Deck 16: Fluvial Processes

Question 1

When a first-order stream joins a second-order stream, the result is always ________.

A) a first-order stream
B) a second-order stream
C) a third-order stream
D) a fourth-order stream
E) a variable-order stream

Answer 1

B

Question 2

Fluvial process includes both the stream flow within valleys as well as ________.

A) overland flow
B) rock glaciers
C) hydrolysis
D) groundwater
E) underground solution

Answer 2

A

Question 3

The detachment and removal of fragmented rock material is known as ________.

A) diastrophism
B) erosion
C) leaching
D) regolith stripping
E) sedimentation

Answer 3

B

Question 4

In the system of stream orders, the smallest unit in the network is at the ________.

A) 1st order
B) 2nd order
C) 3rd order
D) 4th order
E) a variable number

Question 5

The chemical erosion of stream channels is known as ________.

A) abrasion
B) erosion
C) competence
D) corrosion
E) turbulence

Question 6

Which of the following is the major concept which all the others are part of?

A) drainage basin
B) interfluve
C) valley side
D) drainage divide
E) valley bottom

Question 7

An interfluve can be found ________.

A) in valley bottoms
B) between valleys
C) in a delta
D) on valley sides
E) in valleys

Question 8

The land separating adjoining valleys is known as a(n) ________.

A) levee
B) rill
C) interfluve
D) valley side
E) gulley

Question 9

Which of the following DECREASES with increasing stream order number?

A) average stream length
B) average watershed area
C) average stream discharge
D) average stream gradient
E) average stream capacity

Question 10

________ is the basic characteristic that occurs in overland flow and not in stream flow.

A) Gravitational influence
B) Non-channelized-channelized flow
C) Sediment transport
D) Erosion
E) Traction

Question 11

A valley bottom might be differentiated from valley sides in that valley if ________.

A) bottoms tend to be at a higher altitude
B) sides have lesser slopes than valley bottoms
C) sides tend to take more area than valley bottoms
D) sides commonly have "lips" or "rims"
E) bottoms are the sites of interfluves

Question 12

First order streams are the ________ of all streams.

A) shortest
B) longest
C) widest
D) deepest
E) fastest

Question 13

The direct collision of a raindrop with the ground, laterally shifting fine particles a few millimeters, is ________.

A) rill formation
B) valley cutting
C) plucking
D) splash erosion
E) peds pushing

Question 14

The portion of the terrain in which a drainage system is most clearly established is known as a(n) ________.

A) interfluve
B) valley
C) valley side
D) valley bottom
E) drainage divide

Question 15

Which of the following is LEAST affected by the action of channelized water?

A) floodplains
B) valley sides
C) valley bottoms
D) stream channels
E) interfluves

Question 16

Running water is referred to as a(an) ________ process in terms of being a landform creator.

A) insignificant
B) aeolian
C) fluvial
D) localized
E) weak

Question 17

Splash erosion does all of the following EXCEPT ________.

A) moves eroded particles uphill
B) moves eroded particles downhill
C) is sometimes minimal because of vegetation
D) occurring in channelized flow
E) blasts fine soil particles upward and outward

Question 18

________ transport(s) materials directly after they are loosened by splash erosion.

A) Stream flow
B) Gully erosion
C) Rill erosion
D) Sheet erosion
E) Earthquake slumps

Question 19

The most numerous stream type on the landscape is the ________.

A) first-order stream
B) second-order stream
C) third-order stream
D) fourth-order stream
E) fifth-order stream

Question 20

In terms of erosion, a gulley is a larger example of a feature called a(n) ________.

A) dendritic pattern
B) rill
C) radial
D) alluvial fan
E) interfluve

Question 21

A stream's ________ is (are) chemically altered and transported.

A) dissolved load
B) suspended load
C) traction materials
D) bedload
E) saltation materials

Question 22

During low water cycles, any channel bottom change is likely to undergo ________.

A) aggradation
B) degradation
C) saltation
D) nivation
E) privation

Question 23

Which of the following is NOT a component of stream load?

A) dissolved load
B) suspended load
C) bedload
D) sediments undergoing saltation
E) alluvium

Question 24

The total volume of flow in streams is termed ________.

A) the interfluve
B) the delta coefficient
C) discharge
D) turbulence
E) overland flow

Question 25

Which of the following DOES NOT describe a stream's capacity?

A) It is always closely related to a stream's competence.
B) It is defined as a volume of sediment passing a given point during a given time.
C) It varies tremendously from time to time.
D) It depends mostly on fluctuations in the volume and velocity of flow.
E) It is the potential load a stream can transport.

Question 26

The greatest amount of material transported by a stream is carried in its ________.

A) dissolved load
B) suspended load
C) bed load
D) traction
E) saltation

Question 27

The process in which small particles are moved along by streamflow or wind in a series of jumps or bounces is ________.

