Geo Exam 3
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 percentage of water is fresh surface water?
About 1.2%
What percentage of freshwater is groundwater?
About 30.1%
What makes the Great Basin unique in North America?
All water drains internally
Which desert landscape sequence is in the proper order from young to old?
Alluvial Fan > Bajada > Inselberg
Which desert landform is most similar to a river delta?
Alluvial fan
A(n) _______ is confined to a long, narrow valley located in mountainous areas especially closer to the poles.
Alpine glacier
Which of these is likely to increase erosion of sediment in the headwaters of a stream? SELECT ALL THAT APPLY
An increase in velocity Steeper gradient due to uplift Lowering of base level
What persistent behavior of waves produces longshore drift?
Angle that waves hit the shoreline
Why does desertification create even more desert in a positive feedback loop?
Arid conditions kill plants and make soil less able to absorb moisture
What are the causes of the Atacama Desert? SELECT ALL THAT APPLY
Atmospheric circulation Rain shadow Cold ocean currents
In a desert region, what is the absolute limit to the water budget?
Average precipitation
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.
Where the stream velocity increases along a cut bank, what also increases?
Erosion
The way for precipitated water to leave the Great Basin is by:
Evaporation
What is the tectonic process responsible for the general shape of the Great Basin?
Extension and stretching of the lithosphere
What causes tsunamis and breakers to "break" as they approach the shore? SELECT ALL THAT APPLY
Friction with the bottom causes waves to slow down. Shallow water on the seafloor causes waves to rise up.
Based on the water cycle, all water available to land dwelling organisms including humankind, ultimately comes from where?
From the sky as precipitation
What causes striations and glacial polish on bedrock?
Grains of rock embedded in the ice grind against the bedrock.
In this image, what feature is "A"?
Hanging Valley
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, leaving the winter berm. Lower summer energy moves the sand back onto the beach. forming the summer berm.
The dust bowl in the Midwest of the United States in the 1930s was primarily caused by:
Human errors in judgment
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
What two factors create the classic "C" shape of breakers and tsunamis
The natural circular motion within the wave Friction of the seafloor slowing waves, causing the crest to grow
Which feature 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 groundwater mining occur?
When the rate of discharge exceeds that of groundwater recharge
In this image, what are features "D"?
Terminal Moraine
How deep do wave motions go into the water, i.e. the wave base?
1/2 wavelength
The Antarctic ice sheet is up to ________ feet thick!
13,000
When was the peak of the last glaciation?
26,5000 to 19,000 years ago
Which latitudes have sinking air with dry conditions due to atmospheric circulation? SELECT ALL THAT APPLY
90 30
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.
Plastic deformation means that _____.
A material bends or flows when stressed by a force.
What is required for an artesian system to work? SELECT ALL THAT APPLY
A recharge area uphill from artesian wells Aquicludes confining an aquifer
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.
What features are associated with karst regions? SELECT FOUR
Caverns Rock towers Sinkholes Sinking creeks
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
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.
Cohesion Polarity Adhesion High specific heat
What feature is most characteristic of dunes?
Cross bedding
How often does a full cycle of a tide occur? SELECT ALL THAT APPLY
Depends on the location Slightly more than 24 hours Slightly more than 12 hours
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
What is an important result of the molecular process by which water freezes in contrast with most other substances?
Ice floats on water.
Why are playas common in the Great Basin of western North America?
Internal drainage
What happens to water after falling to Earth as precipitation? SELECT ALL THAT APPLY
It evaporates It runs off It infiltrates
How does the Southern Nevada Water Authority (SNWA) application for Snake Valley water affect Utah?
It would take Utah irrigation water
What is the amphoteric property of water?
Its ability to ionize into ions of both acid and base
A jetty may have bad consequences for beach nourishment. Why build them in the first place?
Keep an entryway to a harbor open
Why is the rate of weathering and erosion in desert regions slower?
Less water
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.
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
What is the main cause of the glacial cycles during the Quaternary Ice Age?
Milankovitch Cycles
Which of the following will promote a glacier to advance? SELECT ALL THAT APPLY
More winter snow and less summer melting Cool summers Especially heavy winter precipitation.
Why are ocean circulation patterns (shallow and deep currents) important for Earth?
