Gly Test 3 Practice Ch 19

35 Questions | Attempts: 61
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  • 1/35 Questions

    Desert and steppe lands cover about what percentage of Earth's land area?

    • 10%
    • 66%
    • 30%
    • 3%
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  • 2. 

    Most dry lands lie between ________ degrees north and south of the equator.

    • 40 and 50

    • 20 and 30

    • 5 and 10

    • 0 and 5

    Correct Answer
    A. 20 and 30
  • 3. 

    Assume that the central slip face of a barchan dune slopes downhill toward the east. What is the direction of the prevailing wind?

    • East to west

    • North to south

    • South to north

    • West to east

    Correct Answer
    A. West to east
  • 4. 

    ________ dunes are long, high, sand dunes parallel with the prevailing wind direction.

    • Transducinal

    • Longitudinal

    • Latitudinal

    • Transversal

    Correct Answer
    A. Longitudinal
  • 5. 

    ________ dunes result from persistent, onshore winds in certain coastal areas.

    • Diabolic

    • Barchanoid

    • Parabolic

    • Staroid

    Correct Answer
    A. Parabolic
  • 6. 

    ________ have rainfall amounts and soil moisture contents between those of true deserts and humid lands.

    • Tundras

    • Steppes

    • Sundras

    • Sabkhas

    Correct Answer
    A. Steppes
  • 7. 

    Which one of the following would probably not affect the size and depth of a blowout?

    • A rise in sea level

    • The near surface water table

    • Type and density of vegetation

    • Areas of desert pavement

    Correct Answer
    A. A rise in sea level
  • 8. 

    Rainshadow deserts are common in ________.

    • Vast, dry, steppe lands like the Great Plains

    • North central Africa

    • The dry valleys of eastern California and Nevada

    • Europe north of the Alps

    Correct Answer
    A. The dry valleys of eastern California and Nevada
  • 9. 

    Which one of the following is a low-latitude desert characterized by high atmospheric pressures and descending air masses (not rain shadow deserts).

    • Sahara Desert; northern Africa

    • Atacama Desert in Chile, South America

    • Gobi Desert, China and Mongolia

    • Desert valleys of the Great Basin, U.S.

    Correct Answer
    A. Sahara Desert; northern Africa
  • 10. 

    ________ refers to the "bouncing" mode of sand transport in a windstorm or stream.

    • Saltation

    • Ventifaction

    • Siltation

    • Deflation

    Correct Answer
    A. Saltation
  • 11. 

    Which one of the following concerning desert lands is false?

    • Less than 30 percent is covered with dunes and drifting sand.

    • Wind erosion and deposition are important processes.

    • Running water has little effect on shaping the landscape.

    • Most desert areas are characterized by descending wind patterns.

    Correct Answer
    A. Running water has little effect on shaping the landscape.
  • 12. 

    How are sand grains transported by the wind?

    • High in the moving air column as suspended load

    • By saltation in the first few meters above the land surface

    • By deflation of abraded desert pavement

    • By being picked up in swirling dust clouds and carried to distant blowouts

    Correct Answer
    A. By saltation in the first few meters above the land surface
  • 13. 

    A ________ is a crescent-shaped dune whose tips point downwind.

    • Parabarcal

    • Transverse

    • Barchan

    • Star

    Correct Answer
    A. Barchan
  • 14. 

    How is desert pavement formed?

    • Deflation and sheet wash remove fine-sized materials leaving coarse, weathered, rock fragments concentrated at the surface.

    • Blowing wind removes fine-size soil particles; coarser particles abrades to sand size.

    • Running water deposits gravel and sand over the finer-sized soil particles.

    • Intense chemical weathering removes the sand- and silt-sized particles, leaving coarse rock debris covering the land surface.

    Correct Answer
    A. Deflation and sheet wash remove fine-sized materials leaving coarse, weathered, rock fragments concentrated at the surface.
  • 15. 