A) saltation
B) traction
C) meandering
D) base level
E) turbulence

Question 28

Solution and hydrolysis combine to create ________ in streams.

A) abrasion
B) stream load
C) corrosion
D) hydraulic head
E) saltation

Question 29

As a stream-related measure, competence is expressed as a ________.

A) gradient (meters per kilometer)
B) velocity (meters per second)
C) discharge (cubic meters per second)
D) time (seconds)
E) diameter (millimeters)

Question 30

________ does not generally determine the erosive effectiveness of a stream.

A) Speed of flow
B) Turbulence of flow
C) Gradient of the stream bed
D) Volume of flow
E) Saltiness

Question 31

Which type of erosion involves the most sediment per square meter in the places where it occurs?

A) sheet erosion
B) splash erosion
C) rill erosion
D) gully erosion
E) erosion by raindrops

Question 32

Where is one unlikely find much alluvium deposited in a stream valley?

A) at the bottom of the thalweg
B) in the center of the stream
C) along the stream sides
D) in overflow areas
E) in places where velocity increases

Question 33

If a stream's velocity is doubled, its competence ________.

A) remains the same
B) drops by half
C) increases by half
D) doubles
E) increases sixty-four times

Question 34

If a stream carries water only during and immediately after a rain, it is classified as ________.

A) ephemeral
B) perennial
C) exotic
D) intermittent
E) dendritic

Question 35

In arid climates, most small streams are ________.

A) nonexistent
B) ephemeral
C) intermittent
D) perennial
E) without channels

Question 36

Streams which flow for only a part of the year are ________.

A) superimposed
B) consequent
C) intermittent
D) antecedent
E) dry

Question 37

________ is an expression of the total load a stream can transport.

A) Competence
B) Bedload
C) Capacity
D) Volume
E) Corrosion

Question 38

The eventual result of ________ is to reduce almost all stream-carried debris to very small silt particles.

A) splash erosion
B) rill erosion
C) abrasion
D) sheet erosion
E) precipitation

Question 39

The general term applied to stream-deposited debris is ________.

A) refuse
B) alluvium
C) capacity
D) discharge
E) bedload

Question 40

________ is a measure of the particle size a stream can transport.

A) Gradient
B) Equilibrium
C) Force
D) Competence
E) Capacity

Question 41

This drainage pattern looks like the veins on the underside of a leaf:

A) trellis
B) radial
C) dendritic
D) annular
E) centripetal

Question 42

A(n) ________ stream has developed a channel along a zone of structural weakness.

A) consequent
B) subsequent
C) antecedent
D) superimposed
E) channelized

Question 43

The drainage pattern common in ridge and valley landscapes is ________.

A) annular
B) trellis
C) disorganized
D) centripetal
E) dendritic

Question 44

A(n) ________ pattern of drainage usually develops on alternating bands of hard and soft strata.

A) trellis
B) radial
C) annular
D) centripetal
E) dendritic

Question 45

Which stream channels tend to be most turbulent?

A) wide ones
B) deep ones
C) ones with high speeds of flow
D) ones with smooth channel bottoms
E) the ones having the slowest flow

Question 46

Which of the following is uncommon along streams?

A) alluvium
B) natural levees
C) floodplains
D) thalwegs
E) straight channels

Question 47

All but one of the following would cause an increase in the erosive effectiveness of stream flow: ________.

A) steepen the stream gradient
B) decrease of turbulence
C) increase in channel roughness
D) decrease the resistance of the bedrock
E) increase the flow speed

Question 48

Which is the most common type of drainage pattern?

A) trellis
B) centripetal
C) dendritic
D) radial
E) annular

Question 49

Which of the following would be most likely to develop a radial drainage pattern?

A) a cone-shaped volcano
B) folded, ridge-and-valley topography
C) mountain ridges caused by faulting
D) flat-lying, sedimentary rocks
E) a delta

Question 50

________ is the counterpart of "scouring."

A) Filling
B) Erosion
C) Turbulence
D) Degradation
E) Corrosion

Question 51

The deepest part of a stream channel is known as the ________.

A) deepest part of the stream channel
B) valley bottom
C) levee
D) thalweg
E) rill

Question 52

A(n) ________ stream flows over a landscape that has been lifted so slowly so that the stream is able to maintain its course (even through mountains).

A) consequent
B) subsequent
C) antecedent
D) superimposed
E) channelized

Question 53

The degree of turbulence in stream flow is determined by the velocity and the ________.

A) solar incidence
B) stream channel roughness
C) bedrock chemistry
D) tidal bore
E) water density

Question 54

In the text, West Virginia is offered as a superb example of ________.

A) superimposed streams
B) contrasts between dendritic and trellis drainage
C) antecedent streams
D) drainage basins
E) annular and radial patterns

Question 55

A ________ stream has an interwoven network of small channels separated by much loose debris.

