erosion

Question 1

a process in which the materials of Earth’s surface are loosened, dissolved, or worn away and transported from one place to another by a natural agent, such as wind, water, ice, or gravity

Answer 1

erosion

Question 2

the natural process by which atmospheric and environmental agents, such as wind, rain, and temperature changes, disintegrate and decompose rocks

Answer 2

weathering

Question 3

the continuous movement of water between the atmosphere, the land, and the oceans

Answer 3

water cycle

Question 4

the change of state from a liquid to a gas

Answer 4

evaporation

Question 5

the change of state from a gas to a liquid

Answer 5

condensation

Question 6

any form of water that falls to Earth’s surface from the clouds; includes rain, snow, sleet, and hail

Answer 6

precipitation

Question 7

process of a liquid slowly passing through a filter

Answer 7

percolation

Question 8

a process of a liquid slowly passing through a filter

Answer 8

runoff

Question 9

a stream that flows into a lake or into a larger stream

Answer 9

tributary

Question 10

the area of land that is drained by a river system

Answer 10

watershed

Question 11

when a Continent divides

Answer 11

continental divide

Question 12

the process in which material is laid down

Answer 12

deposition

Question 13

a fan-shaped mass of rock material deposited at the mouth of a stream; for example, deltas form where streams flow into the ocean at the edge of a continent

Answer 13

delta

Question 14

a fan-shaped mass of rock material deposited by a stream when the slope of the land decreases sharply; for example, alluvial fans form when streams flow from mountains to flat land

Answer 14

alluvial fan

Question 15

an area along a river that forms from sediments deposited when the river overflows its banks

Answer 15

floodplain

Question 16

the upper surface of underground water; the upper boundary of the zone of saturation

Answer 16

water table

Question 17

a facility where sewage is processed to reduce the organic and bacterial content

Answer 17

sewage treatment plants

Question 18

a tank that separates solid waste from liquids and that digests organic matter in the process

Answer 18

septic tank

Question 19

sea stack is a geological land form consisting of a steep and often vertical column

Answer 19

sea stacks

Question 20

a natural opening eroded out of a cliff face

Answer 20

sea arches

Question 21

cave formed primarily by the wave action of the sea

Answer 21

sea caves

Question 22

a gently sloping surface that is carved by wave erosion and that extends from the base of a cliff into the sea

Answer 22

wave-cut terraces

Question 23

a high and steep formation of rock that extends out from shore into the water

Answer 23

headlands

Question 24

an area of the shoreline that is made up of deposited sediment

Answer 24

beach

Question 25

a large mass of moving ice

Answer 25

glacier

Question 26

the rock material carried and deposited by glaciers

Answer 26

glacial drift

Question 27

unsorted rock material that is deposited directly by a melting glacier

Answer 27

till

Question 28

a glacial deposit that has been sorted and layered by the action of streams or melt water

Answer 28

stratified drift