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Physical Geography > Unit 5: 18, 19, 20 > Flashcards

Unit 5: 18, 19, 20 Flashcards

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1
Q

What is cross bedding?

A

when sedimentary rock layers become folded and bent

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2
Q

How is cross bedding formed?

A

geological shifting

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3
Q

Describe an erg desert

A

sea of sand – large area covered with loose sand generally arranged in some sort of dune formation by the wind

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4
Q

Describe a reg desert

A

stony deserts – desert is covered in a layer of stones, which can sometimes be very thin. the finer material being removed, the surface pebbles often fit closely together, sealing whatever material is below from further erosion

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5
Q

Describe a hamada desert

A

barren bedrock – exposed bedrock, but sometimes is composed of sedimentary material that has been cemented together by salts evaporated from groundwater.

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6
Q

Know the origin of loess

A

winds remove loess from glacial outwash plains

deflation of desert regions

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7
Q

What is loess’s economic importance to farmers?

A

Loess deposits provide fertile possibilities for agriculture, for they serve as parent material for some of the world’s most productive soils, especially for growing grain

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8
Q

What are some characteristics of barchan sand dunes?

A

individual dune migrates across a nonsandy surface, although they may be found in groups. crescent shaped, with the horns facing downwind. form where strong winds blow consistently from one direction

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9
Q

What are some characteristics of transverse sand dunes?

A

also crescent shaped, but less uniformly than barchans. occur where the supply of sand is much greater than that found in locations that have barchans; normally the entire landscape leading to the transverse-dune formation is sand covered. if the sand supply decreases, they are likely to break up into barchans

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10
Q

What are some characteristics of longitudinal sand dunes?

A

meager supply of sand
strong prevailing winds
parallel to wind direction

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11
Q

What are some characteristics of blow-out sand dunes?

A

coastal blowouts have strong persistent onshore winds

large supply of sand from beaches

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12
Q

Know how wind can change the character of deserts through the process of deflation.

A

shifting of loose particles

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13
Q

Be able to describe arid western landscapes

A

dry

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14
Q

Be able to describe humid eastern landscapes

A

humid

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15
Q

What is the particulate matter theory for ice ages

A

volcanic eruption
meteor impact in the Vredefort Dome, the oldest and largest clearly visible meteorite impact structure in the world – south africa

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16
Q

What is the CO2 fluxuations theory for ice ages

A

earth experiences warming period
plants spread poleward and total biomass greatly increases
greater absorption of CO2 due to greater amounts of photosynthesis occuring
lower temps bring on an ice age and much biomass reduction
reduced biomass allows for CO2 restoration to the atmosphere

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17
Q

What is the warming earth theory for ice ages

A

polar regions are far colder than necessary for snow to occur
if temps rise in the polar regions greater snowfall should occur
greater snowfall causes glaciers to spread outward from the polar regions
extensive glaciation lowers polar temps and reduces snowfall
glaciers now recede

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18
Q

What is the eccentricity of orbit theory for ice ages

A

angle of the tilt also varies with a 41000 year cycle
shape of the orbit varies over time - aphelion and perihelion
produces a complex series of cyclical changes in the seasonal patterns of intensity of solar radiation

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19
Q

How do you determine if depositional material has been deposited by a river (stratified)

A

stratified - material is sorted by larger materials at bottom

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20
Q

How do you determine if depositional material has been deposited by a glacier (unstratified)

A

unsatisfied - all mixed together sizes

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21
Q

how does a glacier form

A

snowflakes compressed under pressure until density is 90% of water

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22
Q

What causes a glacier to move?

A

gravity pulls it at a certain point, sometimes a lubricating layer of water on the bottom allows the entire mass to slide

23
Q

What is a mountain glaciation

A

limited to high elevations
results from surplus snow in high elevations
not necessarily dependent upon an ice age
more pronounced during ice ages

24
Q

What is a continetal glaciation

A

large geographical coverage
usually associated with major climatic change
has profound affect on landscape
occured during pleistocene

25
Q

What are eskers and how are they formed

A

These landforms are composed largely of glaciofluvial gravel and are thought to
have originate when streams flowing through tunnels in the interior of the ice sheet became choked off during a time in which the ice was neither flowing nor advancing.

