Chapter 27 Flashcards
The process that involves the physical and chemical breakdown of materials on Earth’s surface.
Weathering
A 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
As rocks weather erosional agents like water, ice, wind, and gravity move eroded materials from one place to another in this process.
Sediment transport
When the erosional agent allows down (in the case of water, wind, or gravity) or melts (in the case of glaciers), it drops this sediment load in this process.
Deposition
The land area that gathers water for a major river is called a river’s ________________.
Drainage basins
The movement of water parallel to the shoreline is called a what?
Longshore current
Do rocks weather at the same rate?
No, it depends on rock type and landscape
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 types 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?
When water collect in the cracks rocks and then freezes
What is the cycle called during frost wedging?
Freeze-thaw cycles
What causes biological weathering?
Plant and animal activity
What causes weathering during collisions?
When rocks fall from a cliff or tumble through turbulent rivers
What are the 2 types of chemical weathering caused by?
Oxygen and water
What is chemical process called that is caused by oxygen?
Oxidation
What is the chemical process called that is caused by water?
Hydrolosis
What is parent material?
The material from which soil forms
What are soil horizons?
The different layers of soil
How many soil horizons are there?
There are 6
True or false: All soils contain soil horizon.
False
What are the specific soil horizons?
O, A, E, B, C, and R
What does the first soil horizon contain?
Organic material
What is the second horizon mostly made up of?
Minerals
Which layer does leaching occur?
Horizon E
Which horizon collects materials from previous horizons?
Horizon B
Which layer is partially weathered bedrock?
Horizon C
Which soil horizons make up the TOPSOIL?
Horizons O and A
Which soil horizons make up the SUBSOIL?
Horizons E and B
Which soil horizons make up the TRUE SOIL?
O, A, E, and B
Which layer is unweathered bedrock?
Horizon R
What is the difference between weathering and erosion?
Weathering is the BREAKDOWN of materials on Earth’s surface, while erosion is the REMOVAL of surface material.
If the slope of river decreases, what will happen to the river’s speed?
It will decrease.
Small streams that flow into larger rivers are called what?
Tributaries
Land area that gathers water for a major river is called a what?
Drainage basin
A boundary that separates distinct drainage basins is called a what?
Drainage divide
As water flows downhill under the influence of gravity, water erodes earth’s surface creating what?
Channels
Young rivers are _________ due to the fast movement.
V-shaped
Mature rivers are _____ with ________ and _______ slopes
wide, smooth, gentle
What landform is created when rivers flood and drop their sediment load?
Flood plains
What is a fan-shaped sediment deposit that forms at the mouth of a river called?
Deltas
What are distributaries?
Branching channels created by deltas
What is formed where a mouth of a river or stream enters a dry land?
Alluvial fans
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 cirque?
Bowl shaped basin
What is an arete?
Long sharp ridgeline between valley 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 the large glaciers
What type of valleys do tributary glaciers form?
They create hanging valleys
On which side of a sand dune does erosion occur on?
The windward side
On which side of a sand dune does deposition occur?
The leeward side
What is deflation?
The removal of small particles by wind
What is desert pavement?
All the small particles are removed, which leaves a hard surface remaining
The shape and size of landforms being eroded by wind depends on what?
Wind speed, amount of time the wind blows, and sediment supply
What are 3 landforms created by wave erosion?
Coastal cliffs, sea stacks, and sea arches
What are two examples of wave deposition
Sand bars and sand spits
What are some things that can cause mass wasting?
Snow, heavy rain, earthquakes, or human activity
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
States that the laws of nature operate today as they have in the past.
Uniformitarianism
States that in an undisturbed sequence of sedimentary rock layers, the youngest rocks will be at the top and the oldest rocks will be at the bottom.
Principle of superposition
The gaps in the rock record during which either erosion occurred or deposition was absent.
Unconformities
The remains or traces of organisms found in the geologic rock record.
Fossil
What percentage if water on Earth is salt water?
97%
What percentage of water on Earth is freshwater?
3%
Where is the majority of freshwater found?
2% is found in glaciers
Where is the smaller percentage of freshwater found?
1% is found in lakes, rivers, and stored as ground water
What is precipitation?
Rain, snow, sleet, and hail are some examples
What is runoff?
When water runs off the land surface
What is infiltration?
When water enters Earth and becomes groundwater
What is transpiration?
When plants release water vapor into the atmosphere through their leaves
What is evaporation?
When water enters the atmosphere at water vapor
What is condensation?
When water vapor collides with other water vapor to form water droplets
What is the water cycle?
When water on the land evaporates into the atmosphere and then precipitates, and the process repeats
What is an unsaturated zone for groundwater storage?
A porous area where water easily passes through
What is a saturated zone for groundwater storage?
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 sediment is, the easier water can infiltrate (pass) 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?
The Ogallala Aquifer
How many states does the Great Plains Aquifer run through?
It runs through 8 states
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?
It keeps water confined
How are water springs formed?
Where a water table naturally meets Earth’s surface
What is an artesian wall?
When a well is drilled into pressurized aquifers
What is a cone of depression?
The direction where the water flows toward the well
