Deck 3: Landscapes Fashioned by Water

Question 1

________ is the maximum load of solid particles a stream can transport in a unit of time.

A)Capacity
B)Competence
C)Alluvium
D)Bed load

Answer 1

A

Question 2

Which of the following is not a form of mass wasting?

A)debris flow
B)slump
C)rockslide
D)transpiration

Answer 2

D

Question 3

Sediment in a stream is transported as part of the ________.

A)dissolved load
B)suspended load
C)bed load
D)all of the above

Answer 3

D

Question 4

Between a river and its floodplain, you might find ________.

A)natural levees
B)deltas
C)distributaries
D)meanders

Question 5

One drainage basin is separated from a neighboring drainage basin by a ________.

A)divide
B)slope
C)rill
D)the zone of deposition

Question 6

Precipitation of water on the land surface leads directly to ________.

A)infiltration
B)evaporation
C)runoff
D)all of the above

Question 7

The downslope movement of rock or soil due to the influence of gravity is ________.

A)weathering
B)erosion
C)mass wasting
D)exfoliation

Question 8

How do potholes form?

A)mass wasting on steep slopes
B)pebbles caught in swirling eddies of water
C)sorting of alluvium
D)when competence suddenly decreases along a river

Question 9

Ranked by discharge, what is the world's largest river?

A)Mississippi
B)Yellowstone
C)Nile
D)Amazon

Question 10

Examine the sketch of a bend in a river. The arrows show the water flow direction. In which of the four lettered locations will the water be moving at the highest velocity?

A)A
B)B
C)C
D)D

Question 11

If you were to examine the longitudinal profile of a typical river, you would probably find that the gradient is ________.

A)steepest near the mouth
B)steepest near the headwaters
C)roughly the same at the mouth and the headwaters
D)steepest in the zone of transport

Question 12

What kind of drainage pattern would develop on the slopes of Mount Rainier, an isolated volcano in Washington state?

A)dendritic
B)radial
C)rectangular
D)trellis

Question 13

The continuous side-to-side erosion caused by shifting of the stream's meanders produces an increasingly broader, flat valley floor covered with alluvium. The flat part of this valley floor, next to the stream, is the ________.

A)incised meander
B)delta
C)floodplain
D)headwaters

Question 14

At a delta, which of the following happens?

A)Tributary channels merge into a single large channel.
B)The main channel splits into a number of distributary channels.
C)The gradient becomes noticeably steeper.
D)The stream tends to erode sediment.

Question 15

________ make up the suspended loads of most rivers and streams.

A)Dissolved ions such as calcium and sodium
B)Silt and clay-sized detrital grains
C)Sand and gravel that move along the bottom during floods
D)Point bars

Question 16

External processes that occur at or near Earth's surface and are powered by ________.

A)radioactive elements in Earth's mantle
B)the Sun
C)geothermal heat
D)cosmic rays

Question 17

If discharge of a stream increases to the point that the stream overflows its banks, the stream is said to be ________.

A)a yazoo tributary
B)flooding
C)approaching base level
D)eroding a pothole

Question 18

Plants consume water during photosynthesis. They also release it to the atmosphere during ________.

A)evaporation
B)degassing
C)transpiration
D)infiltration

Question 19

Rapids and waterfalls are more likely in ________.

A)a V-shaped valley
B)a meandering stream
C)a braided stream
D)a delta

Question 20

Streams erode downward until they reach ________.

A)their base level
B)their profile
C)an oxbow
D)the floodplain

Question 21

Groundwater tends to flow through bodies of rock or sediment that ________.

A)are composed of dark silicate minerals
B)have a high porosity
C)have a high permeability
D)are aquitards

Question 22

Gravity plays an important role in all mass wasting events.

Question 23

Mass wasting processes are always rapid.

Question 24

Loose, granular particles assume a stable slope called the angle of repose.

Question 25

Leaking septic tanks and agricultural fertilizers are both potential sources of groundwater contamination.

Question 26

A narrow, V-shaped river valley is likely to be more well-developed than a broad valley with a prominent floodplain.

Question 27

Which of the drainage patterns shown here might develop on relatively uniform surface materials?

A)A
B)B
C)C
D)D

Question 28

Caves are formed by groundwater in granite and basalt.

Question 29

Examine the sketch of a bend in a river. The arrows show the water flow direction. In which of the four lettered locations is deposition most likely to occur?

A)A
B)B
C)C
D)D

Question 30

The Grand Canyon was carved entirely by the Colorado River.

Question 31

Groundwater is the largest reservoir of ________.

