GeoSystems Exam 4 Quiz Questions
Which of the following rivers is characterized by internal drainage?
Humboldt River
Which of the following is correct of the longitudinal profile of most rivers?
It is concave in shape.
Which of the following is true of evapotranspiration in North America?
The lowest amounts occur in Northern Canada
Why are corals more prevalent on the east coasts of continents?
The water is warmer.
Which of the following is not true of wetlands?
Wetlands exacerbate flooding due to saturated soil conditions
As the discharge of a stream increases, which of the following also happens?
Width, depth, and/or velocity increase.
A major difference between a barrier island and a barrier spit is
a barrier spit is connected to the mainland, whereas a barrier island is not.
What fluvial process erodes the streambed by grinding it with sediment and rock fragments?
abrasion
If the load exceeds a stream's capacity, sediment accumulates in the bed in a process called
aggradation
The maximum incline at which sediments on a slope can remain at rest before pulled downward by gravity is known as the
angle of repose
Which of the following human activities can contribute to mass movement?
any human disturbance of a slope, including road cuts, surface mining, and development
Which of the following weathering processes is most likely to produce karst topography?
carbonation
The process whereby streams deepen their channel is known as
channel incision.
An atoll is approximately ________ in shape because it forms ________.
circular; around submerged volcanic islands
Of the following, which soil type has the highest field capacity?
clay loam
Water table lowering around wells caused by pumping rates exceeding recharge rates can create a(n)
cone of depression.
An aquifer bound above and below by impermeable layers of rock or unconsolidated materials is called a(n)
confined aquifer.
Which of the following was caused by accelerated chemical weathering as the result of increased air pollution and acid rain?
corrosion of the Grand Buddha at Leshan, China
Which of the following is used to measure streamflow?
current meter
A ________ is a mixture of water and loosely consolidated sediment, such as gravels, boulders, and coarse rock fragments, moving downslope.
debris flow
When a river reaches a base level, its forward velocity rapidly decelerates as it enters a larger body of standing water and a (n) ________ is formed.
delta
This tree-like drainage pattern efficiently moves water and sediment through its system due to minimization of the total length of each branch.
dendritic
A stream's volume of flow per unit of time is its
discharge
Channels running through a delta divide into smaller courses that do not reconnect to the main channel. These are known as
distributaries
In most river basins in humid regions, discharge is highest
downstream
Watersheds are defined by
drainage divides
Areas in which the land is typically rising in relation to sea level are called
emergent coastlines.
Natural levees are created during
floods
Rectangular drainage patterns form primarily as a result of
flow through a faulted and jointed landscape.
Processes that are related expressly to streams and rivers are termed
fluvial
The fact that water expands as much as 9% of its volume as it freezes is the basis of
frost wedging
These features, here from Lake Michigan, disrupt sediment movement along a coast.
groins
The suspended load of a stream consists of particles that are
held aloft in the stream flow.
Chemical weathering is greatest under conditions of
higher rainfall and temperatures
A drought defined based on decreases in streamflow, lowering of reservoir levels, and declines in snowpack is a(n) ________ drought.
hydrological
The downward trend in water consumption in the U.S. has been attributed to
increased water prices.
Mean sea level
is based on average tidal levels recorded hourly at a given site over a period of many years
The height of a tsunami grows as it approaches a coastline primarily because
its wavelength shortens.
A ________ is a type of debris flow associated with volcanic activity.
lahar
Base level refers to
level below which a stream cannot erode its valley
When the Sun, Moon, and Earth are in alignment (i.e., in opposition or conjunction)
maximum tidal ranges occur.
Which of the following is not responsible for changes in sea level?
melting sea ice
In a given section of channel, the greatest flow velocities are usually
near the surface, near the center.
Earth's oceans possess
ninety-seven percent of Earth's waters.
Increasing ocean acidification has been attributed to
ocean absorption of excess atmospheric carbon dioxide.
The downslope, unchannelized flow of water across the surface is known as
overland flow
Exfoliation occurs because
overlying rock is removed, thereby allowing the underlying rock mass to expand and fracture
Undercutting action of the sea results in
sea cliffs
Stream transport involves all of the following except
sheetflow
The weathering of limestone can create circular depressions known as
sinkholes
The type of mass movement in which material moves in a unit along a zone of weakness is
slides
On average, ocean water is
slightly basic (pH around 8)
The mass movement process responsible of the curved growing pattern in the trees and the downslope leaning of the utility posts and fences is
soil creep.
