Deck 14: Groundwater

Question 1

What force pushes groundwater from pore to pore below the water table?

A)permeability steepness
B)seepage affluence actor
C)pressure gradient or hydraulic gradient
D)integrated saturation impulse

Answer 1

C

Question 2

Which one of the following is not a speleothem?

A)geyserite
B)stalactite
C)stalagmite
D)dripstone

Answer 2

A

Question 3

The term karst topography was first used in .

A)India near the southern foothills of the Himalayan Mountains
B)eastern Canada in areas of fractured igneous and metamorphic rocks
C)Australia for the extremely dry interior area near Ayres Rock and Alice Springs
D)the Republic of Slovenia, a province of the former Yugoslavia

Answer 3

D

Question 4

account(s)for the largest usage of groundwater in the United States.

A)Water for livestock and poultry
B)Agriculture and irrigation
C)Domestic and municipal supplies
D)Industrial uses

Question 5

An artesian well is one in which .

A)water rises above the top of the aquifer without any pumping
B)pressurized groundwater rises from a deep, unsaturated aquifer
C)the well is horizontal and the water table is perched
D)the water is warm, fairly saline, and recharged by an affluent stream

Question 6

An aquifer is .

A)an unsaturated, influent- flow bed or stratum below a spring
B)a saturated, porous, and permeable layer or stratum
C)the porous and permeable, saturated cone of depression in an aquitard
D)a layer or stratum in which groundwater flows downward to the water table

Question 7

would have the largest capacity to naturally remove sewage pollutants.

A)Fractured granite
B)Limestone with solution channels and caverns
C)Well- sorted, coarse gravel
D)Slightly clayey sand

Question 8

is the volume of voids or open space in a rock or unconsolidated material.

A)Permeability
B)Porosity
C)Space yield
D)Saturation index

Question 9

A stream is said to be a losing stream when _ .

A)the channel bottom is above the local water table
B)the local water table is above the channel bottom

Question 10

controls the ease (or difficulty)of groundwater transmission through a porous material.

A)Portability
B)Permeability
C)Permeosity
D)Potability

Question 11

Which of the following statements is TRUE concerning unconfined aquifers in urbanized coastal areas?

A)The water table must be 40 feet above sea level to keep the salty water in the aquifer below sea level.
B)Any salty water in the aquifer will rise if the water table is lowered by pumping.
C)Wells drilled below sea level will produce only saline water.
D)Pumping freshwater from one, large capacity well is much less likely to cause salty water to rise in the aquifer than pumping from several, widely spaced, smaller capacity wells.

Question 12

Which one of the following concerning artesian wells is NOT true?

A)The well penetrates an aquifer overlain by an aquitard.
B)The well penetrates an aquifer underlain by an impermeable bed.
C)When the well penetrates the aquifer, the water rises to the bottom of the aquitard above the aquifer.
D)The aquifer is generally inclined, and it is saturated to an elevation above the point where the well penetrates the aquifer.

Question 13

Which of the following geologic materials would have the highest groundwater velocities and be least effective in removing unwanted pollutants from the water?

A)unconsolidated medium- grained sand; sand grains are coated with clay minerals
B)limestone; numerous solution channels and fractures widened by dissolution
C)lakebeds; unconsolidated very fine- grained sand and silt
D)sandstone; well- cemented with a few, widely spaced vertical fractures

Question 14

The unsaturated zone .

A)lies above the water table
B)lies below the capillary fringe zone
C)is a well- oxygenated, shallow aquifer
D)pore spaces are filled with water

Question 15

A is the icicle- like speleothem that grows down from the roof of a cavern.

A)stalactite
B)slagdite
C)stalagmite
D)stalandite

Question 16

Which common, rock- forming mineral or mineral group is most readily dissolved by groundwater?

A)clay minerals
B)calcite
C)quartz
D)feldspars

Question 17

The water table is _.

A)an underground mass of partly saturated rock
B)a boundary between unsaturated bedrock below and saturated bedrock above
C)a boundary between unsaturated bedrock and an underground river
D)a boundary between saturated rock below and unsaturated rock above

Question 18

What is the relationship between drawdown and the cone of depression associated with a pumping well?

A)There is no relationship between drawdown and the cone of depression.
B)The drawdown is the percentage of available water in the aquifer that has already been used.
C)Drawdown is the distance between the original water table and the water level in the well.
D)The drawdown is the diameter of the cone of depression measured at the elevation of the original water table.

Question 19

are specific features of karst topography.

A)Streams flowing into depressions and continuing underground
B)Numerous artesian wells in a given area
C)Perennial, influent streams fed by large springs
D)Perched water table springs on hillsides

Question 20

After ice sheets and glaciers, contain(s)the next highest percentage of Earth's freshwater.

A)rocks and minerals
B)the atmosphere
C)lakes and rivers
D)groundwater

Question 21

Which of the following best describes how geysers erupt?

A)Water below the water table slowly boils in a vertical crack or natural conduit, causing a plume of condensed water vapor to rise above the vent.
B)Water suddenly boils in disconnected voids and cracks above the water table, causing the aquifer to explosively fragment.
C)With a slight reduction in pressure, water in a saturated, natural conduit suddenly boils, sending a plume of steam and hot water into the air above the vent.
D)Water slowly boils in a network of vertical cracks above the water table, sending up a plume of steam and hot water.

