Deck 17: Karst and Hydrothermal Processes

Question 1

Which of the following Earth materials is MOST resistant to solution?

A) aluminum
B) calcium
C) magnesium
D) sodium
E) limestone

Answer 1

A

Question 2

Caves are found in most parts of the world where there are thick ________ deposits under the surface.

A) sandstone
B) till
C) dripstone
D) limestone
E) tufa

Answer 2

D

Question 3

The brilliant colors around hot springs and geysers are ________.

A) largely unexplained
B) best seen in the winter
C) very short-lived
D) due to algae
E) due to high pressure

Answer 3

D

Question 4

In rock, ________ is an end product of common solution reactions.

A) limestone
B) gypsum
C) chalk
D) dolomite
E) bicarbonate

Question 5

In terms of underground water, ________ is the most effective shaper of landforms.

A) corrosion
B) solution
C) hydraulic power
D) channelized flow
E) mechanical erosion

Question 6

Most limestone is ________ mechanical surface weathering.

A) resistant to
B) prone to
C) compatible with
D) neutral to the effects of
E) the cause of

Question 7

Like limestone, ________ is highly susceptible to subsurface erosion.

A) gypsum
B) sandstone
C) granite
D) shale
E) basalt

Question 8

The most rapid landscape solution occurs in ________ areas.

A) cold
B) dry
C) humid
D) granite
E) middle latitude

Question 9

________ is the end product of the solution of limestone in water.

A) Nitric acid
B) Dolomite
C) Gypsum
D) Carbon dioxide
E) Calcium bicarbonate

Question 10

The primary way in which underground water shapes topography is through ________.

A) mechanical erosion
B) abrasion
C) dilution
D) chemical action
E) hydraulic pounding

Question 11

Which of the following enhances the rate of solution of bedrock?

A) stagnation of underground water
B) a profusion of joints and bedding planes
C) rock including great amounts of aluminum
D) an arid climate
E) a cold climate

Question 12

Deposition of dissolved minerals in caverns leaves deposits such as the icicle-like ________.

A) tufa
B) stalactites
C) stalagmites
D) sinkholes
E) dolines

Question 13

Which three substances are required to interact to form calcium bicarbonate?

A) water, carbon dioxide, and dolomite
B) water, carbon dioxide, and lime
C) carbon dioxide, sunlight, and plants
D) plants, magnesium, dolomite
E) oxygen, water, magnesium bicarbonate

Question 14

________ is a calcium magnesium carbonate rock which dissolves almost as easily as limestone.

A) Shale
B) Granite
C) Dolomite
D) Basalt
E) Gneiss

Question 15

Which of the following is not very resistant to solution in water?

A) sodium
B) iron
C) aluminum
D) silicon
E) diamond

Question 16

Underground water is a weak ________ acid.

A) citric
B) sulfuric
C) tannic
D) nitric
E) carbonic

Question 17

When a stalactite meets a stalagmite the result is a ________.

A) dripstone
B) tombolo
C) doline
D) pillar
E) hydrothermal

Question 18

The solubility of carbon dioxide ________ as water temperature ________.

A) increases, increases
B) stays the same, decreases
C) decreases, increases
D) decreases, stays the same
E) decreases, decreases

Question 19

Which of the following is an example of a speleothem?

A) a stalactite
B) a doline
C) a mogote
D) a sinkhole
E) a cavern

Question 20

Calcium carbonate is most readily dissolved in ________.

A) water nearly saturated with bicarbonate
B) cool water
C) warm water
D) caverns
E) the process of stalagtite formation

Question 21

The rapid appearance of new sinkholes in Florida can be explained by which of the following?

A) several years of above-normal rainfall
B) buildings built on top of bedrock cavities
C) sandstone
D) the rise of the water table
E) climate change

Question 22

________ are karst features also known as "haystack hills."

A) Sinkholes
B) Dolines
C) Speleothems
D) Fumaroles
E) Mogotes

Question 23

In a cavern-as compared with its bedrock surroundings-lime readily precipitates from solution because ________.

A) pressures are greater
B) temperatures are greater
C) the water is purer
D) the water can run in streams
E) pressure is lowered and evaporation is possible

Question 24

A swallow hole is most closely associated with ________.

A) geysers
B) fumaroles
C) tower karst
D) a magma chamber
E) sinkholes

Question 25

Limestone caverns are closely associated with ________.

A) granite bedrock
B) hot springs and geysers
C) bedding and jointing planes
D) bicarbonate acting as an acid to dissolve rocks
E) dissolution of minerals as they enter the caverns

Question 26

Speleothems are associated with the ________ stage of cavern formation.

A) initial excavation
B) dead
C) decoration
D) solution
E) room

Question 27

In karst landscapes of slight relief, ________ is(are) the most common feature(s).

