Geology Questions Review
Which of the following statements is true? A meandering stream has many active channels flowing at once. A meander bend that gets cut off from the main channel becomes an oxbow lake. A stream with a single channel is called a braided stream. All of the possible answers are correct.
A meander bend that gets cut off from the main channel becomes an oxbow lake.
Continental ice sheets today are found only in Alaska and Iceland. Antarctica and Iceland. Antarctica and Greenland. Greenland and Iceland.
Antarctica and Greenland.
Which of the following was the location of a flash flood caused by more than 19 cm of rain in about an hour's time? Bangladesh, 1990 Yangtze River, China, 1931 Big Thompson River, Colorado, 1976 Indonesia, 2007
Big Thompson River, Colorado, 1976
Identify the true statement. Parts of a glacier all move at the same rate. Polar glaciers move along a wet cushion of liquid at their base. Continental glaciers spread across the landscape laterally in response to their own weight. The uppermost layer of ice in a glacier moves by plastic deformation; the base, by brittle deformation.
Continental glaciers spread across the landscape laterally in response to their own weight.
Identify the correct labels for the sand dunes illustrated in this diagram. A. 1: parabolic; 2: longitudinal; 3: transverse; 4: barchan; 5: star B. 1: parabolic; 2: transverse; 3: longitudinal; 4: barchan; 5: star C. 1: barchan; 2: longitudinal; 3: transverse; 4: parabolic; 5: star D. 1: barchan; 2: transverse; 3: longitudinal; 4: parabolic; 5: star
D. 1: barchan; 2: transverse; 3: longitudinal; 4: parabolic; 5: star
Which term applies to temporary desert lakes? Choose one: A. bajada B. reg C. blowout D. playa
D. playa
What name is given to the land area contributing water to a stream?
Delta
Identify the true statement. Glaciers can undergo ablation by melting, sublimation, or calving. The zone of ablation is the area of the glacier where each year more snow falls than melts. Glaciers always retreat when they reach an elevation of less than 5,000 feet. When a glacier retreats, its ice contracts and flows back toward the glacier's point of origin.
Glaciers can undergo ablation by melting, sublimation, or calving.
Which of the following statements is true? Roughly half of a floating block of ice lies below the surface of the water. Icebergs, by definition, are free-floating chunks of ice that are at least 6 m above water and at least 15 m long. Ice is denser than water. Tidewater glaciers are glaciers that experience movement due to the tides.
Icebergs, by definition, are free-floating chunks of ice that are at least 6 m above water and at least 15 m long.
For this river, which of the following statements is true? If the stream flow were reversed, the locations of point bars and cut banks would remain the same. If erosion at X and Y were to cut off the meander between them, an oxbow lake would be created. The streambed at X is at a lower elevation than the streambed at Y. All of the possible answers are correct.
If erosion at X and Y were to cut off the meander between them, an oxbow lake would be created.
Identify the statement that is true about an ephemeral stream. Its bed lies below the water table. It is replenished by both precipitation and groundwater. It flows year-round. In dry climates, it can become a dry wash (also called wadi or arroyo).
In dry climates, it can become a dry wash (also called wadi or arroyo).
Identify the true statement. The Pleistocene Ice Age ended only about 100 years ago. If you want to see a continental glacier, you have to travel to South America. Global temperatures have been cooling since 1850. Increased CO2 in Earth's atmosphere, caused by the burning of fossil fuels, is accelerating the rate of glacial retreat.
Increased CO2 in Earth's atmosphere, caused by the burning of fossil fuels, is accelerating the rate of glacial retreat.
Identify the statement that is true about wind abrasion. It can produce faceted rocks (ventifacts). It produces wadis. It piles fine sediment into hills called lag deposits. It carves cliff bases into triangular alluvial fans.
It can produce faceted rocks (ventifacts).
What is most likely true of a metamorphic rock that exhibits significant compositional banding, such as the one shown here? It is formed by contact metamorphism. It is a foliated rock called gneiss. It is formed under conditions of high temperature but low pressure. All of the possible answers are correct.
It is a foliated rock called gneiss.
Assuming this photo of a fault surface is upright, which statement best describes the sense of movement along the fault? It is a normal fault. It is a dip-slip fault. It is an oblique strike-slip fault with minor dip-slip. It is an oblique dip-slip fault with minor strike-slip
It is an oblique strike-slip fault with minor dip-slip.
Which of the following statements about stress is true? It is the change in shape produced by strain. It is the same as force. It may have different magnitude in different directions. It is the same as pressure.
It may have different magnitude in different directions.
