosion? select two
A. Marine terrace B. Groin C. tombolo D. jetty E. submarine canyon F. stack G. baymouth bar Answers: A. F.
Which of these are considered to be the porosity of a material? choose four
A. a cave in a limestone B. the spaces between the sand grain in a pile of sand C. the salt-rich portion of rock that might dissolve away D. the open spaces between clay particles in a very impermeable rock E. fractures in a granite that happened after the granite cooled Answers: A. B.. D. E.
Which of the following are common triggers of landslide? select four
A. adding water B. friction C. over-steepening of slope D. dewatering of slope E. earthquake F. adding weight G. retention walls Answers: A. C. E. F.
The shape of the water molecule is unique with two hydrogen ions bonded to the side of the oxygen ion. This give water several unique properties. select four of them
A. adhesion B. drinkable C. cohesion D. transparent E. colorless F. polarity G. high specific heat Answers: A. C. F. G.
Which type of mass wasting moves rapidly and can be deadly? select two
A. creep B. flows C. solifluction D. rockfalls E. slump Answers: B. D.
How often does a full cycle of a tide occur? select all that apply
A. exactly 12 hours B. slightly more than 12 hours C. depends on the location D. exactly 24 hours E. slightly more than 24 hours Answers: B. C. E.
Which of these is a source of nonpoint pollution? choose two
A. fields of an agricultural area B. sewage treatment plants C. gas station D. residential areas E. chemical spill site Answers: A. D.
What are some clues that a proposed home site may be susceptible to landslide activity? select three
A. fissures and cracks B. nearby stream C. talus blocks D. nearby cliff (with crescent shapes indicating scarp) E. steep driveway Answers: A. C. D.
What two factors create the classic "C" shape of breakers and tsunamis?
A. friction of the seafloor slowing waves, causing the crest to grow B. motion of sand pushing waves up C. currents that bring water up always have a curved shape D. the natural circular motion within the way E. the curve of the run up of the beach Answers: A. D.
Which of these features signify a groundwater discharge area? choose four
A. gaining stream B. flowing well C. playa D. spring E. losing stream Answers: A. B. C. D.
An aquifer should have which of the following qualities: choose three
A. high permeability B. high porosity C. contains drinkable water D. has a confining layer Answers: A.B.C.
What happens to water after falling to earth as precipitation? select all that apply
A. it evaporates B. it infiltrates C. it runs off D. it becomes lithified E. it sinks Answers: A. B. C.
Which of the following combination of features would best indicate a slow moving rotational landslide is occurring? select two
A. liquified material B. scarp C. sliding blocks D. pile of rocks E. landslide toe Answers: B. E.
Which of these features are found on emergent coastline, with a relative falling sea level? select all that apply
A. marine terrace B. tidal flat C. sea arch D. tombolo E. sea stack F. barrier islands Answers: A. C. D. E.
Which of these is likely to increase erosion of sediment in the headwaters of a stream?
A. raising of base level B. smaller draining area C. an increase in velocity D. steeper gradients due to uplift E. lowering of discharged F. lowering of base level Answers: C. D. F.
What factors contribute to over-steepening of slopes? select three
A. saturation of ground B. excessive stream erosion C. wave cutting on sea cliffs D. removal of vegetation E. bulldozing of road cuts Answers: B. C. E.
What causes tsunamis and breakers to "break" as they approach the shore? select all that apply
A. shallow water on the seafloor causes waves to rise up B. sand grains and their friction causes rising C. friction with the bottom causes waves to slow down D. gravity on land decreases because of felsic composition E. shore currents push waves up Answers: A. C.
Which part of a coastal area is always under water?
A. shoreface/nearshore B. backshore C. foreshore D. swash zone E. offshore Answers: A. E.
Which of these are causes of salt contamination of groundwater? choose three
A. street snow and ice melting compounds B. roof runoff in industrial parks C. Natural evaporite deposits D. overpumping in beaches E. underground fuel tanks F. car exhaust in the winter Answers: A. C. D.
What forces are involved in a mass sliding down an inclined plane? select three
A. tension B. compression C. shear D. normal E. friction Answers : C. D. E.
Carbonic acid is present in all precipitation. It forms there because:
CO2 from the atmosphere dissolves in water droplets in clouds from which precipitation falls
The 1959 Madison Canyon landslide killed 28 people near Hebgen Lake. What was the trigger for this landslide?
