Final Exam

Question 1

how steep a river’s slope is

Answer 1

Gradient

Question 2

how much water does a river hold

Answer 2

Discharge

Question 3

where a river meets the sea

Answer 3

Delta

Question 4

straight channels in a narrow valley or slot canyon slopes; prone to flash floods

Answer 4

Young river

Question 5

gently curved channels in wider floodplains; prone to ice-jam floods

Answer 5

Mature river

Question 6

extremely curved channels in very wide floodplains; prone to levee-burst floods

Answer 6

Old-age river

Question 7

made of loose mud that compacts and sink

Answer 7

Deltas

Question 8

piles of loose sand that wash away in hurricanes

Answer 8

Barrier islands

Question 9

Sun and Moon both pull tides higher at the same time

Answer 9

King tides

Question 10

caused by king tides

Answer 10

Sunny-day floods

Question 11

bulge of water created by hurricanes

Answer 11

Storm surges

Question 12

shock waves created by undersea earthquakes or landslides

Answer 12

Tsunami

Question 13

water vapor rises from the ocean

Answer 13

Evaporation

Question 14

wind moves through the atmosphere

Answer 14

Circulation

Question 15

water condenses and falls back to the ground

Answer 15

Precipitation

Question 16

water flows through rocks and soils back to rivers, lakes, and ocean

Answer 16

Groundwater flow

Question 17

tiny holes in rocks and soil where water flows

Answer 17

Pores

Question 18

rain soaks into the ground

Answer 18

Recharge

Question 19

groundwater comes out at the surface

Answer 19

Discharge

Question 20

how much empty space is present

Answer 20

Porosity

Question 21

how well are the pores connected to each other

Answer 21

Permeability

Question 22

any rock or sediment that can carry water (high permeability, high porosity)

Answer 22

Aquifer

Question 23

may store water, but can’t allow it to move (low permeability)

Answer 23

Aquiclude

Question 24

wet zone formed when groundwater flows out from a hillside

Answer 24

Seep

Question 25

groundwater focused in a fracture or bedding plane

Answer 25

Spring

Question 26

thin zone of wet rocks above the real water table

Answer 26

Perched water table

Question 27

water table is lowered by pumping from a water well

Answer 27

Cone of depression

Question 28

boundary between damp rocks (unsaturated zone) and wet rocks (saturated zone)

Answer 28

Water table

Question 29

area where the water table lies right at the ground surface

Answer 29

Wetland

Question 30

landscape formed by dissolution of limestone and other soluble rocks

Answer 30

Karst

Question 31

rivers that flow down into caves

Answer 31

Sinking streams

Question 32

collapsed cave

Answer 32

Sinkholes

Question 33

cold air sinks and dries out

Answer 33

High pressure

Question 34

warm air rises and water condenses out

Answer 34

Low pressure

Question 35

formed by global bands of high air pressure

Answer 35

Subtropical deserts

Question 36

cold, dry areas of high pressure at the poles

Answer 36

Polar deserts

Question 37

caused by mountains blocking rising air (orographic effect)

Answer 37

Rain-shadow deserts

Question 38

formed in the center of large continents or supercontinents

Answer 38

Interior deserts

Question 39

caused by cold ocean currents that create fog rather than rain

Answer 39

Coastal deserts

Question 40

sand-blasted rock formations

Answer 40

Ventifacts

Question 41

larger pebbles left behind as wind blows dust and sand away

Answer 41

Desert pavements

Question 42

dry thunderstorms that pick up sand and silt

Answer 42

Haboob

Question 43

a body of ice that flows downhill

Answer 43

Glaciers

Question 44

snow that has compacted and becomes solid

Answer 44

Firn

Question 45

snow piles up at the head (upper end) of a glacier

Answer 45

Accumulation

Question 46

ice melts and sediment drops out at the toe (lower end) of a glacier

Answer 46

Ablation

Question 47

glacier grows longer as climate cools

Answer 47

Advance

Question 48

glacier shrinks as climate warms

Answer 48

Retreat

Question 49

small ‘baby’ glacier in a mountain hollow

Answer 49

Cirque glacier

Question 50

river of ice flowing between mountains

Answer 50

Valley glacier

Question 51

blanket of ice over a mountain range, carving them into sharp ‘horns

Answer 51

Ice caps

Question 52

valley glaciers that reach a lake or ocean

Answer 52

Fjord glaciers

Question 53

spread out into an icy fan at the foot of mountains

Answer 53

Piedmont glaciers

Question 54

enormous blankets of ice that cover large parts of continents

Answer 54

Ice sheets

Question 55

ridge formed by glacial sediment

Answer 55

Moraine

Question 56

unsorted, messy sediment dropped by glaciers

Answer 56

Till

Question 57

any time when large ice sheets exist

Answer 57

Ice age

Question 58

shorter warm periods between glaciations

Answer 58

Interglacials

Question 59

times when ice sheets advance to cover wide areas

Answer 59

Glaciations

Question 60

changes in shape or angle of the Earth’s orbit

Answer 60

Orbital cycles

Question 61

lower levels of carbon dioxide cool the climate

Answer 61

Reverse greenhouse

Question 62

dust, ash, and smoke block sunlight

Answer 62

Global dimming

Question 63

the color of the ground surface either reflects or absorbs light energy

Answer 63

Albedo

Question 64

long-term average of weather

Answer 64

Climate

Question 65

warm and mild, no ice, high carbon dioxide levels

Answer 65

Greenhouse climate

Question 66

poles are cold, lots of ice, low carbon dioxide levels

Answer 66

Icehouse climate