26
Q

What are drumlins and how are they formed

A

a low elongated hill, they are much smaller than moraines but composed of
similarly unsorted till. The long axis of the drumlin is aligned parallel with the direction of ice
movement. The end of the drumlin facing the direction from which the ice came is blunt and
slightly steeper than the opposite end.

27
Q

What are kettle lakes and how are they formed

A

form when large blocks of ice left by a retreating glacier become surrounded
or even covered by glacial drifts; after the ice block melts, the morainal surface collapses,
leaving an irregular depression.

28
Q

What are kames and how are they formed

A

small, steep mounds or conical hills of stratified drift are found sporadically in
areas of ice-sheet deposition. Associated with melt water deposition in stagnant ice. They are
mounds of poorly sorted sand and gravel that probably formed within glacial fissures or between
the glacier and the land surface. Many seem to have been built as steep fans or deltas against the
edge of the ice that later collapsed partially when the ice melted.

29
Q

What are terminal moraines and how are they formed

A

a ridge of till that marks the outermost limit of glacial advance.

30
Q

What are recessional moraines and how are they formed

A

these ridges mark positions where the ice front was temporarily
stabilized during the final retreat of the glacier.

31
Q

What are perennial streams

A

contains water all year round

32
Q

What are intermittent streams

A

carries water only part of the year or after rain

33
Q

What are ephermeral streams

A

carries water ONLY during or after rain

34
Q

What are exotic streams

A

stream that flows into a dry region bringing water from somewhere else

35
Q

Know why lakes with internal drainage are often salty

A

when water evaporates it leaves behind salt and minerals

36
Q

What causes beaches to build up

A

waves bring in small amounts of sand

37
Q

What causes beaches to erode down

A

waves take a small amount back. mainly storms erode beaches

38
Q

Spits

A

sediment may be moved by long shore currents into deeper water, where the flow speed is slowed and the sediment is deposited. the growing bank of land guides the current farther into the deep water, where still more material is dropped. any such linear deposit attached to the land at one end and extending into open water in a down-current direction is called a spit.

39
Q

Hooks

A

spits curve toward mainland b/c of water patterns

40
Q

Bars

A

ridge of sand formed along a shore by the action of waves or current

41
Q

Cusps

A

shoreline formations made of various grades of sediment in an arc pattern, once one has been created it is SELF-SUSTAINING

42
Q

Stacks

A

needle shaped column resulting from the collapse of an arch

43
Q

Arches

A

hollowed out of a headland by the sea

44
Q

Dunes

A

act as a line of defense between tidal waters and land behind them. usually migrate inland due to wind

45
Q

Berms

A

flattish wave-deposited sediment platforms

46
Q

Backshore

A

upper part of the beach,

47
Q

Foreshore

A

permanently underwater, waves break and surface action is the greatest

48
Q

Barrier islands

A

long narrow sandbar build up in shallow offshore waters, can be far out at sea

49
Q

Lagoons

A

when and island isolates a body of water between itself and the mainland

50
Q

What are the components of a beach profile

A

dunes, backshore, high water-line, foreshore, offshore

51
Q

Be able to explain how atolls are formed

A

coral forms around a sinking island, lagoon is formed from island dropping, leaving the ring of coral

52
Q

Be able to delineate the approximate extent of glaciation in the U.S. during past ice ages

A

Mainly went down the Great Plains

53
Q

What is the predicted effect of polar ice cap and glacier melting on sea level?

A

it would increase

54
Q

How is the predicted effect of polar ice cap and glacier melting expected to effect world population?

A

it would decrease, killing people when sea level rises and limiting space for people to live by reducing land above sea level

Physical Geography (5 decks)

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