Running Water

24 July 2022
4.7 (114 reviews)
54 test answers

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question
Which of the following locations contains the most water in Earth's hydrosphere aside from the oceans?
answer
glaciers
question
Which of the following conditions is associated with high infiltration rates?
answer
abundant vegetation permeable soil gentle slopes
question
When considering the movement of water on Earth within the hydrologic cycle, which of the following choices is responsible for driving this process?
answer
The hydrologic cycle works because water exists on Earth in solid, liquid, and gaseous states.
question
Water in the hydrologic cycle readily moves from the land to the oceans through several pathways. How does the vast majority of water get from the ocean to the land surface?
answer
clouds and precipitation
question
The term used by geologists for all water flowing in a channel is _____.
answer
stream
question
Which of the following choices does not directly affect stream velocity?
answer
location of the drainage divide
question
The amount of meandering that occurs in a stream influences the gradient in which of the following ways?
answer
With more meanders, the stream gradient decreases.
question
What type of drainage pattern would you expect to find developing on rocks that have been folded and exposed by differential erosion over time?
answer
a trellis drainage pattern
question
While working on a stream in your field study area, you find that the channel width is 20 meters, the channel depth is 2 meters, and the velocity is 1.2 meters/second. What is the discharge of this stream?
answer
48 m3/s
question
Which part of the stream system has the highest average flow velocity?
answer
near the mouth of the stream
question
Most streams transport the greatest amount of sediment as part of the _____ load.
answer
suspended
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For a meandering stream, the majority of erosion occurs _____.
answer
at the outside of a bend
question
Which of the following features would you expect to find on the outside bank of a stream meander loop?
answer
a cut bank
question
When the local gradient of a stream changes as it goes from a mountainous area to a large flat-lying area, which of the following features could form?
answer
an alluvial fan
question
Stream terraces form as the result of which of the following processes?
answer
Downcutting following the rise of the landscape produces stream terraces.
question
While working in the field, you come upon a stream that flows in a very deep V-shaped valley. Regarding the history of this stream, which of the following statements is most likely true?
answer
the stream is relatively young
question
In a delta, sedimentary layers deposited under circumstances that appear to violate the Principle of Original Horizontality are found in which of the following circumstances?
answer
foreset beds
question
The most common type of drainage pattern is _____.
answer
dendritic
question
What is a floodplain?
answer
a flat surface next to a river channel
question
What is a natural levee?
answer
a ridge of flood deposits next to a river channel
question
How does the formation of a natural levee impact flooding?
answer
Natural levees raise the height of the stream channel, reducing the amount of flooding that will occur on the floodplain.
question
What type of stream is associated with the formation of an oxbow lake?
answer
meandering stream
question
What is the dominant fluvial process in a clear, sediment-poor stream moving down a steep slope?
answer
downcutting
question
Which processes result in the widening of the floodplain of a meandering stream?
answer
undercutting and lateral erosion
question
Where do deposition and erosion of material occur along a meander?
answer
Deposition occurs on the inside of the meander, whereas erosion occurs on the outside.
question
What is an oxbow lake?
answer
a meander that has been cut off from the original stream channel
question
How are oxbow lakes formed?
answer
Oxbow lakes form when one meander erodes into another, cutting off water to part of the stream channel.
question
What is a meander scar?
answer
a landscape feature formed after an oxbow lake dries up
question
Which of the following is the correct definition of stream gradient?
answer
the drop in elevation of a stream divided by the distance the water travels
question
________ describes the total sediment load transported by a stream.
answer
capacity
question
At the head of a delta, the major channel splits into smaller channels that follow different paths to the sea. These smaller channels are known as ________.
answer
distributaries
question
A ________ stream pattern develops on lands underlain by tilted or folded, alternating hard and soft, sedimentary strata.
answer
trellis
question
________ are components of the hydrologic cycle that release water vapor directly to the atmosphere.
answer
Evaporation and transpiration
question
A ________ drainage pattern is common in the Appalachian Valley and Ridge Province.
answer
trellis
question
A stream begins at an elevation of 200 meters and flows a distance of 400 kilometers to the ocean? What is the average gradient?
answer
0.5 m/km
question
What term generally refers to the highest percentage of the annual sediment load moved by a stream?
answer
suspended load
question
What type of stream pattern develops only on growing mountains like volcanoes or where the land surface is tectonically doming upward?
answer
Radial
question
Which one of the following best describes how urbanization affects small-stream watersheds?
answer
Infiltration decreases; lag time between storms and peak runoff shortens.
question
Which of the following must result in a lower base level for rivers and streams?
answer
Sea level falls or land rises
question
What type of drainage pattern generally develops in areas underlain by tilted or folded strata, where tributary streams flow along outcrop areas of soft strata?
answer
Trellis
question
Which one of the following statements is correct?
answer
Sea level drops when water is stored in expanding ice sheets and continental glaciers.
question
Where is erosion concentrated along a meandering stream?
answer
On the outer parts of the meander loops or bends
question
How does urbanization (paving, etc.) affect runoff and infiltration in a small, previously forested drainage basin?
answer
Infiltration decreases; runoff increases.
question
What is the term for the drop in water surface elevation divided by the distance the water flows?
answer
Stream
question
A dam and a reservoir are constructed on a graded river. What will happen?
answer
Deposition upstream from the dam; channel downcutting below
question
What term describes the particle transport mode that is intermediate between suspension and rolling along the bottom of streams? This process also moves sand grains in a sand dune.
answer
Saltation
question
What are the primary sizes of grains that make up the suspended loads of most rivers and streams?
answer
Silt and clay-sized detrital grains
question
Which of the following was the cause of the extraordinarily severe flooding on the Mississippi River and its tributaries in 1993?
answer
The upper basin of the Mississippi sustained very heavy rainfall in the late spring and early summer
question
What fills an abandoned cutoff or meander loop?
answer
An oxbow lake
question
At the head of a delta, the major channel splits into smaller channels that follow different paths to the sea. What is the name applied to these smaller channels?
answer
Distributaries
question
Which of the following is the correct definition of stream gradient?
answer
The drop in elevation of a stream divided by the distance the water travels
question
Which of the following features characterize wide streams and valleys?
answer
Natural levees; broad floodplains
question
Which one of the following rivers has the largest water discharge of any in the world?
answer
Amazon
question
Many large rivers in the Colorado Plateau region meander in deep, narrow canyons and have no floodplains. How could this have happened?
answer
Original old-age streams downcut as the land gradually rose.