Deck 9: Ice and Glaciers,wind and Deserts

Question 1

The Dust Bowl era was caused by

A) Removal of native prairie vegetation to plant seasonal crops.
B) Excessive grazing by livestock.
C) Drought.
D) All of the choices are correct.

Answer 1

D

Question 2

The southern-most active glaciers in the contiguous 48 United States are here

A) Sierra Nevada, California.
B) Olympic National Park, Washington.
C) Glacier National Park, Montana.
D) Rocky Mountains, Colorado.

Answer 2

A

Question 3

Large,regional deserts,such as the Sahara of northern Africa,occur here relative to the equator

A) Directly on the equator.
B) At approximately N40 or S40 latitudes.
C) At approximately N20 or S20 latitudes.
D) At approximately N10 or S10 latitudes.

Answer 3

C

Question 4

Deserts are classified on the basis of

A) Temperature.
B) Pressure.
C) Precipitation.
D) Plant and animal life.

Question 5

Glacial striations are

A) Carved by rock fragments frozen into the ice.
B) Used to show the rate and direction of ice flow.
C) Only found in till deposits.
D) All of the choices are correct.

Question 6

The natural sandblasting kind of erosion caused by wind-transported sediments is termed

A) Abrasion.
B) Deflation.
C) Desert pavement.
D) Undercutting.

Question 7

Milankovitch cycles are caused by

A) Variations in earth's tilt on its axis and in its orbit.
B) Continental drift.
C) Melting of ice sheets.
D) Desertification.

Question 8

The resultant sediment that is transported and deposited by the glacial meltwater is called

A) Till.
B) Moraine.
C) Drumlin.
D) Outwash.

Question 9

When ice is lost from a glacier by a set of processes then the process is called

A) Accumulation.
B) Loss.
C) Ablation.
D) Melting.

Question 10

Which of the following best describes the movement of a glacier?

A) A glacier typically moves rapidly, on the order of several kilometers in a season
B) A glacier typically moves slowly, on the order of a few tens of meters per year, although faster movement, called surging, can occur in alpine glaciers
C) Glaciers never move up an incline, but always down a land slope
D) Glaciers move during periods of climate cooling, such as the ice age and are stationary during warmer periods

Question 11

Arête,horn,cirque,are features observed as a result of

A) Glacial erosion.
B) Glacial deposition.
C) Glacial accumulation.
D) Glacial ablation.

Question 12

Glaciers

A) Flow plastically down gradient, either down the slope of the land surface or in the direction of thicker ice to thinner ice.
B) Are stationary features that "grow" because of the addition of snow and ice to their down slope edge.
C) Are most likely to flow during the winter, as snow and ice accumulate on top.
D) Depend upon lubrication from glacial flour for smooth, steady, down gradient movement.

Question 13

A region of the U.S.having landforms of glacial origin

A) Puget Sound, Washington.
B) Ozark Mountains of Missouri and Arkansas.
C) The Black Hills, South Dakota.
D) The Grand Canyon, Arizona.

Question 14

A landform made of sediment deposited by melting ice is

A) Till.
B) A moraine.
C) U-shaped.
D) A fjord.

Question 15

The ice age is also commonly referred to as the

A) Pliocene age.
B) Miocene age.
C) Oligocene age.
D) Pleistocene age.

Question 16

Formation of a glacier requires

A) High elevation.
B) Winter snow accumulation exceeds summer melt.
C) Steep terrain to encourage ice movement.
D) All of the choices are correct.

Question 17

In mid-western North America,the southern boundary of the north polar ice cap during past ice ages is marked by these two rivers

A) The North Platte and Ohio Rivers.
B) The Arkansas and Ohio Rivers.
C) The Missouri and Ohio Rivers.
D) The Missouri and North Platte Rivers.

Question 18

Proposed causes of past ice ages include all of the following except

A) Continental drift.
B) Changes in the earth's magnetic field.
C) Changes in solar activity.
D) Volcanic eruptions.

Question 19

Glacially derived wind deposited soil is called

A) Loess.
B) Pedocals.
C) Pedofers.
D) Loam.

Question 20

The two types of glaciers are

A) Continental and marine.
B) Alpine and marine.
C) Continental and polar.
D) Continental and alpine.

Question 21

The steeper sloping side (leeward side)of the dune is called stoss and the gentler sloping side (windward side)of the dune is called slip face.

Question 22

A relatively small and localized wind vortex commonly observed in more arid climates is

A) A mini-tornado.
B) A dust devil.
C) A zephyr.
D) A nor'easter.

Question 23

The presence of polar ice caps reflects unusually heavy precipitation from the cold air at the poles.

Question 24

Glaciers represent the largest single reserve of -freshwater in the world.

Question 25

Horizontal flow of air is driven,in part,by air-temperature differences over land and water.

Question 26

Because wind is such an inefficient agent of erosion,wind-deposited sediments are poorly sorted,like glacial sediments.

Question 27

Glaciers form only near the poles.

Question 28

Effects of ice ages are confined to regions directly covered by ice; global climate is unaffected and areas away from the glaciers preserve their usual temperature and moisture patterns.

Question 29

Calving is a process which results in the formation of icebergs.

Question 30

Desert pavement is the barren,sandy dune surface common in deserts.

Question 31

Because winds blow everywhere,while surface water is found in limited areas,worldwide wind erosion is comparable in scale and impact to erosion by water.

Question 32

In the United States,desertification

A) Is not a concern, because we have few deserts.
B) May affect broad areas of the Sun Belt and plains states.
C) Can be avoided by more extensive use of ground water.
D) Is not a concern because few people live in the areas at risk.

Question 33

Continental glaciers are smaller and much more common than alpine glaciers.

Question 34

Over the course of a year,the length of an alpine glacier fluctuates seasonally,increasing in winter,melting back in summer.

Question 35

Removal of sediment on a large scale is a process best describes as

A) Ventifacts.
B) Inflation.
C) Deflation.
D) Dune formation.

Question 36

The extent of ice sheets in North America during the last ice age can be determined,in part,by mapping terminal moraines.

Question 37

Moraine is a landform that is made up by the deposition of till.

Question 38

Desertification is

A) The natural process of desert formation caused by global climate changes.
B) Caused by blowing sand from existing deserts that buries surrounding arid lands and converts them to desert.
C) Caused by the rain shadows cast by mountains.
D) Accelerated by intensive agricultural activity in arid and semiarid lands.

Question 39

Which of the following statements is not true of dunes?

A) They have a characteristic shape, shallower in slope upwind
B) They need not necessarily be made of sand-sized particles
C) Once formed, they grow larger and larger but remain stationary
D) They may be stabilized by vegetation

Question 40

Because ice is so efficient an agent of erosion,alpine glaciers carve steep-sided,V-shaped valleys.

Question 41

Loess derived from glacial rock flour is rich in soluble plant nutrients.