    What mature, desert landscape feature consists of coalesced alluvial fans?

    • Balda

    • Bajada

    • Bahia

    • Baja

    Correct Answer
    A. Bajada
  • 16. 

    Which one of the following statements is correct?

    • Alluvial fans typically rim desert valleys; playas form in the lowest, interior parts of the valleys.

    • Inselbergs are low, circular depressions on gently sloping pediments and bajadas.

    • Playas are typically covered with gravel-sized desert pavement and loess deposits.

    • Saline sediments and evaporites are common in inselbergs and pediments of desert landscapes.

    Correct Answer
    A. Alluvial fans typically rim desert valleys; playas form in the lowest, interior parts of the valleys.
  • 17. 

    Which one of the following will effectively limit further deflation in a given area?

    • Sea level

    • Desert pavement

    • A hanging valley

    • The repose level

    Correct Answer
    A. Desert pavement
  • 18. 

    How is desert pavement formed?

    • Deflation removes the coarse fragments leaving behind a layer of loess.

    • Alluvial fans are eroded to form inselbergs with rocky surfaces.

    • Groundwater in an alluvial fan evaporates, leaving behind a surface layer of hard-baked mud.

    • Runoff and deflation carry off the silt and clay, leaving coarser particles behind.

    Correct Answer
    A. Runoff and deflation carry off the silt and clay, leaving coarser particles behind.
  • 19. 

    Which one of the following is the one best measure of the wetness or dryness of a region?

    • Total annual precipitation

    • Mean annual temperature

    • Difference between annual precipitation and evaporation potential

    • Percentage of precipitation that falls during the summer months

    Correct Answer
    A. Difference between annual precipitation and evaporation potential
  • 20. 

    A ________ is an intermittent stream channel in the dry land areas of the western United States.

    • Rivulet

    • Playa

    • Rill

    • Wash

    Correct Answer
    A. Wash
  • 21. 

    Which of the following characteristics would suggest geologically recent, fault uplift of a desert mountain range?

    • Flat, upland surfaces, steep slopes and small alluvial fans

    • Extensive pediments and bajadas and small, deep playas

    • Inselbergs, extensive pediments and flat valley floors

    • Steep playas with extensive, bedrock alluvial fans and numerous sand dunes

    Correct Answer
    A. Flat, upland surfaces, steep slopes and small alluvial fans
  • 22. 

    Which of the following best describes the climatic factors that cause low latitude deserts like the Sahara in Africa?

    • Cool, dry air aloft is descending; surface winds are blowing toward the equator.

    • Warm, humid air aloft is descending; surface winds blow away from the equator.

    • Warm, humid air is rising; surface winds are calm.

    • Cool, dry air at the surface is rising causing winds to blow away from the equator.

    Correct Answer
    A. Cool, dry air aloft is descending; surface winds are blowing toward the equator.
  • 23. 

    Which one of the following statements concerning rock weathering is true?

    • Warm temperatures and high soil moisture contents accelerate chemical weathering.

    • Low temperatures and high soil moisture contents accelerate chemical weathering but inhibit mechanical weathering.

    • Warm temperatures and low soil moisture contents both promote rapid rates of mechanical weathering.

    • Temperature has no effect on rock weathering.

    Correct Answer
    A. Warm temperatures and high soil moisture contents accelerate chemical weathering.
  • 24. 

    Loess deposits in the central United States ________.

    • Blew in from the dry areas in the Great Plains and southwestern desert areas

    • Originated as rock flour in Pleistocene glacial streams and rivers

    • Accumulated from flooding of the Mississippi River

    • Were originally deposited as barchanoid dunes and later redeposited by glaciers

    Correct Answer
    A. Originated as rock flour in Pleistocene glacial streams and rivers
  • 25. 

    ________ are both dry land, erosional features cut from bedrock.

    • Inselbergs and barcanoids

    • Pediments and playas

    • Bajadas and blowouts

    • Pediments and inselbergs

    Correct Answer
    A. Pediments and inselbergs
  • 26. 

