Ch. 27 Flashcards
The process that involves the physical or chemical breakdown of materials on Earth’s surface
Weathering
Mixture of weathered rock, organic matter, water, and air that is capable of supporting plant life
Soil
The removal of surface material through the process of weathering
Erosion
When erosional agents like water, ice, wind, and gravity move eroded materials from one place to another
Sediment Transport
Process when the erosional agents slow down or melts, it drops this sediment load
Deposition
The land area that gathers water for a major river is called a river’s
Drainage Basin
The movement of water parallel to the shoreline
Longshore Current
Do rocks weather at the same rate?
No, they do not weather at the same rate
What are the two main factors that determine how fast a rock will weather?
Rock Type and Landscape
What are the two types of weathering?
Mechanical and Chemical Weathering
What type of change happens with mechanical weathering?
Physical Changes
What type of change happens with chemical weathering?
Chemical Changes
What are the 3 specific types of mechanical weathering?
Frost Wedging, Biological Activity, and Collisions
What causes frost wedging?
Collected water in the cracks of a rock and then freezes
What is the cycle called during frost wedging?
Freeze-Thaw Cycle
What causes biological activity?
Plants and Animals
What causes weathering during collisions?
Rocks falling from a cliff or tumble through turbulent rivers, or rockslides
What is parent material?
The material soil is formed from
What are the 2 types of chemical weathering caused by?
Oxygen and Water
What is the chemical process that is caused by oxygen?
Oxidation
What is the chemical process called that is caused by water?
Hydrolysis
What are soil horizons?
All the different layers of soil
How many soil horizons are there?
6
True or False. All soils contain every soil horizon.
False
What are the specific soil horizons?
O, A, E, B, C, and R Horizon
What does the first soil horizon contain?
Organic material
What is the second horizon mostly made up of?
Mostly Minerals
Which layer does leaching occur?
E Horizon
Which horizon collects materials from previous horizons?
B Horizon
Which layer is partially weathered bedrock?
C Horizon
Which layer is unweathered bedrock?
R Horizon
Which soil horizons make up the topsoil?
O and A Horizons
Which soil horizons make up the subsoil?
E and B Subsoil
Which soil horizons make up the true soil?
O, A, E, and B Horizon
What is the difference between weathering and erosion?
Weathering is the breakdown of materials, and erosion is the removal of surface material
If the slope of river decreases, what happens to the speed of the river?
The river’s speed decreases
Small streams that flow into larger rivers are called _______?
Tributaries
Land area that gathers water for a major river is called a _________?
Drainage Basin
A boundary that separates distinct drainage basins is called a _______ _______?
Drainage Divide
As water flows downhill under the influence of gravity, water erodes Earth’s surface creating ________?
Channels
Young rivers are ________ due to the fast movement
V-Shaped
______ rivers are wide with smooth and gentle slopes
Mature
When rivers flood and drop their sediment load, which type of land form is created?
Flood Plains
What is a fan-shaped sediment deposit that forms at the mouth of a river?
Deltas
What are distributaries?
They are the branching channels within deltas
What landform forms where the mouth of a river, or stream enters dry land?
Alluvial Plains
What are the two types of glaciers?
Valley Glaciers and Continental Glaciers
Where do valley glaciers form?
High, Mountainous Regions
Where do continental glaciers form?
Colder Climates, and occupy large land areas
Where are the two continental glaciers located?
Greenland and Antarctica
What is a cirque?
Bowl Shaped Basin
What is an arete?
Long, Sharp Ridgeline between two Tributary Glaciers
What is a horn in a mountainous region?
Sharpened Peaks
What shape of valley do valley glaciers form?
U-Shaped Valleys
What are tributary glaciers?
Small glaciers that feed into a large glacier
What type of valleys do tributary glaciers form?
Hanging Valleys
Which side of the sand dune does erosion occur?
The Windward Side
Which side of the sand dune does deposition occur?
The Leeward Side
The removal of small particles by wind, leaving heavier particles behind
Deflation
When small particles are removed, the remaining surface is ______ _______
Desert Pavement
What three things, due to wind, do the shape and sizes of landforms, due to wind, depend on?
Wind Speed, Amount of Time the Wind Blows, and Sediment Supply
What are three landforms, that are shaped due to wave erosion?
Coastal Cliffs, Sea Arches, and Sea Stacks
What are two landforms that are created by wind deposition?
Sand Bars and Sand Spits
What are Sand Bars?
Landforms that are parallel to the shoreline
What are Sand Spits?
Similar to Sand Bars, but it curves back
What can cause Mass Wasting?
Snow, Heavy Rains, Earthquakes, or Human Activity
What are examples of Mass Wasting?
Rock Slides, Mudflows, and Landslides
The process by which water enters Earth and becomes groundwater below the surface
Infiltration
The upper boundary of the saturated zone
Water Table
A rock unit that can transfer water through its pore space
Aquifer
The percentage of the material’s total volume that is pore space
Porosity
The process of assigning an exact numerical age to an organism, an object, or an event
Absolute Dating
The process of placing objects or events in their proper order in time
Relative Dating
Principle that states that the laws of nature operate today as they have in the past
Uniformitarianism
Principle that states that in an undisturbed sequence of sedimentary rock layers, the youngest will be at top and the oldest rock will be at the bottom
Principle of Superposition
Gaps in the rocks record during which either erosion occurred or deposition was absent
Uncomformities
The remains of organisms found in the geologic rock record
Fossils
What percentage of water on Earth is salt water?
97%
What percentage of water on Earth is freshwater?
3%
Where is the majority of freshwater found?
Glaciers
Where is the smaller percentage of freshwater found?
Ground Water
What is precipitation?
When water vapor in the air cools and condenses (ex. rain, snow, sleet, or hail)
What is runoff?
Water running off the land surface
What is infiltration?
Where water enters the Earth’s surface, and can become groundwater below the surface
What is transpiration?
When plants releases water vapor into the atmosphere through their leaves
What is evaporation?
When water enters the atmosphere as water vapor
What is condensation?
When water vapor collides with other water vapor molecules to form water droplets
What is the water cycle?
When water on land, goes into atmosphere, and eventually returns into the land
What is an unsaturated zone for groundwater storage?
A porous area where water can easily pass through
What is a saturated zone for groundwater storage?
Area beneath the unsaturated zone, where water completely fills the pore space
What is a water table?
The upper boundary of the saturated zone
What does it mean if sediment is permeable?
The more permeable, the easier water can infiltrate through the ground
What is an aquifer?
A rock unit that can transfer water through its pore space
What is the name of the Great Plains Aquifer?
Ogallala Aquifer
How many states does the Great Plains Aquifer run through?
8
What are the names of the states that the Great Plains Aquifer runs through?
South Dakota, Wyoming, Nebraska, Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, and Texas
What is an aquitard?
A impermeable layer that confines water
How are water springs formed?
When the water table naturally meets Earth’s surface
What is an artesian well?
Wells drilled into pressurized aquifers, formed when an aquifer is sandwiched between aquitards
What is a cone of depression?
The direction that the water flows, down towards the well
