Deck 18: The Topography of Arid Lands

Question 1

The channel of a desert stream is usually covered with ________.

A) sandy debris
B) bedrock
C) pediments
D) salt
E) algae

Answer 1

A

Question 2

A common characteristic of all the basins of interior drainage in the United States is that they ________.

A) are of very small size
B) are all in the western United States
C) all drain to the Pacific Ocean
D) are all drained by the Colorado River
E) are all in rugged mountain areas

Answer 2

B

Question 3

Which of the following is the same thing as an arroyo or gulley?

A) playa
B) coulee
C) exotic stream
D) hardpan
E) caprock

Answer 3

B

Question 4

"Exotic" is a term closely associated with ________.

A) desert vegetation
B) desert soils
C) desert streams
D) desert climates
E) physical geography courses

Question 5

Of the list of arid landscape features below, a boulder would most likely be found on(in) a(n) ________.

A) playa
B) basin floor
C) stream channel
D) sand dune
E) erg

Question 6

In arid lands, the flow of exotic rivers ________ with increasing distance towards the mouth.

A) increases
B) carries more sediment
C) becomes purer via evaporation
D) becomes more stable with time
E) decreases

Question 7

One of the primary special characteristics of deserts is their ________.

A) complete absence of precipitation
B) lack of trees other than palms
C) prevalence of soil creep
D) basins of internal drainage
E) complete absence of vegetation

Question 8

Which of the following is NOT a specialized feature of arid environments?

A) mechanical weathering dominates
B) soil creep determines slope development
C) thin regolith
D) prevalence of impermeable surfaces
E) relatively intense precipitation

Question 9

Rivers like the Nile or Colorado which rise in moist regions and then flow through arid landscapes are called ________ streams.

A) gibber
B) barchan
C) pediment
D) exotic
E) playa

Question 10

The Great Salt Lake is a remnant of ________.

A) Lake Mead
B) Tulare Lake
C) Lake Bonneville
D) Salton Sea
E) Mono Lake

Question 11

Of the below, the best example of the remnant of a Pleistocene lake in the western United States is ________.

A) Lake Powell
B) Great Salt Lake
C) Lake Mead
D) Lake Huron
E) Lake Ocheechobee

Question 12

Rainfall in deserts ________.

A) totals just as much as in humid areas
B) is incapable of moving much material
C) is usually associated with slow runoff
D) is usually intense
E) lasts for many days when it does come

Question 13

Africa's best example of an exotic river is the ________.

A) Nile
B) Amazon
C) Orange
D) Rhine
E) Congo

Question 14

Which of the following is associated with weathering in arid environments as opposed to humid environments?

A) greater amounts of chemical weathering
B) faster mechanical weathering
C) slower chemical weathering
D) more angular products of weathering
E) fewer landslides

Question 15

Which is NOT a regional name for a wash or gully?

A) nullah
B) donga
C) wadi
D) gibber
E) coulee

Question 16

The single most important agent of landscape formation in deserts is ________.

A) wind
B) geologic uplift
C) solution
D) creep
E) water

Question 17

Another term for "wadi" is ________.

A) bajada
B) mesa
C) arroyo
D) loess
E) butte

Question 18

The Nile River ________.

A) is ephemeral
B) is in Europe
C) is without major tributaries in the desert
D) is building a huge sand delta
E) has its headwaters in the desert

Question 19

The Arabic word for a dry desert stream bed is ________.

A) self
B) bajada
C) barchan
D) reg
E) wadi

Question 20

Most desert streamflow eventually ________.

A) runs to the sea
B) becomes perennial
C) evaporates or seeps into the landscape
D) ends many weeks after a rain
E) flows into an exotic stream

Question 21

Concerning desertification, which of the following is FALSE?

A) It is a problem in the Sahel.
B) It is associated with desert margins.
C) It has happened in the United States.
D) Overgrazing is a direct cause.
E) Fortunately, it is a major problem only in Africa.

Question 22

Aeolian processes refer to those involving ________.

A) running water
B) ice
C) wind
D) groundwater
E) chemical weathering

Question 23

In the Sahel, desertification is likely to continue because of ________.

A) perennial drought
B) mistakes of the United Nations
C) expanding population
D) decreasing numbers of grazing animals
E) the presence of the Sahara to the north

Question 24

In deserts, wind can be said to ________.

A) be absent
B) make many of the landforms
C) be more effective than elsewhere
D) create basin-and-range topography
E) be the strongest on Earth

Question 25

"Dust Bowl" conditions in the North American Great Plains of the 1930s represented ________.

A) something that will not happen again
B) changes which occurred because the climate changed
C) an identical situation to the Sahel of the late 1920s
D) deforestation
E) desertification

Question 26

The wind-caused etching or pitting of rock surfaces is termed ________.

