Geology Test III

What percent of Earth's land surface is currently covered by glaciers?

10%

An aquifer is ________.

A saturated, porous, and permeable layer or stratum

A drumlin is a _.

A smooth, tapering ridge of till formed and shaped beneath a continental ice sheet

Which one of the following statements correctly describes how stream terraces can form?

A temporary base level is eliminated; the stream downcuts upstream from the old temporary base level, and the former floodplain is left well above the present elevation of the stream.

Which common, rock-forming mineral or mineral group is most readily dissolved by groundwater?

Calcite

___ proposed a hypothesis (that later became a theory) on the creation of atolls

Charles Darwin

________ are erosional features produced by valley/alpine glaciers.

Cirques

The ________ is an example of the earliest stage in the formation of a new ocean basin.

East African Rift

Which of the following best describes a graded stream?

It is basically in equilibrium, neither eroding nor depositing material.

___ is (are) not part of an ophiolite complex

Residual, unmelted, crustal lithosphere

_ occur where the water table intersects Earth's surface and natural outflow of groundwater occurs

Springs

________ are specific features of karst topography.

Streams flowing into depressions and continuing underground

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.

Where are the most extensive geothermal feature in the world?

Yellowstone National Park, United States

Which of the following is located in headwaters region of a river system?

Zone of sediment production

The water table is _

a boundary between saturated rock below and unsaturated rock above

Which type of channel is likely to develop a sequence of steps and pools?

a steep channel cut into bedrock

Smooth, rounded cobbles and pebbles are found in streams a result of

abrasion

Sinuous, knife-edged ridges called _ are sculpted by valley glaciers.

arêtes

Which best describes how an accretionary wedge forms?

as a result of the accumulation of sediment and oceanic crust being scraped off a descending oceanic plate during subduction

The continental rise is located ___

between an abyssal plain & cotinental slope

Which of the following channel types is likely to form at the end of a glacier?

braided channel

How do icebergs in the North Atlantic Ocean originate?

by calving of large piedmont glaciers in Greenland

Submarine canyons found on the continental slope and rise have been created ___

by none of these

Which of the following is a measure of a stream's ability to transport particles based on size, rather than quantity?

competence

A drainage pattern that resembles the branching pattern of a deciduous tree is called __.

dendritic

The volume of water flowing past a certain point in a given unit of time is called ___.

discharge

____ are smoothly tapered, elongated hills of till shaped by an overriding, continental ice sheet.

drumlins

________ are glacier-cut valleys that flooded as sea level rose in post-glacial times.

fiords

Granular, recrystallized snow that is part of the process of glacier formation is known as ________.

firn

Which one of the following places these coral reefs in order from youngest to oldest?

fringing reef, barrier reef, atoll

What term describes a stream which receives water through the inflow of groundwater through the stream bed?

gaining stream

After ice sheets and glaciers, ________ contain(s) the next highest percentage of the Earth's freshwater.

groundwater

A submerged, flat-toped seamount formed when a volcanic island sinks as it is carried away from the elevated ocean ridge or hot spot over which it formed is called a(n) ________.

guyot

Large, relatively flat masses of ice extending seaward from the coast are known as _.

ice shelves

Sheeted dikes are found ____

in the middle, below pillow lavas, in a section of oceanic crust

Which component of the hydrologic cycle describes the recharge of water to the soil and groundwater systems?

infiltration

A(n) _ is a closed depression formed by melting of an ice block buried in a moraine or outwash plain

kettle

A(n) _ would be similar in appearance to a sinkhole of a karst area

kettle

A cross-sectional view of a stream from its source area to its mouth is called its ___.

longitudinal profile

________ controls the ease (or difficulty) of groundwater transmission through a porous material.

permeability

_ is another name for the zone of saturation

phreatic zone

The process by which a glacier lifts blocks of rock and incorporates them into the ice is called _.

plucking

________ is the volume of voids or open space in a rock or unconsolidated material.

porosity

The wobbling motion of a spinning object is known as _.

precession

_ form when meltwater is trapped behind an ice dam during glacier or ice sheet retreat

pro-glacial lakes

A drainage pattern comprised of streams that diverge from a central area like spokes is called ___.

radial

A drainage pattern that exhibits many right-angle bends and develops when bedrock is crisscrossed by a series of joints and/or faults is called ___.

rectangular

Deep, down-faulted structures along the axis of some segments of oceanic ridge are called ________.

rift valleys

Which of the following must result in a lower base level for rivers and streams?

sea level falls; land rises

Which of the followig areas does NOT have a mid-ocean ridge?

the Pacific Ocean

The term karst topography was first used in ________.

the Republic of Slovenia, a province of the former Yugoslavia

Which of the following provides the best example of an active continental margin?

the West Coast of South America

Which of the following best describes the term glacial drift?

the sedimentary materials outwash and till

___ is the oceanward edge of a continental shelf

the top of the continental slope

The relatively featureless topography of abyssal plains is due to ________.

thick accumulations of sediment causing a rugged ocean floor

Which one of the following is NOT connected in any way with submarine, hot spring vents?

thick turbidites on the continental rise

Which of the following is responsible for the most daily indoor per capita water wise in an average single family home in America?

toilets

Karst development occurs more rapidly in ________ climates.

tropical

The near-surface zone that contains some of the water that soaks into the ground is called the _.

zone of soil moisture