Which statement is true about stream piracy? It results when headward erosion causes one stream to intersect the course of another stream. It leaves behind a dry channel called a water gap. It reverses the direction of flow in the captured stream. All of the possible answers are correct.
It results when headward erosion causes one stream to intersect the course of another stream.
Identify the true statement. The process by which icebergs break off of coastal glaciers is called surging. Narrow, steep-sided, deep inlets of seawater in glacial valleys are called fjords. Today, glaciers cover 30% of the land; in the ice age, they covered 70%. Pluvial lakes are lakes that form on the surface of a glacier.
Narrow, steep-sided, deep inlets of seawater in glacial valleys are called fjords.
Which of the following statements is true? Glaciers rework U-shaped stream valleys and change them into V-shaped valleys. Glaciers can erode a bedrock substrate by plucking. A firn is a pyramid-like peak that results when several cirques eat away at a mountain peak. Tarn is rocky material that has been carried along and deposited by the ice of a glacier.
Tarn is rocky material that has been carried along and deposited by the ice of a glacier.
Which statement is true regarding this diagram? Slope A is the slip face. Sand blows up Slope B and comes to rest on Slope A. The wind is blowing from Slope A toward Slope B. All of the possible answers are correct.
The wind is blowing from Slope A toward Slope B.
Which of the following statements about the hydrologic cycle is true? There is an exchange of water among oceans, land, and atmosphere. Water that manages to infiltrate the land is lost to the cycle. Headward erosion causes sheetwash. Surface snow and ice are not part of this cycle.
There is an exchange of water among oceans, land, and atmosphere.
What did studies of oxygen-isotope ratios in marine plankton (shown in the graph below) indicate? There were many episodes of glacial advance and retreat during the Pleistocene Ice Age. The Pleistocene Ice Age began 500,000 years ago. Temperatures were 1°C to 3°C colder during Pleistocene glaciations than they are now. All of the possible answers are correct.
There were many episodes of glacial advance and retreat during the Pleistocene Ice Age.
This image of an outcrop shows a right-lateral, strike-slip fault. a thrust fault. a normal fault, with the hanging wall on the right. a normal fault, with the hanging wall on the left.
a normal fault, with the hanging wall on the right.
Which of the following is a dry water channel or basin? haboob badlands arroyo mirage
arroyo
Grains that move by saltation are extremely fine-grained dust and silt. can be lifted hundreds of meters into the atmosphere and carried for long distances. are called dust devils. become rounded and frosted by knocking into other grains.
become rounded and frosted by knocking into other grains.
What do the Sahel of today and the U.S.-Canada Great Plains of the 1930s have in common? having sand dunes greater than 100 m high having 3 inches or less of annual rainfall being some of the sandiest places in the world being subject to natural and human-induced desertification
being subject to natural and human-induced desertification
The total load that a stream can carry is called its competence. capacity. course. reach.
capacity
Recrystallization occurs when chemical reactions digest minerals of the protolith and new minerals grow. changes the mineralogical composition of the protolith. changes the texture (shape and size) of the grains. occurs when rocks undergo squeezing and grains change shape.
changes the texture (shape and size) of the grains.
The Gobi Desert, in the interior of Asia, sits more than 2,000 km away from the nearest ocean and is, therefore, a good example of a continental-interior desert. polar desert. rain-shadow desert. a desert that forms because cold, dense air cannot rise to form clouds.
continental-interior desert
The typical convection cell movement in the atmosphere means that cool air close to the equator rises. rising air warms and compresses. cooled air spreads north and south, and its moisture condenses out in latitude zones between 20° and 30° N and S. cooled, sinking air absorbs moisture from the area below.
cooled, sinking air absorbs moisture from the area below.
What type of drainage network looks like the pattern of branches connecting to the trunk of a tree? radial trellis parallel dendritic
dendritic
This photo (lens cap for scale) shows a fairly smooth, flat surface consisting of tightly packed stones with desert varnish. A surface like this is called
desert pavement.
A dark, rusty brown surface coating of iron oxide, manganese oxide, and clay often found on desert rocks is known as desert varnish. caliche. talus. saltation.
desert varnish.
Elongate, tapered hills of glacial till that lie parallel to each other across a landscape are called drumlins. kettles. eskers. loess.
drumlins.
What is the direction of glacial flow in this image? right to left left to right top to bottom either left to right or right to left
either left to right or right to left
A(n) _____ stream contains flowing water for only part of the year. permanent ephemeral gaining spring fed
ephemeral
These isolated boulders were carried in glacial ice and then left on the landscape once the ice melted. They are called varves. erratics. moraines. glacial till.
erratics
A typical longitudinal profile of a stream shows a cross section of the stream from bank to bank at one particular site. has a constant slope from its source to its mouth. illustrates that a stream's gradient is steeper near its headwaters than near its mouth. shows that most streams flow down low slopes near their headwaters, and flow down steep valleys near their mouths.
illustrates that a stream's gradient is steeper near its headwaters than near its mouth.
