Geology Chapter 19/20

A____ tide is an incoming or rising tide.

Flood

Defined by breaking waves in the surf zone, which two terms describe the directions of water movement associated with a wave breaking on the beach?

Swash and backwash

If you happen to be caught in a rip current, what is the best way to get to safety?

Swim parallel to the shore.

Why doesn't interior drainage, such as the drainage that develops in deserts, flow out of the desert?

The water evaporates.

During a typical sandstorm, saltating sand grains reach a maximum height of___ above the land surface.

2 meters

Most dry lands exist between ________ degrees on either side of the Equator.

20 and 30

Traditionally, a region is defined as a desert if it receives less than___ centimeters of rain per year.

25

What percentage of Earth's land area is convered by dry regions such as deserts and steppes?

30 percent

What is yarding?

A wind-sculpted landform oriented parallel to the prevailing wind, often narrow at the base.

Which mechanical weathering process will be most common in an arid environment?

Abrasion

Which one of the following statements about landforms is correct?

Alluvial fans typically rim desert valleys.

Which of the following statements about deserts is true?

Although rainfalls are infrequent, erosion and deposition related to water are important in deserts.

What is the definition of an ephemeral stream?

An intermittent stream that only has water after specific episodes of rain.

A___ is a crescent-shaped dune whose tips point downwind.

Barchan

Which desert location in the United States consists of alternating mountain ranges and flat-bottomed valleys as a result of fault block mountains?

Basin and Range Province

What process creates desert blowouts?

Deflation by wind.

Which of the following deposition/erosion scenarios will develop when a groin is constructed on the beach?

Deposition on upcurrent side and erosion on downcurrent side.

What are the two primary sources for loess?

Deserts and glacial deposits.

___ are mounds and ridges of sand that are deposited by the wind.

Dunes

The____ was a period of drought in the 1930s in the United States that resulted in significant dust storms blowing fine sediment for hundreds of miles.

Dust Bowl

A(n)____ coast will be created when sea level falls or the land is uplifted.

Emergent

How was the Salt Pan at Death Valley created? What is the name of such a desert feature?

Evaporation;playa

Which of the following desert landforms is carved from solid rock rather than consisting of accumulated sediments?

Inselberg

Which of the following is an artificial coastal feature?

Jetty

Deposits of silt carried by blowing winds are referred to as___.

Loess

____weathering is most common in a desert environment.

Mechanical

Which of the following locations has a coastline famous for its erosional features such as wave-cut platforms?

Northern California

There are many names for ephemeral desert streams that remain empty for most of the year. Which of the following is not another name for an ephemeral desert stream?

Playa

Which of the following can contain large quantities of evaporite minerals such as borate and halite?

Playa

What term describes the bending of waves?

Refraction

___is a strong current formed by backwash concentrated into small channels and flows rapidly away from the beach.

Rip currents

___refers to the bouncing motion sands will display when transported by moving water or wind.

Saltation

How are spits, hooks, and baymouth bars formed?

Sand is deposited from longshore currents.

Which size(s) of sediment commonly make up most of wind's suspended load?

Silt

Which of the following areas is known for its rainshadow deserts?

South America east of the Andes.

In a desert environment, in which area would surface water infiltrate into the local groundwater system most effectively?

Streams flowing across an alluvial fan.

A(n)____ coast will be created when sea level rises or the land subsides.

Submergent

Large estuaries are more common on a _____coastline.

Submergent

Abrasion will be greatest in which part of the beach environment?

Surf zone

A(n)____ is a smooth, polished rock that has been abraded by the wind.

Ventifact

Hurricanes get their energy from___ water.

Warm

A true desert is defined by a lack of what substance?

Water

A____ migrates inland as a wave-cut platform is extended.

Wave-cut cliff

Assume that the central slip face of a barchan dune slopes downhill toward the east. What is the direction of the prevailing wind?

West to east

From a climatological perspective, a region is a desert if___.

Yearly precipitation is less than evaporation.

Inselbergs are generally associated with a(n) ____ stage desert landscape.

late

The___ is the line that marks the contact between land and sea.

shoreline