In polar and alpine regions, thawing and saturation of the upper layer of soil, resulting in a slow downslope movement called
solifluction
The scientific study of caves is known as
speleology
These rounded granite outcrops are the result of which weathering process?
spheroidal weathering
What speleothem forms from groundwater emerging at a cavern roof, drips to the floor, evaporates, and leaving the dissolved materials it contained to accumulate as a deposit attached to the floor of the cavern?
stalagmite
In which of the following region would you expect to have the highest levels of seawater salinity?
subtropical oceans
Regular patterns of smooth, rounded waves are called
swells
Which of the following will favor stream terrace formation?
tectonic uplift of the headwaters
Potential evapotranspiration refers to
the amount of evapotranspiration that would occur if available water was not limited
How are mass movements classified?
their speed and moisture content
A ________ is deposited sediment that connects a shoreline with an offshore island.
tombolo
The movement of water into the atmosphere from plants is
transpiration
The water balance for Kingsport, Tennessee exhibits
water deficits in the summer months.
Wave action works to straighten a coast as wave energy focuses around headlands and tends to disperse energy in coves and bays in a process called
wave refraction.
Which country is the world's leading hydropower producer?
China
Which of the following can lead to the slope failure that causes mass movement?
saturation, oversteepening of slopes, earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions.
The presence of talus slopes indicates the occurrence of
rockfall
Approximately ________ people worldwide lack safe drinking water.
1 Billion
Barrier beaches and islands occur worldwide, lying offshore of nearly ________% of Earth's coastlines.
10
Evapotranspiration from the Earth's land surface represents ________ percent of water entering the atmosphere.
14
A 50-year flood has an annual exceedance probability of
2%.
The worldwide average salinity of seawater is
35%
Approximately what percentage of the United States' population lives in coastal areas?
53%
An estimated ________ percent of precipitation over land infiltrates the subsurface, of which ________ percent returns to the atmosphere via evapotranspiration.
76; 85
What percentage of precipitation occurs over oceans?
78
The largest fresh water lake in the world by volume is
Lake Baikal.
The largest reservoir in the world by volume is
Lake Kariba
Actual evapotranspiration for Phoenix, Arizona is highest during
March
Which of the following is true regarding freshwater on Earth?
Most of it is frozen in glaciers and ice caps.
Which of the following is true of the Earth's coastlines?
Most of the Earth's coastlines are relatively young and undergoing continuous change.
Which of the following is not a denudation process?
Orogeny
________ streams flow year-round, fed by snowmelt, rainfall, groundwater, or a combination thereof.
Perennial
When the upper surface of consolidated rock undergoes constant weathering, it creates broken-up rock called
Regolith
A water-bearing rock stratum is called a(n)
aquifer
Salt-crystal growth (salt weathering) is prevalent in which climate type?
arid
Which of the following is not necessary for well-developed karst to develop?
arid conditions
If groundwater mining of the High Plains aquifer were to immediately cease, how long do scientists estimate recovery would take?
at least 1,000 years
Material deposited in a long ridge extending out from a coast is called a
barrier spit.
The portion of streamflow that consists of groundwater is known as
base flow
If material is to move downslope, it must overcome the force of
both friction and inertial resistance.
Bed load is moved by
both saltation and traction, but not suspension.
When the height of a wave exceeds its vertical stability, the wave is called a
breaker
Soil moisture that plants are capable of accessing and using is called
capillary water
Rust, formed by the reaction of iron and oxygen in the presence of water, is an example of
oxidation
Which of the following is incorrectly matched?
point bar - area of substantial erosion
A stony coral is a type of ________ that secretes ________ to form an organic rock home.
polyp; calcium carbonate
The oceans physical structure. Schematic of the average vertical zonation as sampled along a line from Greenland to the South Atlantic. Within the deep cold zone, average temperature and salinity
remain fairly constant with depth.
A ________ is created when the backwash of water produced by breakers flows to the ocean from the beach in a concentrated column.
rip current