A drainage network is a trunk stream that cuts across a resistant ridge. is an interconnected group of streams that collects water over a large area. is considered a trellis network when rivers flow over uniform substrate with a gentle slope. drains water directly into the ocean.
is an interconnected group of streams that collects water over a large area.
Quartzite is basically a solid mass of interlocking quartz grains. breaks around the separate grains of quartz that compose it. is always either white or gray. always shows strong compositional banding.
is basically a solid mass of interlocking quartz grains.
The Mississippi Delta is a recent landform since it formed within the last 1,000 years. is the product of several avulsions. developed its shape because the ocean current there was stronger than the river current. exhibits the traditional delta shape.
is the product of several avulsions.
When the buoyancy force pushing up on lithosphere equals the gravitational force pulling down on it, the situation is said to show detachment. isostatic equilibrium. orogenic collapse. epeirogeny.
isostatic equilibrium.
Glacial drift includes which of the following? varves, layers of fine-grained clay and silt carried by glacial winds erratic till, a mix of fine-grained sediment and sand marine deposits, dropped by icebergs where a glacier flows into the sea loess, seasonal deposits in glacial lakebed sediments
marine deposits, dropped by icebergs where a glacier flows into the sea
A metamorphic rock is always composed of the same minerals as its protolith. cannot develop a texture of interlocking grains. cannot be formed below 1,200°C. may have preferred mineral orientation caused by differential stress.
may have preferred mineral orientation caused by differential stress.
Shear stress is a push (compression) or pull (tension) perpendicular to a surface. is the reason a balloon shrinks when you take it to the bottom of a pool. moves material parallel to a surface. is a compression exerted equally on all sides.
moves material parallel to a surface.
Flexural-slip folds are produced by flow of rock at different rates. occur when each layer of rock slips relative to the layers above and below it. have thicker limbs than hinges. have thinner limbs than hinges.
occur when each layer of rock slips relative to the layers above and below it.
Which of the following terms refers to the process of mountain building? orogeny tectonic foliation cratonic platform brittle and ductile deformation
orogeny
Which of the following is a common process during metamorphism? pressure solution brittle deformation melting lithification
pressure solution
The fault in this image is a right-lateral, strike-slip fault. produced by shortening the block. a reverse fault. produced by stretching the block.
produced by stretching the block.
This hill made from granite bedrock is called an esker. a drumlin. a cirque. a roche moutonnée.
roche moutonnée
All deserts are hot. sandy. dry. located in the tropics.
sandy.
What is the name of the type of foliation that is defined by the preferred orientation of large mica flakes, as shown in the photo (looking down on the foliation plane)? slaty cleavage schistosity gneissic banding phyllitic luster
schistosity
Identify the list of rock types that is ordered by increasing degrees of metamorphism (i.e., from lower to higher grade). slate, phyllite, schist, gneiss schist, slate, phyllite, migmatite gneiss, phyllite, schist, slate shale, migmatite, schist, phyllite
slate, phyllite, schist, gneiss
The total sediment load of a stream includes suspended load. bed load. dissolved load. suspended, bed, and dissolved loads.
suspended, bed, and dissolved loads.
A glacier can have only one of which of the following types of moraines? lateral end medial terminal
terminal
The Badlands of South Dakota are elevated, eroded plateaus and valleys composed of undeformed sedimentary strata. These are not mountains because they're not old enough. they consist of sedimentary rocks. they're not high enough. there's no deformation of rocks or structures.
there's no deformation of rocks or structures.
Which of the following phrases is related to the Dust Bowl? western U.S. Great Plains 1940s and World War II drought and weak winds crop root systems decreasing erosion
western U.S. Great Plains
Which feature might result where wind abrasion acts on a resistant rock layer overlying a softer rock layer? deflation basin talus yardang bajada
yardang
The local base level shown on this longitudinal stream profile illustrates a permanent feature that occurs in all streams. may be caused by the stream flowing over a particularly resistant layer of rock. must be made by humans, otherwise the profile would be smooth. indicates that the stream discharge is lowest between points 3 and 4.
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The stream in this diagram flows at an average velocity of 6 feet per second. The area outlined by the dashed line is 800 square feet. The discharge of the stream is 4,800 cubic feet per second. 480 cubic feet per second. 133 cubic feet per second. 66 cubic feet per second.
4,800 cubic feet per second.
