Gly Test 3 Practice Ch 19
- 1.Which one of the following statements is true?
- A.
Desert landscapes are monotonous, relatively flat areas covered to various depths with sand.
- B.
Deserts and dry lands are concentrated in areas of ascending air masses and relatively low atmospheric pressures.
- C.
Despite infrequent rainfalls, erosional and depositional features of running water are important in desert landscapes.
- D.
Rainshadow deserts occur where air masses descend after first having risen to cross a mountain range.
- 2.________ have rainfall amounts and soil moisture contents between those of true deserts and humid lands.
- A.
Tundras
- B.
Steppes
- C.
Sundras
- D.
Sabkhas
- 3.Most dry lands lie between ________ degrees north and south of the equator.
- A.
40 and 50
- B.
20 and 30
- C.
5 and 10
- D.
0 and 5
- 4.Which one of the following statements concerning rock weathering is true?
- A.
Warm temperatures and high soil moisture contents accelerate chemical weathering.
- B.
Low temperatures and high soil moisture contents accelerate chemical weathering but inhibit mechanical weathering.
- C.
Warm temperatures and low soil moisture contents both promote rapid rates of mechanical weathering.
- D.
Temperature has no effect on rock weathering.
- 5.A ________ is an intermittent stream channel in the dry land areas of the western United States.
- A.
Rivulet
- B.
Playa
- C.
Rill
- D.
Wash
- 6.________ refers to the "bouncing" mode of sand transport in a windstorm or stream.
- A.
Saltation
- B.
Ventifaction
- C.
Siltation
- D.
Deflation
- 7.Which one of the following will effectively limit further deflation in a given area?
- A.
Sea level
- B.
Desert pavement
- C.
A hanging valley
- D.
The repose level
- 8.Which one of the following statements is correct?
- A.
Alluvial fans typically rim desert valleys; playas form in the lowest, interior parts of the valleys.
- B.
Inselbergs are low, circular depressions on gently sloping pediments and bajadas.
- C.
Playas are typically covered with gravel-sized desert pavement and loess deposits.
- D.
Saline sediments and evaporites are common in inselbergs and pediments of desert landscapes.
- 9.In which area would surface water most effectively infiltrate into the local groundwater system?
- A.
A stream in a steep-sided, bedrock canyon in the mountains
- B.
Streams flowing in the numerous channels of an alluvial fan
- C.
A playa lake with a thick mud bottom
- D.
All of the above would promote infiltration.
- 10.Which of the following characteristics would suggest geologically recent, fault uplift of a desert mountain range?
- A.
Flat, upland surfaces, steep slopes and small alluvial fans
- B.
Extensive pediments and bajadas and small, deep playas
- C.
Inselbergs, extensive pediments and flat valley floors
- D.
Steep playas with extensive, bedrock alluvial fans and numerous sand dunes
- 11.How is desert pavement formed?
- A.
Deflation removes the coarse fragments leaving behind a layer of loess.
- B.
Alluvial fans are eroded to form inselbergs with rocky surfaces.
- C.
Groundwater in an alluvial fan evaporates, leaving behind a surface layer of hard-baked mud.
- D.
Runoff and deflation carry off the silt and clay, leaving coarser particles behind.
- 12.Which one of the following is determined by the angle of repose for dry sand?
- A.
Longitudinal dune gradient angle
- B.
Slope of an alluvial fan
- C.
A vertical cut bank in loess
- D.
Inclination angle of a dune slip face
- 13.Which one of the following statements about sand dunes is correct?
- A.
A dune migrates in the direction of inclination of the slip face.
- B.
The more gently sloping surface is the leeward slope of the dune.
- C.
Sand is blown up the slip face and rolls down the more gently sloping flank of the dune.
- D.
In a sand dune, the more gently inclined strata lie parallel to the slip face.
- 14.Deposition of glacial rock flour from blowing winds is responsible for ________.
- A.
Deflation ventifacts
- B.
Blowout pavement
- C.
Star steppes
- D.
Loess deposits
- 15.Which one of the following is the one best measure of the wetness or dryness of a region?
- A.
Total annual precipitation
- B.
Mean annual temperature
- C.
Difference between annual precipitation and evaporation potential
- D.
Percentage of precipitation that falls during the summer months
- 16.Which one of the following concerning desert lands is false?
- A.
Less than 30 percent is covered with dunes and drifting sand.
- B.
Wind erosion and deposition are important processes.
- C.
Running water has little effect on shaping the landscape.
- D.
Most desert areas are characterized by descending wind patterns.
- 17.Desertification has been particularly well documented over the past 50 years in ________.
- A.
The Empty Quarter of the Arabian Peninsula
- B.
The Sahel along the southern margin of the Sahara Desert
- C.
The Dust Bowl states of the Great Plains
- D.
The steppe lands of southern Russia, Ukraine, and Kazakhstan
- 18.Which of the following statements concerning dry lands is not true?
- A.
Precipitation totals are low; dew points are lower in the summer than winter.
- B.
Evaporation potential exceeds actual precipitation.
- C.
Storms are infrequent and rainfall amounts are highly variable.
- D.
Wind is the dominant agent of erosion and sediment transport.
- 19.How are sand grains transported by the wind?
- A.
High in the moving air column as suspended load
- B.
By saltation in the first few meters above the land surface
- C.
By deflation of abraded desert pavement
- D.
By being picked up in swirling dust clouds and carried to distant blowouts
- 20.Which of the following best describes the climatic factors that cause low latitude deserts like the Sahara in Africa?
- A.
Cool, dry air aloft is descending; surface winds are blowing toward the equator.
- B.
Warm, humid air aloft is descending; surface winds blow away from the equator.
- C.
Warm, humid air is rising; surface winds are calm.
- D.
Cool, dry air at the surface is rising causing winds to blow away from the equator.
- 21.How is desert pavement formed?
- A.
Deflation and sheet wash remove fine-sized materials leaving coarse, weathered, rock fragments concentrated at the surface.
- B.
Blowing wind removes fine-size soil particles; coarser particles abrades to sand size.
- C.
Running water deposits gravel and sand over the finer-sized soil particles.
- D.
Intense chemical weathering removes the sand- and silt-sized particles, leaving coarse rock debris covering the land surface.
- 22.Loess deposits in the central United States ________.
- A.
Blew in from the dry areas in the Great Plains and southwestern desert areas
- B.
Originated as rock flour in Pleistocene glacial streams and rivers
- C.
Accumulated from flooding of the Mississippi River
- D.
Were originally deposited as barchanoid dunes and later redeposited by glaciers
- 23.Assume that the central slip face of a barchan dune slopes downhill toward the east. What is the direction of the prevailing wind?
- A.
East to west
- B.
North to south
- C.
South to north
- D.
West to east
- 24.Desert and steppe lands cover about what percentage of Earth's land area?
- A.
10%
- B.
66%
- C.
30%
- D.
3%
- 25.Inselbergs are ________.
- A.
Insulated icebergs floating in a hot spring
- B.
Blowouts cut from bedrock in mountainous areas
- C.
Lithified rock formed by cementation of wind-deposited, dune sands
- D.
Bedrock hills in a highly eroded desert landscape
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