Mastering Geology Chapter. 16: Deserts and Wind
When a permanent stream enters a desert area, what happens to its discharge?
It decreases.
What is the primary cause of subtropical deserts and steppes?
The air over these deserts sinks, compresses, and warms. Subtropical deserts that are subjected to cold ocean currents have reduced temperatures and some of the lowest yearly rainfall totals in the world.
Cross beds are a preserved record of what?
The deposition of sand on the leeward side of a dune.
Why do desert dunes migrate?
Wind erodes material on the windward side of the dune and deposits it on the leeward side of the dune.
What feature forms when alluvial fans enlarge and coalesce in the Basin and Range mountain desert environment?
bajada
Which of the following characteristics would suggest recent, fault uplift of a desert mountain range?
flat, upland surfaces, steep slopes and small alluvial fans
Which size sediment can be transported thousands of miles by wind?
silt in the suspended load
BBC Video Quiz - Mongolia: Kazakhs of the Altai Train Golden Eagles Part D Traditionally, Kazakh hunters pair up with their golden eagles for how many years before they are set free?
Kazakh hunters pair up with their golden eagles for approximately seven years.
Which one of the following is the one best measure of the wetness or dryness of a region?
difference between annual precipitation and evaporation potential
What are cross beds?
inclined layers in sediment or sedimentary rocks that reveal the direction of wave or wind transport
You come upon an outcropping of sandstone while working in the field in Southern Utah. You notice cross-beds. Which of the following would you be able to determine about this deposit, just from looking at it?
the direction of the wind at the time it was deposited
The cross bedding in a preserved layer of sandstone dips (tilts downward) to the East. What can be inferred about the wind direction at the time of deposition?
From West to East
Rainshadow deserts are common in ________.
The dry valleys of eastern California and Nevada
BBC Video Quiz - Mongolia: Kazakhs of the Altai Train Golden Eagles Part B According to Kazakh tradition, after a successful fox hunt what part of of the animal does the golden eagle get to eat?
According to Kazakh tradition, the golden eagle gets to eat the fox's lungs.
BBC Video Quiz - Mongolia: Kazakhs of the Altai Train Golden Eagles Part C What does a successful hunt with his golden eagle mean for 16-year-old Berik?
After a successful hunt with his golden eagle, 16-year-old Berik is considered to be a Kazakh hunter and a man of his people.
BBC Video Quiz - Mongolia: Kazakhs of the Altai Train Golden Eagles Part A Why do the Kazakhs of the Altai Mountains use golden eagles to assist with hunting?
Because golden eagles have superior eyesight, the Kazakhs use them for hunting animals in the remote and barren Altai Mountains.
Which one of the following is a low-latitude desert characterized by high atmospheric pressures and descending air masses (not rain shadow deserts)?
Sahara Desert; northern Africa
