Exam 17: Dry Regions: the Geology of Deserts

A(n)____________ is a wedge of sand and gravel deposited by the distributary channels that arise when an ephemeral stream reaches a plain at the base of a slope.

An arroyo is a steep-sided valley produced by ____________.

The highest recorded temperature on Earth was in a ____________.

Native Americans produced petroglyphs by etching into ____________.

Some of the physiographic features that cause extreme aridity may be found together within a single desert,but the deserts found in the western United States form primarily due to being located ____________.

Desert climate associated with a rain shadow is found ____________.

The Gobi of Mongolia is a desert primarily because it is located ____________.

A rock that has been abraded by windborne particles on multiple faces,forming a sharp edge in between,is termed a ____________.

Saltation of sand involves ____________.

In most deserts,the scarcity of rainfall means that most of the physical weathering and erosion is accomplished by the wind.

Desert varnish is a coating on aerially exposed desert rocks that is primarily composed of ____________.

During heavy rainstorms,rates of physical weathering and erosion are ____________.

Playas are places where you would expect to find abundant ____________ exposed at the surface.

At 30° North latitude,at the northern edge of tropical (Hadley)cell convection in the northern hemisphere,____________.

The Atacama of Chile is a desert primarily because it is located ____________.

The most expansive hot deserts on Earth occur ____________.

Deserts in coastal regions are most likely to be found where the currents are ____________.

A bajada is ____________.

To qualify as a desert,a region must be ____________.

The geometry of sand dunes is strongly influenced by ____________.