Earthquake
A full tidal cycle is slightly less than 24 hours
FALSE
The nearshore area is usually not underwater
FALSE
The world's highest tidal ranges are found in the Gulf of Mexico
FALSE
Warm ocean currents tend to be found on the west coasts of continents
FALSE
Where a stream begins is called the mount of the stream
FALSE
How does the Southern Nevada Water Authority (SNWA) application for Snake Valley water affect Utah?
It would take Utah irrigation water
Which of the following states would have the lowest risk for mass wasting events?
Louisiana (may change)
Which state is the driest?
Nevada
Which of these formulas correctly shows the water budget of the Great Basin (P=precipitation, R=runoff, E=evapotranspiration, G=groundwater storage)
P=R+E+G
A drainage basin is also known as a watershed.
TRUE
A little bit of water can help stabilize material in a slope through a process called cohesion
TRUE
Fetch is the distance over which wind can blow on water to generate waves
TRUE
In North America wave energy is usually higher in the winter
TRUE
Mass wasting is the movement of material down a slope under the influence of gravity
TRUE
The coast refers to all parts of the land/sea boundary, whereas the shore refers to the direct location where the land and water interface.
TRUE
The ridge and valley province of the Appalachian Mountains is a good palce to find an example of a trellis drainage pattern.
TRUE
When a landslide damn a river the resulting flooding can be deadly
TRUE
Which of the following regions would have the highest risk of mass wasting?
The Appalachian Mountains
Why is the Colorado River Compact (as conceived and amended) likely to cause problems in the future?
The compact was made in a year of high flow and based allocations on specific volumes and did not consider growth/drought
When a landslide dams a river, what is the ultimate hazard?
The dam forms a rising lake that may overtop the dam, washing it out, and causing deadly flooding downstream.
When a stream enters a lake or ocean, the stream velocity slows. What would you expect to happen to the bedload and suspended load? What landform would this create?
The stream would lose energy and drop its sediment forming a delta
This unique property of water keeps the oceans form freezing from the bottom up.
Water is most dense 4 degrees above its freezing point
How does an oxbow lake form?
When a meander is cut off and abandoned
When does groundwater mining occur?
When the rate of discharge exceeds that of groundwater recharge
If you are considering a home site, what is one pretty sure evidence of possible landslides affecting the property?
a history of previous mass wasting events in the area
What percentage of water is fresh surface water?
about 1.2%
What percentage of freshwater is groundwater?
about 30.1%
The number one factor responsible for triggering landslides is the ____________.
additional water
Which of the following is NOT one of the three types of stream channels discussed in our text?
alluvial
What is the Rincon at Lake Powell in Utah?
an entered abandoned meander
The steepest angle at which sediments will be stable and NOT move down hills is called _______
angle of repose
What persistent behavior of waves produces longshore drift?
angle that waves hit the shoreline
In a desert region, what is the absolute limit to the water budget?
average precipitation
What does a groundwater budget do?
balances precipitation against evaporation and discharge
Why is the lunar or tidal day longer than the solar day?
because the moon orbits around the Earth in the same direction the earth rotates, it takes more time for the same point on the earth to be beneath the moon over the lunar day
All following actions can help mitigate the risk of mass wasting EXCEPT:
building a house on top of a cliff to compress the material beneath it
Karst land forms can develop when water in combination with carbon dioxide in the air creates ______, causing the calcite in limestone to dissolve
carbonic acid
Why does travertine form on cave walls?
changes in gas or temperature lead to the precipitation of calcite
As waves pass, water particles move in _______ motions?
circular
What important function do surface currents provide to the land?
climate regulation
A slump (rotational landslide) is often preceded by __________________?
cracks, possibly with some vertical displacement, occur upslope
Which mass wasting type is very slow movement that can cause fences, retaining walls, and telephone poles to tilt downhill?
creep
On the inside curve of a meander water velocity is slower, and deposition of sediment forms a _______
cut bank
When a stream reaches a low energy body of water, such as a lake or parts of the ocean , the velocity slows and the bed load and suspended load sediment come to rest, forming a _________
delta
What type of a stream pattern is similar to the pattern formed by tree branches?
dendritic
The areas from which streams collect water are separated into ________, the borders of which are defined by local topographic highs.
drainage basins
The areas from which streams collect water are separated into ___________, the borders of which are defined by local topographic highs.
drainage basins
Spring tides occur ______
during the full and new moons
The tectonically active west coast of North America generally has a _________ coast.
emergent ???