Moves heat around the planet, distributing it
Spits, bars, berms, barrier islands, and other features related to longshore drift are ultimately the result of what?
Moving sand
Which of these are causes of salt contamination of groundwater? CHOOSE THREE
Natural evaporite deposits Overpumping in beach communities Street snow and ice melting compounds
Which state is the driest?
Nevada
Which of these contaminants plays the biggest role in the growth of blue-green algae?
Nutrients
Which part of a coastal area is always under water?
Offshore Shoreface/nearshore
Which of these desert landforms would most likely be associated with salt flats?
Playa
Which of these features signify a groundwater discharge area? CHOOSE FOUR
Playa Flowing Well Spring Gaining Stream
What are the causes of the Great Basin desert? SELECT ALL THAT APPLY
Rain Shadow \ Atmospheric circulation
Why do some locations have especially high tidal ranges?
Restricted bays and inlets
What does saltation do to the surface of sand grains?
Rounding and frosting
Which of these features are found on emergent coastlines, with a relative falling sea level? SELECT ALL THAT APPLY
Sea arch Marine terrace Tombolo Sea stack
What happens to sea-level when glaciers melt? SELECT ALL THAT APPLY
Sea level rises globally Local isostatic rebound
Which of these are associated with wind-driven sediment transports in deserts? SELECT ALL THAT APPLY
Sliding stones Saltation Creep Haboob
Which type of tide results in the highest level of water?
Spring
Which of the following are formed by wave erosion? SELECT ALL THAT APPLY
Stack Marine terrace
Which dune shape indicates the most wind directions?
Star
What drives the water cycle?
Sun
In a cross-sectional view of a glacier, where does the ice actually undergo ductile deformation (i.e. flow internally)?
The lower part of the glacier where stress exceeds 100 kilopascals
Which of these are considered to be the porosity of a material? CHOOSE FOUR
The spaces between the sand grains in a pile of sand The open spaces between clay particles in a very impermeable rock Fractures in a granite that happened after the granite cooled A cave in a limestone
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 sediments forming a delta.
What does it mean when a glacier "advances"?
The terminus of the glacier is shifting forward; the glacier is growing longer.
What is the main difference between tidal flats/mud flats and lagoons?
Tidal Flats are sometimes dry
Which of the following is influenced by the Coriolis Effect? SELECT ALL THAT APPLY
Trade Winds Westerlies Ocean gyres 3-cell model of atmospheric circulation
Where would you expect to find a dendritic drainage pattern?
Underlying sedimentary rocks are mostly uniform and flat lying.
Which of these is a product of desert weathering?
Varnish
What is the dominant geologic agent of erosion in most deserts?
Water
This unique property of water keeps the oceans from freezing from the bottom up.
Water is most dense 4 degrees above its freezing point
What factors influence dune formation? SELECT ALL THAT APPLY
Wind direction Sediment supply Vegetation
____________ causes surface currents, ___________ causes deep currents.
Wind; density
Which of the following is formed from a natural version of sand blasting? SELECT ALL THAT APPLY
Yardang Ventifact
The equilibrium line divides the _________________ from the __________________.
Zone of Accumulation; Zone of Ablation
What is The Rincon at Lake Powell in Utah?
an entrenched oxbow lake
What does a groundwater budget do?
balances precipitation against evaporation and discharge
Because of the Coriolis Effect in the Southern Hemisphere, low pressure systems like hurricanes rotate in which direction? (Think about it!)
clockwise
An aquifer should have which of the following qualities: CHOOSE THREE
contains drinkable water high permeability high porosity
Streams in the Great Basin of Western United States are rare among world streams because they _________________?
end in closed (endorheic) basins
Which of these is a source of nonpoint pollution? CHOOSE TWO
fields of an agricultural area residential areas
What caused Lake Bonneville to form?
less evaporation and more precipitation
In a glacier, crevasses extend from the surface down to:
near the base of the brittle zone.
What is a characteristic of ephemeral stream? SELECT ALL THAT APPLY
often carry flash floods usually dry flow mainly after rain
Based on Utah water rights law, the _________ water rights holder has priority use of water.
senior
In the Northern Hemisphere, due to the Coriolis Effect, wind is deflected ________.
to the right
How does an oxbow lake form?
when a meander gets cut off from the rest of the river