A) hot springs
B) caverns
C) sinkholes
D) travertine
E) mogotes

Question 28

Lechuguilla Cave in New Mexico is special because a significant amount of the dissolution of its carbonate rocks was accomplished by ________.

A) earthquakes
B) carbonic acid
C) jointing
D) sulfuric acid
E) sinter corrosion

Question 29

The term "decoration stage" of cave development is related to all but one of the following terms:

A) carbon dioxide and calcite
B) uvala
C) speleothem
D) stalactite
E) stalagmite

Question 30

Karst landscapes are noteworthy because ________ are absent.

A) chemical weathering processes
B) caverns
C) surface streams
D) hills of any size
E) limestone and dolomite

Question 31

Karst landscapes ________.

A) are somewhat less common in the U.S. than on Earth as a whole
B) seldom have steep-sided terrain
C) are formed in arid climates
D) can be said to be the same as hydrothermal landscapes
E) are formed by underground processes

Question 32

The term "karst" is derived from the language in a section of ________.

A) New York City
B) Brazil
C) Slovenia
D) the former Soviet Union
E) Australia

Question 33

The production of travertine first requires that ________ dissolves in hot water and makes an acid that dissolves great quantities of limestone.

A) carbon dioxide
B) oxygen
C) argon
D) nitrogen
E) xenon

Question 34

Movement of underground water promotes solution where ________.

A) high temperatures are found
B) high pressures are found
C) differences in rock resistance make the rock "softer"
D) the water is not saturated with bicarbonate
E) the water is flowing in a stream

Question 35

________ is the term for solution topography in areas of limestone bedrock.

A) Hydrothermal
B) Dripstone
C) Doline
D) Travertine
E) Karst

Question 36

Jointing systems cause many caverns to have a(n) ________ pattern.

A) linear
B) circular
C) random
D) rectangular
E) inconspicuous

Question 37

Cavern openings to the surface are usually ________.

A) small
B) the largest part of the cavern
C) the site of hot springs
D) warm
E) triangular in shape

Question 38

________ are cave decoration features growing upward from a cavern floor

A) Mogotes
B) Stalactites
C) Stalagmites
D) Theodolites
E) "Zombies"

Question 39

From the text's description it is clear that sinkholes conflict with urban land uses in ________.

A) New York city
B) Florida
C) Iowa
D) Los Angeles
E) Chicago

Question 40

One of the common surface features of karst landscapes are sinkholes, also known as ________.

A) travertine
B) dripstone
C) dolines
D) tufa
E) geysers

Question 41

________ are typically found at the intersections of joints.

A) Rivers
B) Sinkholes
C) Magma chambers
D) Uvala
E) Tower karst

Question 42

The largest sinkholes are in ________ regions.

A) high altitude
B) polar
C) tropical
D) middle latitude
E) ocean

Question 43

Tower karst forms spectacular scenery in which part of the world?

A) The Rocky Mountains near Denver
B) Most of Alaska
C) Yellowstone National Park
D) The Alps of Europe
E) Southeastern China

Question 44

Part of Kentucky has karst topography. Knowing this, it would NOT be logical to find ________ there.

A) sinkholes
B) stalactites
C) geysers
D) dry streambeds
E) soluble bedrock

Question 45

In karst topography, ________ are said to be the fundamental unit of both erosion and weathering.

A) caverns
B) joints
C) rivers
D) geysers
E) sinkholes

Question 46

In the original language, "karst" means "________".

A) limestone
B) solution
C) cavern
D) flat
E) barren land

Question 47

Which feature is created by solution?

A) stalactites
B) stalagmites
C) speleothems
D) pillars
E) sinkholes

Question 48

Soluble carbonate rocks are at or near approximately ________ percent of Earth's land surface.

A) 1
B) 5
C) 10
D) 50
E) 100

Question 49

________ are residual karst features having very steep sides riddled with caves.

A) Sinkholes
B) Tower karst
C) Sinter cones
D) Travertine terraces
E) Calderas

Question 50

According to the text, tower karst exists in ________.

A) China and Vietnam
B) the U.S. and Canada
C) the former U.S.S.R. and Iran
D) Japan and India
E) Hawaii and Alaska

Question 51

Which of the following is a landscape feature that would be LAST to form on a karst landscape?

A) Sinkholes
B) Collapsed doline
C) Cavern
D) Tower karst
E) Disappearing stream

Question 52

A complex of intersecting dolines is known as a(n) ________.

A) sinkhole
B) cavern
C) speleothem
D) geyser basin
E) uvala

Question 53

A collapsed doline is the remains of a ________.

A) stalactite
B) stalagmite
C) mogote
D) sinkhole
E) cavern

Question 54

Which of the following is NOT a component of karst landscapes?