    Desertification has been particularly well documented over the past 50 years in ________.

    • The Empty Quarter of the Arabian Peninsula

    • The Sahel along the southern margin of the Sahara Desert

    • The Dust Bowl states of the Great Plains

    • The steppe lands of southern Russia, Ukraine, and Kazakhstan

    Correct Answer
    A. The Sahel along the southern margin of the Sahara Desert
  • 27. 

    Which of the following statements concerning dry lands is not true?

    • Precipitation totals are low; dew points are lower in the summer than winter.

    • Evaporation potential exceeds actual precipitation.

    • Storms are infrequent and rainfall amounts are highly variable.

    • Wind is the dominant agent of erosion and sediment transport.

    Correct Answer
    A. Wind is the dominant agent of erosion and sediment transport.
  • 28. 

    During a typical sandstorm, saltating sand grains reach a maximum height of ________ above the land surface.

    • 1 inch

    • 2 meters

    • 10 centimeters

    • 40 feet

    Correct Answer
    A. 2 meters
  • 29. 

    In which area would surface water most effectively infiltrate into the local groundwater system?

    • A stream in a steep-sided, bedrock canyon in the mountains

    • Streams flowing in the numerous channels of an alluvial fan

    • A playa lake with a thick mud bottom

    • All of the above would promote infiltration.

    Correct Answer
    A. Streams flowing in the numerous channels of an alluvial fan
  • 30. 

    Deposition of glacial rock flour from blowing winds is responsible for ________.

    • Deflation ventifacts

    • Blowout pavement

    • Star steppes

    • Loess deposits

    Correct Answer
    A. Loess deposits
  • 31. 

    Which one of the following statements is true?

    • Desert landscapes are monotonous, relatively flat areas covered to various depths with sand.

    • Deserts and dry lands are concentrated in areas of ascending air masses and relatively low atmospheric pressures.

    • Despite infrequent rainfalls, erosional and depositional features of running water are important in desert landscapes.

    • Rainshadow deserts occur where air masses descend after first having risen to cross a mountain range.

    Correct Answer
    A. Despite infrequent rainfalls, erosional and depositional features of running water are important in desert landscapes.
  • 32. 

    Which one of the following is determined by the angle of repose for dry sand?

    • Longitudinal dune gradient angle

    • Slope of an alluvial fan

    • A vertical cut bank in loess

    • Inclination angle of a dune slip face

    Correct Answer
    A. Inclination angle of a dune slip face
  • 33. 

    A ________ is formed by abrasion of rocks by windblown sand.

    • Playa

    • Ventifact

    • Pediment

    • Desert pavement

    Correct Answer
    A. Ventifact
  • 34. 

    Which one of the following statements about sand dunes is correct?

    • A dune migrates in the direction of inclination of the slip face.

    • The more gently sloping surface is the leeward slope of the dune.

    • Sand is blown up the slip face and rolls down the more gently sloping flank of the dune.

    • In a sand dune, the more gently inclined strata lie parallel to the slip face.

    Correct Answer
    A. A dune migrates in the direction of inclination of the slip face.
  • 35. 

    Inselbergs are ________.

    • Insulated icebergs floating in a hot spring

    • Blowouts cut from bedrock in mountainous areas

    • Lithified rock formed by cementation of wind-deposited, dune sands

    • Bedrock hills in a highly eroded desert landscape

    Correct Answer
    A. Bedrock hills in a highly eroded desert landscape

Quiz Review Timeline (Updated): Mar 19, 2022 +

Our quizzes are rigorously reviewed, monitored and continuously updated by our expert board to maintain accuracy, relevance, and timeliness.

  • Current Version
  • Mar 19, 2022
    Quiz Edited by
    ProProfs Editorial Team
  • Apr 22, 2013
    Quiz Created by
    Elfernagomez
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