A) blow out
B) deflation
C) abrasion
D) traction
E) slip face

Question 27

In arid regions, differential erosion tends to be best developed in areas of ________.

A) sandstone rocks
B) massive metamorphic rocks
C) multiple sedimentary layers
D) massive igneous rocks
E) minimal weathering

Question 28

Variations in rock type and structure affect the slope and shape of landforms. These landforms are produced by ________.

A) exotic streams
B) solution
C) aeolian erosion
D) differential erosion
E) pediments

Question 29

It is now clear that desertification is ________.

A) natural
B) human-caused
C) related to the enhanced greenhouse effect
D) caused by a mix of natural and human circumstances
E) intensified by the planting of shrubs and trees

Question 30

Of the following, which is the LEAST important in creating most desert landforms?

A) impermeable surfaces
B) intense precipitation
C) lack of vegetation
D) wind
E) prominence of mechanical weathering

Question 31

The process of shifting loose particles by blowing them into the air or rolling them on the ground is called ________.

A) deflation
B) aggradation
C) the fluvial process
D) the arid cycle
E) sand motion

Question 32

An arroyo is to a wadi as an inselberg is to a ________.

A) bornhardt
B) piedmont
C) desert
D) pediment
E) erosion surface

Question 33

A shallow depression from which an abundance of fine material has been deflated is known as a deflation hollow or ________.

A) self
B) blowout
C) tombolo
D) barchan
E) swash

Question 34

Which of the following does NOT belong on the list?

A) Abrasion
B) Deflation
C) Blowout
D) Pitting
E) Dune

Question 35

Bornhardts are ________.

A) also known as alluvial fans
B) a type of inselberg
C) formed by aeolian processes
D) formed by depositional processes
E) a type of steep-walled gulley

Question 36

Inselbergs are associated with ________ landscapes.

A) loess
B) mesa-and-scarp
C) basin-and-range
D) desert plain
E) karst

Question 37

Which of the following is NOT associated with the work of the wind?

A) sandblasting
B) solution
C) deflation
D) traction
E) saltation

Question 38

Most blowouts are ________.

A) microscopic
B) small
C) about a mile across
D) created by wind deposition
E) created by fluvial processes

Question 39

Which of the following is NOT an area thickly covered with loess?

A) portions of Southern Africa
B) portions of the central United States
C) portions of eastern China
D) portions of Argentina
E) portions of Russia

Question 40

The prime factors in desertification in the Sahel were a natural drought and ________.

A) an increase in forest cover
B) overgrazing
C) fence building
D) tribal wars
E) deposition of desert sand

Question 41

An aeolian form NOT unique to arid lands is ________.

A) the seif
B) loess
C) a pediment
D) the gibber
E) desert pavement

Question 42

The world's longest expanse of coastal dunes is located in ________.

A) California
B) France
C) Bolivia
D) Brazil
E) China

Question 43

Sand dunes are composed mainly of individual grains of ________.

A) quartz
B) sodium
C) calcium carbonate
D) loess
E) lime

Question 44

As loess erodes, it ________.

A) forms bluffs
B) weathers to a darker color
C) forms floodplains
D) weathers to gravel size
E) can be deposited to make sand dunes

Question 45

Ergs are ________.

A) sometimes originated by non-desert conditions
B) absent from the Sahara
C) large, crescent-shaped dunes
D) usually composed of silt
E) notable for the absence of dunes

Question 46

Where the landscape is covered by sand and the crests of the sand dunes are perpendicular to the wind, the dunes are labeled ________.

A) transverse
B) seifs
C) longitudinal
D) reverse
E) barchans

Question 47

The wind rolling pebbles across the desert surface is an example of ________.

A) creep
B) traction
C) saltation
D) abrasion
E) scree

Question 48

Sand grains are generally made out of ________.

A) granite or shale
B) pebbles
C) quartz or gypsum
D) loess
E) clay

Question 49

Approximately ________ percent of the coterminous United States is covered by loess.

A) 1
B) 3
C) 10
D) 30
E) 100

Question 50

________ is the primary agent that anchors sand dunes to prevent their migration.

A) Wind
B) Liquid water
C) Ice
D) Soil
E) Vegetation

Question 51

A fine-grained wind-deposited surface material with extensive deposits in the mid-latitudes is ________.

A) reg
B) loess
C) erg
D) inselberg
E) plinth

Question 52

The main dune form in most deserts is crescent shaped and is migrating across a non-sand surface; it is called a(n) ________.

A) barchan
B) bajada
C) self
D) transverse
E) alluvial

Question 53

The steeper leeward side of a sand dune is called a ________.

A) gibber
B) slip face
C) bajada
D) playa
E) self

Question 54

In a "true sandstorm," ________.