Question 22

A perched water table develops when .

A)an aquitard below the regional water table lies above a horizontal aquifer
B)an aquifer below the regional water table is underlain by a horizontal aquitard
C)a horizontal aquitard above the regional water table lies below an aquifer
D)an aquifer above the regional water table is overlain by a horizontal aquitard

Question 23

Excessive groundwater withdrawals can cause .

A)expansion of the dewatered aquifer
B)porosity in the aquifer increases as the water is removed
C)the water table drops or declines in elevation
D)an influent stream becomes an effluent stream

Question 24

An unconfined water table is the .

A)boundary between the saturated zone above and partly saturated zone below
B)boundary between the aerated and unsaturated zones
C)bottom boundary surface of the saturated zone above an aquitard
D)boundary between the aerated zone above and saturated zone below

Question 25

Which slender, conical speleothem grows from water dripping from the ceiling of a cavern?

Question 26

Where are the most extensive geothermal features in the world?

A)Iceland's Groundwater Preserve
B)Yellowstone National Park, United States
C)Yosemite National Park, United States
D)Geysers Artesian Park, Japan

Question 27

The hot spring deposits at Mammoth Hot Springs, Yellowstone National Park, are travertine. What rock probably lies somewhere beneath the hot springs?

A)shale
B)limestone
C)rhyolite
D)quartzite

Question 28

Which of the following can logically be concluded by speleothems/dripstone hanging from a cave roof?

A)The cave roof was above the water table when the speleothems formed.
B)The cave roof was below the water table when the speleothems formed.
C)The cave roof was below the water table sometime after the speleothems had formed.
D)The cave floor was above the water table and the roof was below the water table when the speleothems formed.

Question 29

A stream flowing into a sinkhole is called a(n).

Question 30

What property describes how readily groundwater will flow through a saturated porous material?

Question 31

In three words, describe the shape of the water table around a pumping well.

Question 32

Which one of the following concerning stalactites and stalagmites is NOT true?

A)Stalactites are deposited from water dripping from the ceiling of an aerated cavern.
B)Stalagmites form on the floors of caves below the water table.
C)Both are forms of dripstone; stalactites hang from the ceiling, stalagmites grow upward from the cavern floor.
D)Both are composed of calcium carbonate.

Question 33

A disappearing (sinking)creek is .

A)a small creek flowing downslope to the top of a perched water table
B)a creek that originates as a large spring flowing from a cave
C)an influent stream in a karst area
D)a stream that downcuts below the water table

Question 34

Which one of the following statements is TRUE for an artesian aquifer?

A)The water table in the recharge area is at a higher elevation than the top of the aquifer in the subsurface.
B)In deep, stream- cut valleys, many springs are fed from artesian aquifers.
C)Upward flow from a permeable aquitard is prevented by a confining aquifer.
D)The pressure at any point in the aquifer is considerably less than the weight of the water column between the point and the top of the aquifer.

Question 35

Highly impermeable layers such as compacted clay or shale are known as .

Question 36

are characteristics found in all good aquifers.

A)Low permeability and high potability
B)High porosity and high permeability
C)Low porosity and low permeability
D)High potability and high portability

Question 37

The is the upper boundary surface of the saturated zone.

Question 38

For unconfined aquifers, what hydrologic factor is approximated by the slope of the water table?

A)affluent decline
B)hydraulic gradient
C)porosity head
D)hydro competency

Question 39

Which term denotes the physical force that pushes water though a saturated porous material?

Question 40

What term describes a stream from which water is infiltrating downward to the water table?

Question 41

Dripstone and travertine are composed of _ .

Question 42

What hydrogeological condition describes a local zone of saturated soil or rock above the elevation of the regional water table?

Question 43

How would you recognize areas of karst topography on a topographic map without knowing the local bedrock geology? Also, what features of karst topography on a topographic map might be misinterpreted as some other geologic feature?

Question 44

What term describes a groundwater system in which water in a well rises above the top of the aquifer without use of a pump?

Question 45

When examining the geology of a region for potential aquifers, what characteristics or factors would you consider? Also, what areas (based on natural and human)factors would you avoid?

Question 46

What is the name of the localized lowering of the water table shown in the diagram below?

Question 47

A terrain exhibiting many distinctive features related to subsurface solution of limestone is known as .

Question 48

What feature originates where the water table intersects the land surface?

Question 49

A(n)is a circular to elliptical, closed depressions in karst areas.

Question 50

"The drinking water in our town is always cold, clear, and pure because it comes from an artesian well." Briefly discuss the geologic validity of this statement. Although this idea wasn't specifically discussed in chapter 14, give a possible reason or two as to why such statements are often made.

Question 51

What type of topography is illustrated in the diagram below?

Question 52

Which speleothem grows upward from the floor of a cavern?

Question 53

A hydrothermal vent that periodically or occasionally erupts a column of steam and hot water is called a(n).

Question 54

What term denotes the percentage of open space or voids in a material?