A) meandering
B) competent
C) high-capacity
D) thalweg-less
E) braided

Question 56

A typical drainage pattern on conic volcanic mountains would be ________.

A) dendritic
B) trellis
C) radial
D) centripetal
E) antecedent

Question 57

Flow in a stream usually is fastest ________.

A) during low-flow conditions
B) near the mouth
C) near the bottom
D) near the sides
E) near the center and slightly below the surface

Question 58

Surface indicators of turbulence in stream flows include eddies and ________.

A) meandering
B) whirlpools
C) braided streams
D) dissolved load
E) fluvial processes

Question 59

Which of the following drainage patterns results when streams from all directions converge into a basin?

A) radial
B) centripetal
C) annular
D) trellis
E) dendritic

Question 60

On a meandering stream, maximum erosion takes place along the ________.

A) bottom
B) outer edge of the meanders
C) inner edge of the meanders
D) islands
E) places with the slowest flow

Question 61

Over time, which of the following has happened to Niagara Falls?

A) They have become rapids.
B) They have migrated several kilometers upstream.
C) They have migrated several kilometers downstream.
D) They have drained away most of Lake Ontario's water.
E) They have evolved into the world's most famous example of stream capture.

Question 62

Downcutting is usually most prominent along the ________ part of a stream valley.

A) lower
B) upper
C) delta
D) interfluve
E) widest

Question 63

Which of the following is NOT associated with streams over time?

A) shortening of valleys
B) lengthening of valleys
C) widening of valleys
D) deposition of sediments
E) erosion of sediments

Question 64

Niagara Falls were formed ________.

A) by humans as a result of the damming of the St. Lawrence River
B) during Precambrian time approximately a billion years ago
C) so long ago that the river's knickpoint is now gone
D) after the retreat of the Pleistocene ice sheets a few thousand years ago
E) after a series of spectacular earthquakes which are still helping the falls evolve

Question 65

Niagara Falls is a large waterfall on a river, so it can be considered as an example of ________.

A) lateral erosion
B) stream capture
C) a water gap
D) a rill
E) a knickpoint

Question 66

The point of confluence of a tributary with a higher order stream is a(n) ________.

A) ultimate base level
B) local base level
C) delta
D) knickpoint
E) joint

Question 67

A stream valley lengthens at the expense of the ________.

A) levee
B) delta
C) interfluve
D) alluvial fan
E) peneplain

Question 68

When a meandering stream is incised into a gradually rising crust or bedrock, the result is a(n) ________.

A) cut off
B) entrenched meander
C) delayed tributary junction
D) stream terrace
E) peneplain

Question 69

A "birds foot" pattern is indicative of a ________.

A) captured stream
B) peneplain
C) knickpoint
D) river delta
E) downcutting stream

Question 70

Any stream may lengthen its valley by ________ and delta formation.

A) headward erosion
B) siltation
C) saltation
D) alluvial deposition
E) delta erosion

Question 71

Which of the following is NOT closely associated with the former position of a river channel?

A) meander scars
B) oxbow lakes
C) cutoff meanders
D) oxbow swamps
E) yazoo stream

Question 72

Niagara Falls is the most famous set of falls in North America because they ________.

A) are the widest falls in the word
B) are the tallest falls in the world
C) pass an enormous volume of water over them
D) flow "backwards" from what would be expected
E) date from almost the beginning of Earth history

Question 73

Niagara Falls tumbles over a massive bed of resistant limestone known as the Niagara ________.

A) Anticline
B) Syncline
C) Fault
D) Basin
E) Escarpment

Question 74

A ________ develops along a streambed containing bedrock of differential resistance.

A) water gap
B) knickpoint
C) scree
D) distributary
E) fault

Question 75

Death Valley is below sea level. Therefore, in Death Valley, base level is ________ ultimate base level.

A) higher than
B) lower than
C) equal to
D) not related to
E) unchanging with respect to

Question 76

Of the following fluvial terms, which is most closely associated with stream capture?

A) beheaded
B) braided
C) thalweg
D) meander
E) interfluve

Question 77

Branching channels that cross a delta are known as ________.

A) 3rd order streams
B) tributaries
C) distributaries
D) graded streams
E) youthful streams

Question 78

Rivers downcutting into a land surface, in the absence of other forces, usually tend to erode a ________-shaped form.

A) groove
B) V
C) U
D) flat bottomed
E) delta

Question 79

The elevation limit of a stream downcutting on a land mass is called ________.

A) a drainage anomaly
B) meandering
C) ground zero
D) talus
E) base level

Question 80

An imaginary surface extending beneath the continents which limits how deep streams may cut is ________.

A) grade
B) base level
C) traction
D) a trellis
E) a knickpoint