Test 4, Chapter 4

Question 1

A huge bowl-shaped depression dug out by a valley glacier is a(n)?

Answer 1

cirque

Question 2

What is a natural ridge formed along the edge of a river’s channel?

Answer 2

levee

Question 3

Which type of weathering involves the breaking or peeling away of rock into layers?

Answer 3

exfoliation

Question 4

A pillarlike structure of rock formed when the middle of a sea arch collapses is a

Answer 4

sea stack

Question 5

The feature formed by streams merging and flowing toward the sea as a large river is a

Answer 5

river system

Question 6

What is produced when a sea cave is eroded continually?

Answer 6

sea arch

Question 7

Large, deep grooves and scratches in rock, produced by glaciers, are?

Answer 7

striae

Question 8

The piles of debris left behind when a glacier melts are

Answer 8

moraines

Question 9

A low hill formed when a glacier overruns a moraine is a?

Answer 9

drumlin

Question 10

Deposits of clay and silt left by a sandstorm are

Answer 10

loess

Question 11

What type of weathering occurs when rainwater soaks into cracks in a rock and freezes, splitting the rock?

Answer 11

ice wedging

Question 12

When a glacier-carved valley fills with seawater, a(n) ____ forms.

Answer 12

fjord

Question 13

Which natural acid, found in rainwater and ground water, promotes chemical weathering of rocks?

Answer 13

carbonic acid

Question 14

The most important effect of wind erosion is

Answer 14

deflation

Question 15

Regions of the earth’s surface where limestone is exposed and abundant are called ____ regions

Answer 15

karst

Question 16

Ice sheets smaller than continental glaciers are

Answer 16

ice caps!

Question 17

A long pile of rocks deposited parallel to the shore to prevent erosion is a(n)

Answer 17

breakwater

Question 18

The sharp, steeple-shaped point of a mountain with three or more cirques is a(n)

Answer 18

horn

Question 19

A large, funnel-shaped depression in the ground caused by cavern collapse is a(n)

Answer 19

sinkhole

Question 20

Narrow, sandy islands that lie off the coast of the mainland are called ____

Answer 20

barrier islands

Question 21

The eroding action of windblown sand is called?

Answer 21

abrasion

Question 22

Suspension, saltation, and creep, in which wind transports sediments, are ___ processes.

Answer 22

aeolian

Question 23

The natural processes that break down rocks are collectively called ______

Answer 23

weathering

Question 24

A spirelike mass of dripstone on the floor of a cave is called a ______

Answer 24

stalagmite

Question 25

The method of erosion prevention that modifies a smooth slope into a series of level, stairlike steps is ________

Answer 25

terracing

Question 26

The carrying away of rock fragments, such as by wind or running water, is called ____

Answer 26

erosion

Question 27

The type of rock most commonly associated with caverns is _____

Answer 27

limestone

Question 28

Particles too heavy to be lifted by the wind are rolled in short bursts through a process called _____

Answer 28

creep

Question 29

the source of a river

Answer 29

headwaters

Question 30

the sediments carried by a stream

Answer 30

load

Question 31

one of the numerous streams that feed into a river at various points

Answer 31

tributary

Question 32

land that borders a river and is covered by river water in flood time

Answer 32

floodplain

Question 33

a winding, looping curve in a river on flat ground

Answer 33

meander

Question 34

lake formed when a sharp curve in a river is cut off from the rest of the river

Answer 34

oxbow lake

Question 35

fan-shaped deposit of sediments at the mouth of the river

Answer 35

delta

Question 36

region of land drained by a stream or river system

Answer 36

drainage basin

Question 37

a large stream that carries water from the mountains to the sea

Answer 37

river

Question 38

fan-shaped deposit of sediments at the mouth of a dry steam bed in the desert

Answer 38

alluvial fan

Question 39

What are two general types of weathering?

Answer 39

chemical weathering, physical weathering

Question 40

What are the two major types of glaciers?

Answer 40

continental glacier, valley (or alpine) glacier

Question 41

Name the deep cracks that develop on the surface of a glacier

Answer 41

crevasses

Question 42

What are limestone formations that have become filled with various passageways and large caves called?

Answer 42

caverns

Question 43

What is the main agent of chemical weathering?

Answer 43

water

Question 44

What is a vertical face of rock called that forms when the sea erodes land?

Answer 44

sea cliff

Question 45

List and describe three of the five major types of mass wasting.

Answer 45

• Soil creep is a very slow (few inches of movement or less per year) downslope movement of soil and rock fragments; it can be caused by soil expansion and contraction due to changes in heat and moisture or by the actions of plants and animals.
• Mudflows, the most fluid and fastest type of mass wasting, are rapid movements of loose, water-saturated soil.
• An avalanche occurs when a mass of ice and snow abruptly dislodges from a mountain face, usually as the result of a sharp noise or other disturbance. An avalanche may also involve rock fragments or vegetation.
• A landslide occurs when huge masses of rock or soil suddenly slide down a slope.
• Rockfalls occur when individual rock fragments break off the sides of a steep cliff after exposure to gradual weathering such as exfoliation.