Streams in the Great Basin of Western United States are rare among world streams because they __________________________?
end in closed (endorheic) basins
______ streams only flow during rain events or the wet season.
ephemeral
Where the stream velocity increases along a cut bank, what also increases?
erosion
Which feature of a sea wave is most important to understand the wave bas of that wave? (in other words, as _____ increases the wave base gets deeper.)
fetch (may change)
Based on the water cycle, all water available to land dwelling organisms including humankind, ultimately comes from where?
from the sky as precipitation
All of the following factors affect the probability of mass wasting EXCEPT:
geologic age of material
What weather conditions can cause mass wasiting?
greater than average precipitation
What happened in the 1925 Gros Ventre slide in Wyoming?
heavy rains saturated a shale layer causing the already overstepped slope of rock to slide down and dam up a river
Which feature of a wave is most important to understand the energy of a wave? In other words, as the wind increases, this also must always increase
height
What is the process involved in the formation of the summer and winter berms?
higher storm energy in the winter moves sand off the beach and stores it in the nearshore.
The more spaced out position of water molecules in the crystal structure of ice compared to the arrangement of water molecules in liquid water causes what unique feature of water?
ice floats on water
What is an important result of the molecular process by which water freezes in contrast with most other substances?
ice floats on water
What is amphoteric property of water?
it's ability to ionize into ions of both acid and base
A jetty may have bad consequences for beach nourishment. Why build them i the first place?
keep an entryway to harbor open
What happens to the wave train because of wave dispersion?
longer wavelength waves travel faster than shorter ones and move ahead of them in a wave train.
What was the largest known terrestrial landslide?
markagunt gravity slide
What is solifluction?
movement of soil lobes on slopes
Why are ocean circulation patterns (shallow and deep currents) important for Earth?
moves heat around the planet, distributing it
Spits, bars, barrier islands, and other features related to longshore drift are ultimately the result of what?
moving sand
Which of the following forces are NOT involved in a mass sliding down a slope
normal (may change)
Which of these contaminants plays the biggest role in the growth of blue-green algae?
nutrients
The 2005 La Conchita slide in California and the 2014, Oso landslide in Washington were both deadly landslides in residential areas. They were principally triggered by __________
precipitation
Why do some locations have especially high tidal ranges?
restricted bays and inlets
What is the greatest mass wasting hazard to guests in Yosemite National Park?
rock falls
Based on Utah water rights law, the _______ water rights holder has priority use of water.
senior
Adding water to materials on a slope can reduce ____ and cause mass wasting to occur.
shear strength of slope material
Materials on a slope tend to move downslope when the _____ force exceeds the _____ force.
shear;normal
Which of the following mass wasting mitigation efforts is characterized by spraying reinforced concrete onto a slop surface?
shockcrete
Which type of tide results in the highest level of water?
spring
A speleothem (cave formation) that hangs down from the ceiling of a cavern is called a ___________
stalactite
What drives the water cycle?
sun
When you see a muddy or murky looking steam, that murky look is due to the _______ load in the stream.
suspended
What is the main difference between tidal flats/mud flats and lagoons?
tidal flats are sometimes dry
This emergent coastal feature is formed when a rock, sea stack, or small island become connected to the main shore by the deposition of sand behind it, due to wave refraction?
tombolo
Which of these is NOT a type of mass movement?
transform
Where would you expect to find a dendritic drainage pattern?
underlying sedimentary rocks are mostly uniform and flat laying
Which features of a wave is most important in order to understand the wave base of a wave's motion? In other words, as this increases, there is a deeper reach of wave base.
wavelength
When does ground water mining in an aquifer occur?
when the rate of discharge exceeds that of recharge
_____________________ causes surface currents, _______________ causes deep currents.
wind; density
What is the driving force behind most waves?
wind???
