Exam 18: Deserts and Winds

Wind transported bed load along the desert floor is called ________.

What is the cause of the Patagonian desert?

Barchanoid dunes form scalloped rows of sand oriented perpendicular to wind direction.

All of the following are formed by abrasion except for a ________.

Deserts between 30 and 45 degrees of latitude are more extensive in the southern hemisphere than in the northern hemisphere.

Rain shadow deserts occur mainly at middle latitudes.

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

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

Sand dunes cover more than 50 percent of most desert lands.

The tips of a barchan dune point downwind.

Wind is included along with gravity, water, and ice as an agent of erosion.In many national parks and other areas of natural beauty, statements are often made that credit wind as having sculpted the landscape.Briefly discuss the importance of wind as an agent of erosion and explain why such statements are probably geologically inaccurate.

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

The slip face of a barchan dune made of medium sand is steeper than the slip face of medium sand in a transverse dune.

Ventifacts are wind-abraded blowouts exceeding one kilometre in diameter.

A dry climate is one in which yearly precipitation is not as great as the potential loss of water by evaporation.

Compare and contrast sediment transportation by wind and by water.

Windblown loess, like sand, typically accumulates as mound-like dunes.

All of the following statements concerning dry lands are true except for?

What is the normal distance above a desert surface that is affected by saltation?

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