Chapter 19: Deserts And Winds

Also known as steppe, __________ climates are a type of dry climate that contain more water than arid climates.

Thick soil is not found in deserts because there are fewer plants than in more _______ climates.

A high rate of ________ is often characteristic of a climate with high temperatures and low humidity.

A desert has a drier climate than a _______.

Which of the following statements about deserts is true? a. Deserts are dominated by sand dunes. b. Wind is the most significant agent of erosion in desert regions. c. Deserts are always hot. d. Water is the most significant agent of erosion in deserts. e. Deserts are lifeless.

Which of the following statements characterizes ephemeral streams? a. Ephemeral streams flow only at certain times of the year. b. Ephemeral streams flow all the time in the desert. c. Ephemeral streams generally depend on groundwater in the desert to flow year round. d. Ephemeral streams don't have any life in them. e. Ephemeral streams are streams that flow through deserts, but have their origins outside of the desert.

Most of the erosion that took place during the "Dust Bowl" years of the 1930s in the Great Plains of North America was the result of which of the following processes?

In the desert environment, how are ventifacts created?

When desert pavement is produced in a desert, why do the larger particles accumulate on the surface?

What is the order, from most to least, of the amount of desertification among river basins in South America?

Which of the following countries is most affected by desertification? Sudan Iran South Sudan Oman Algeria

In which climate is desertification NOT currently occurring?

Which climate is most associated with salinization?

Salinization appears to be most closely located geographically to which other environmental issue?

Which Australian city is most at risk of encroaching desertification?

What country was responsible for the reduction in the size of the Aral Sea?

Where is the Aral Sea located?

Why has the size of the Aral Sea decreased?

How does the current state of the Aral Sea affect public health?

Why are farmers in the Aral Sea region primarily having trouble growing crops?

Wind erosion can cause __________, which can create shallow depressions called __________.

Deflation leads to the formation of desert pavement by __________.

What is the primary difference between the two desert pavement hypotheses?

Fine-grained surface sediments are eroded by wind during _______.

Wind can cause sand grains that are too heavy to remain suspended in the air to bounce or roll along the ground - a process called ________.

All forms of ________ remove materials from the landscape surface.

________ of sediment occurs when the wind carrying the sediments stops or slows such that it can no longer hold them.

Rocks are __________ when they are scratched by sediment particles moved by wind.

Which of the following is true about sand dunes? a. Dunes are stationary features. b. Dunes are erosional landforms, not depositional landforms. c. Dunes are more affected by water than wind. d. Dunes move over time. e. Dunes move as a single bodily mass.

What is the term for the rolling and bouncing of sand grains during transport?

The __________ of a dune is characterized by a decrease in energy and sand avalanches, which occur due to oversteepening.

What is cross bedding?

Cross-bedded sandstone shows inclined beds in a downward direction. What part of the ancient dune do these features represent?

What is meant by "dry"?

desert

steppe

subtropical desert

ephemeral streams

rainshadow

interior drainage

alluvial fan

bajada

playa lake

playa

inselbergs

bed load

saltation

suspended load

deflation

blowouts

desert pavement

abrasion

ventrifacts

yardangs

dunes

loess

barchan dunes

transverse dunes

longitudinal dunes

parabolic dunes

star dunes