A) steep slopes
B) dry stream valleys
C) sinkholes common
D) swallow holes common
E) extensive stream channels

Question 55

Water flowing into sinkholes frequently disappears into ________.

A) karst
B) swallow holes
C) bedding planes
D) joints
E) geysers

Question 56

________ are the karst analogs of river valleys in that they are the fundamental unit in both erosion and weathering.

A) Sinkholes
B) Mogotes
C) Disappearing streams
D) Caverns
E) Haystack hills

Question 57

The slopes of these features have angles of repose of 20° to 30°.

A) sinkholes
B) stalagmites
C) cavern walls
D) pillars
E) geyser basins

Question 58

Which of the following does NOT belong with the others?

A) tufa
B) sinter
C) travertine
D) hot springs
E) caverns

Question 59

A large, steep-sided, circular hill of residual limestone bedrock is known as a ________.

A) stalagtite
B) doline
C) mogote
D) sinkhole
E) cavern

Question 60

________ is a term which refers to solution landscapes and literally means "barren land"?

A) Dolomite
B) Doline
C) Karst
D) Speleothem
E) Fumarole

Question 61

Commonly, materials flowing out of hot springs build a ________.

A) dome
B) sinkhole
C) geyser
D) cavern
E) doline

Question 62

Which of the following is NOT closely associated with hydrothermal activity?

A) Yellowstone National Park
B) hot springs
C) caverns
D) geysers
E) fumaroles

Question 63

________ makes lime precipitate out of a water solution.

A) Rain falling out of clouds
B) Water squeezed into rock joints
C) Sublimation of liquid water
D) Reduction of temperature and pressure
E) Photosynthesis in heat-loving algae

Question 64

Among all the hydrothermal areas in the world, the greatest concentration of activity is along the Firehole River in ________.

A) Wyoming
B) California
C) Iceland
D) South Africa
E) Spain

Question 65

________ is a deposit of hydrothermal materials.

A) Travertine
B) Karst
C) Limestone
D) Stalagmite
E) Stalactite

Question 66

Travertine and tufa are both composed of ________.

A) calcium carbonate
B) granite
C) igneous rock
D) non-soluble minerals
E) heat-resistant algae

Question 67

When hot water is ejected from a geyser, that flow is called a(n) ________.

A) travertine
B) motu
C) fumarole
D) eruption
E) tufa

Question 68

In hydrothermal situations, superheating of water is possible because of the presence of ________.

A) joints
B) bedding planes
C) sodium bicarbonate
D) high pressure
E) lava

Question 69

Geyser deposits tend to form ________.

A) mesas
B) terraces
C) fumaroles
D) sheets of precipitated matter
E) volcanic cinder cones

Question 70

Old Faithful is now less predictable because of ________.

A) earthquakes in the 1980s
B) lessening rainfall because of climate change
C) human changes to the landscape around the geyser
D) cooling of Yellowstone's underground magma chamber
E) the natural damming of the Firehole River

Question 71

Which of the following terms does NOT belong with the others?

A) speleothem
B) hydrothermal activity
C) hot spring
D) fumarole
E) geyser

Question 72

This word is from the Icelandic for "gush" or "rage."

A) geyser
B) mogote
C) tufa
D) sinter
E) superheated

Question 73

The "internal plumbing system" of hydrothermal landscapes is capable of heating water to temperatures above 100°C while the water remains in liquid form; this water is referred to as ________.

A) soil moisture
B) vaporized
C) superheated
D) crystallized
E) mineralized

Question 74

Just beneath the surface of Yellowstone National Park is a large ________.

A) karst cavern
B) aquifer
C) volcano
D) magma chamber
E) area of tower karst

Question 75

The presence of a hot spring on the surface means ________.

A) a volcano will soon erupt
B) underground water is virtually absent
C) heated rocks or magma are underneath
D) a volcano will erupt within 1,000 years
E) the end of Earth is drawing near

Question 76

Which of the following is a MASSIVE accumulation of calcium carbonate?

A) granite
B) tufa
C) sinter
D) travertine
E) carbonic acid

Question 77

All major geyser basins are similar in that they are covered with ________.

A) a salt glaze
B) mineral deposits
C) tufa layers
D) a thick sulfur layer
E) a gravel layer

Question 78

Geysers are best described as ________.

A) usually faithful in the timing of their eruptions
B) rarely disturbed by earthquakes
C) common over most of Earth's land surface
D) eruptions of steam and water
E) an integral part of karst landscapes

Question 79

A ________ is similar to a geyser except that it erupts no liquid water; it sends out only steam.

A) hot spring
B) fumarole
C) geyser
D) sinter
E) travertine

Question 80

A fumarole has ________.

A) liquid water as its principal product
B) many of the characteristics of a hot spring
C) a large amount of water involved in its functions
D) a direct connection to a cave
E) sandstone, usually, as its bedrock