A)water on Earth
B)seawater on Earth
C)glacial ice on Earth
D)freshwater that is readily available to humans

Question 32

The feature marked "B" on this photo of a cavern interior is a stalactite.

Question 33

Infiltration adds water to ________.

A)the groundwater
B)runoff (streams)
C)the atmosphere
D)base level

Question 34

Examine the sketch of a bend in a river. The arrows show the water flow direction. In which of the four lettered locations will erosion take place?

A)A
B)B
C)C
D)D

Question 35

Where the water table intersects Earth's surface, a(n)________ results.

A)geyser
B)spring
C)artesian well
D)cone of depression

Question 36

In parts of the High Plains aquifer, water is being pumped from the ground faster than it is replenished. This has resulted in the water table dropping significantly.

Question 37

Artesian wells may be nonflowing.

Question 38

Groundwater may be ________.

A)extracted in such high quantities that the soil packs together and reduces pore space, resulting in subsidence of the land surface
B)contaminated
C)pumped out faster than natural processes can replenish it
D)all of the above

Question 39

Groundwater can be a source of surface runoff.

Question 40

The drainage pattern that would develop on highly fractured bedrock would likely be rectangular.

Question 41

A(n)________ forms atop an aquitard as shown in this image.

Question 42

The maze of steep-sided limestone hills in the Guilin District of southern China is a celebrated example of ________.

Question 43

________ are formed when groundwater dissolves cavities into limestone.

Question 44

The river depicted in this drawing shows prominent ________.

Question 45

________ is located in tiny pore spaces between grains of soil and sediment, underground.

Question 46

Sinkholes form when the roof of a cavern collapses.

Question 47

Building a dam on a stream raises its ________, causing it to cease erosion and begin to deposit sediment.

Question 48

Drawdown of groundwater due to heavy pumping from a well may result in a(n)________, a "dimple" in the water table.

Question 49

________ floods are limited in area, occur with little warning, and are most common with intense rainfall events in areas of impervious surface conditions or steep topography.

Question 50

Old Faithful, a(n)________ in Yellowstone National Park, erupts steam and hot water.

Question 51

Is this river likely to have a bedrock channel or alluvial channel?

Question 52

External processes include weathering, mass wasting, and ________.

Question 53

Laminar flow is characterized by swirling eddies of water motion.

Question 54

What is the specific form of mass wasting illustrated here?

Question 55

Examine this figure. Based on it, the Kings River has a steeper ________ near its head and a gentler ________ (same word)near its mouth.

Question 56

Match the items in the first column with the correct descriptions in the second column.

A)a complex network of converging and diverging channels that thread their way among numerous islands or gravel bars.
B)the process by which solid particles of various sizes are separated and deposited in different locations.
C)the volume of water flowing past a certain point in a given unit of time.
D)the physical removal of material by a mobile agent such as flowing water, waves, wind, or ice.
E)sand, gravel, and large boulders that are too large to be carried in suspension, and instead move along the bottom of a stream channel.
F)the physical breakdown (disintegration)and chemical alteration (decomposition)of rock at or near Earth's surface.
G)the slope of a stream channel expressed as the vertical drop of a stream over a specified distance.
H)the transfer of rock and soil downslope, under the influence of gravity.
1)Weathering
2)Discharge
3)Bed load
4)Mass wasting
5)Erosion
6)Sorting
7)Gradient
8)Braided channels

Question 57

________ is a measure of the volume of open space in rocks and unconsolidated, geological materials like alluvium and soils.

Question 58

The steepest angle at which unconsolidated, granular material remains stable is ________.

Question 59

________ can form when the pressure surface is above the land surface.

Question 60

A hot spring is a kind of geyser.

Question 61

Examine the photo of Glen Canyon Dam in Arizona and the reservoir called "Lake Powell" that formed upstream of it. Describe what has happened to base level on the Colorado River at this location since the dam was constructed. Make a prediction for what will happen at this location over the next several hundred years.

Question 62

Imagine you are an astronaut, landing on an alien world. Looking out your spacecraft window, you see a world that looks very much like Earth. You notice a disappearing stream and two sinkholes. Based on your training in Earth science, make a prediction about the rock type you would find in the area where you have landed, and justify your prediction. Make a second prediction about the composition of the atmosphere on the new planet.

Question 63

Label each of the three zones (as defined by the dominant activity there)of the river shown in the figure.

Question 64

Describe three factors that can act as triggers for mass wasting events.

Question 65

In Pearson County, residents are concerned because the water table has been dropping for more than two years. What might be some of the reasons that the amount of groundwater in Pearson County is decreasing?

Question 66

Examine this photograph. Identify the features seen here, and describe in detail the sequence of events which must have occurred in order to produce these features.