A) terrain is heavily eroded
B) the moving sand rarely reaches head level
C) the chipping of paint is rare
D) sand falls out of clouds in a manner similar to precipitation
E) human structures are rarely damaged

Question 55

The ________ is a type of very long dune which might form as an adjustment to two seasonal wind systems.

A) barchan
B) crescent
C) transverse
D) blowout
E) seif

Question 56

Which of the below is NOT found in loess?

A) jointlike vertical cleavage planes
B) large amounts of sand
C) angular individual grains
D) a buff coloration
E) uniformly-size fine grain particles

Question 57

A prominent feature of loess is its ________.

A) high resistance to erosion
B) low agricultural fertility
C) dark red color
D) vertical slopes
E) high sand content

Question 58

A desert consisting of a large area of sand dunes is termed a(n) ________.

A) reg
B) erg
C) arroyo
D) wadi
E) salina

Question 59

________ represents the largest region with continuing desertification.

A) The North American Great Plains
B) The Sahara
C) The basin-and-range
D) The Sahel
E) The Amazon rainforest

Question 60

Which of the following is NOT a type of desert landform?

A) reg
B) erg
C) gibber plain
D) hamada
E) uvula

Question 61

A(n) ________ is a desert which is covered with coarse gravel, pebbles, and boulders and from which all sand and dust have been removed.

A) wadi
B) erg
C) relict erg
D) reg
E) peneplain

Question 62

Drainage channels in the dry mountains usually have a(n) ________ profile.

A) S-shaped
B) U-shaped
C) V-shaped
D) convex
E) smooth

Question 63

A dark, shiny coat of iron and manganese oxides on pebbles, stones, and larger outcrops is known as ________.

A) a reg
B) desert varnish
C) pediment
D) a hamada
E) an erg

Question 64

The ________ zone at the base of desert mountain ranges is one of the most prominent areas of active fluvial deposition.

A) gibber
B) piedmont
C) wadi
D) deflation
E) playa

Question 65

Rounded hills or mountain prominence surrounded by extensive plains and basins are ________.

A) salines
B) mesas
C) wadis
D) inselbergs
E) grabens

Question 66

A gently inclined bedrock platform is a(n) ________.

A) erg
B) reg
C) playa
D) pediment
E) hamada

Question 67

The barren surface composed of consolidated material, usually of exposed bedrock is ________.

A) desert armor
B) an hamada
C) a reg
D) an erg
E) a playa

Question 68

Basin-and-range topography is characterized by ________ found above the basin floor and underneath the alluvial fans.

A) mesas
B) playas
C) pediments
D) inselbergs
E) sand dunes

Question 69

Most alluvial fans are ________.

A) in mountain canyons
B) composed of poorly sorted debris
C) in the centers of basins
D) composed of bedrock
E) aeolian deposits

Question 70

One would find the piedmont angle at ________.

A) the bottom of canyons
B) a change in slope at a mountain base
C) the top of a mesa that is being sapped
D) the base of the resistant caprock layer
E) the top of a steep mountain peak

Question 71

Which of the following is NOT closely associated with basin-and-range topography?

A) Nevada
B) Death Valley
C) deserts in the southwestern United States
D) mesas
E) faulting

Question 72

High salt concentrations give a striking whitish surface to ________.

A) salinas
B) wadis
C) alcove arches
D) pedestals
E) mesas

Question 73

The Arabic word for "stone" describes a desert surface covered with coarse gravel, pebbles, and/or boulders. This word is ________.

A) suq
B) wadi
C) reg
D) erg
E) hamada

Question 74

The ________ is a depositional feature that accumulates at the mouths of desert canyons.

A) pediment
B) range
C) reg
D) alluvial fan
E) escarpment

Question 75

In basin and range topography, the lowest areas are frequently occupied by a(n) ________.

A) barchan
B) playa
C) escarpment
D) bajada
E) self

Question 76

Usually, much of the piedmont is underlain by an erosional bedrock surface called a ________.

A) pediment
B) bench
C) inselberg
D) terrace
E) gibber plain

Question 77

Desert pavement is another term for a(n) ________.

A) reg
B) erg
C) hamada
D) wadi
E) playa

Question 78

Alluvial fans which have expanded and joined over time form a landscape feature known as ________.

A) plinths
B) bajadas
C) slip faces
D) sand plains
E) alkali flats

Question 79

After the Sahara, which of the following is the world's major location of ergs?

A) The North American deserts
B) The Arabian desert
C) The European desert
D) The South American desert
E) The Antarctic "desert"

Question 80

Of the states below, ________ has the greatest extent of interior drainage basins.

A) Nevada
B) Maine
C) Wyoming
D) Michigan
E) Arkansas