Deck 11: Fresh Water: Streams, Lakes, Ground Water, and Wetlands

Question 1

If you visit Alaska and see small depressions where glacial ice was left behind in the last ice age, you would be looking at what specific lake feature? ____________________.

Answer 1

Kettle lake

Question 2

Humans use freshwater that accounts for what specific percentage of all of the water on Earth?

A) 97.5%
B) 1.8%
C) 1.0%
D) 0.64%

Answer 2

D

Question 3

Water evaporates directly from plants as they breathe in a process called ____________________.

Answer 3

transpiration

Question 4

The channels that split from the main stream feeding a delta or alluvial fan are called ____________________.

Question 5

The ____ of a stream is a measure of the largest particle it can carry.

A) capacity
B) gradient
C) discharge
D) competence

Question 6

____________________ is the portion of a stream's sediment load that is transported along its bottom.

Question 7

If runoff drains of a steep mountain and the stream flows onto the flat plain causing it to abruptly slow down, this would cause what specific stream feature to form? __________________

Question 8

If you see a stream in the desert that only flows during monsoon season, what specific type of stream are you observing? ____________________

Question 9

If you see a steep mountain stream near the continental divided that drops 50 meters or more per kilometer, you are looking at the ___________ of that stream.

Question 10

____________________ refers to the interconnectedness of pores within rock or soil, and the ability of the material to transmit a fluid.

Question 11

The outermost edge of a delta that is composed mostly of fine-grained muds is the ____.

A) prodelta
B) delta front
C) delta top
D) distributary channel

Question 12

If you are standing on the highest elevation point of a drainage basin, you would be standing on the __________.

A) flood plain
B) channel
C) drainage basin
D) drainage divide

Question 13

If you drill down in the Earth to a body of rock or soil that can yield economically significant quantities of water, what specific water resource have you utilized? ______________________

Question 14

If you wanted to obtain freshwater on Earth, what would be the most prolific source of available freshwater that is not ice? ____________________

Question 15

A stream's ____ is the volume of water flowing downstream over a given period of time.

A) sinuosity
B) gradient
C) discharge
D) capacity

Question 16

If you visit a drainage basin in the Rocky Mountains where runoff drains to either the Pacific or Atlantic Oceans, what location have you visited? _______________________

Question 17

If your house is built on limestone or above a cavern and the rock layers or roof of the cavern collapse, what specific karst feature has formed under your home?

Question 18

If you are a scuba diver and submerge into the depths of a lake, you will encounter a boundary where between the warm upper layers and the cold deeper layers of water in the lake, which is called the ____________________.

Question 19

If you were standing on the banks of a river where gravel had accumulated, what specific type of river feature would you be standing on? ___________________________

Question 20

Stream energy that is directed toward the stream's banks causes ____________________ erosion.

Question 21

What is not an environmental benefit caused by wetlands?

A) Wetlands mitigate flooding by absorbing excess water
B) Wetlands improve water quality by reducing pollutants
C) Wetlands provide sites for mining operations
D) Wetlands provide natural habitat for migratory birds

Question 22

Bed load and suspended load are instrumental in the downward erosion of a stream into its bed, which is called ____.

A) sinuousity
B) channel migration
C) lateral erosion
D) downcutting

Question 23

If you walk into a cavern and see water dripping on the same spot on the floor, this releases carbon dioxide and precipitates calcite to build what specific cave decoration? _______________

A) Stalactites
B) Stalagmites
C) Geysers
D) Sinkholes

Question 24

____ is the volume percentage of open spaces within a rock or soil.

A) Permeability
B) Porosity
C) Recharge
D) Turnover

Question 25

When surface water sinks and mixes with deep water allowing the water temperature to equalize in a lake, this causes a lake turnover that typically occurs in what season(s)? _______________

A) Spring only
B) Summer only
C) Spring and fall
D) Summer and winter

Question 26

Clay and silt are carried by a stream as ____.

A) dissolved load
B) suspended load
C) high-competence load
D) bed load

Question 27

Which specific rock type is an excellent aquitard? ________________

A) Fractured granite
B) Conglomerate
C) Quartz sandstone
D) Clay

Question 28

The water on the outside of the bend of a stream meander moves ____.

A) slower than the water on the inside
B) faster than the water on the inside
C) the same speed as the water on the inside
D) mostly upward in a process called upwelling

Question 29

If you visited a glaciated region where glaciers were melting, you would expect to see which type of stream? ______

A) Meandering stream
B) Graded stream
C) Braided stream
D) Oxbow lake

Question 30

If you went to fish on a river that flowed year-round, what specific type of stream would you be visiting?

A) Intermittent stream
B) Oligotrophic stream
C) Perennial stream
D) Eutrophic stream

Question 31

Engineers construct a wall that is built along the banks of a stream to prevent flooding and this wall is called a what? _________________

A) Point bar
B) Floodplain
C) Breakwater
D) Artificial levee

Question 32

If you visited Yellowstone National Park and encountered a feature that contained superheated water that suddenly flashed to steam erupting water at the surface, you would have observed what thermal feature? ___________________

A) Fumarole
B) Hot spring
C) Geyser
D) Mud pot

Question 33

What percent of fresh water on Earth would a hydrologist utilize for water resources for humans?

A) 50%
B) 25%
C) 5%
D) less than 1%

Question 34

The deepest level to which a stream can erode its bed is called ____.

A) base level
B) the water table
C) floodplain level
D) bankfull level

Question 35

Caverns form the dissolution of ___________________ because rainwater reacts with atmospheric carbon dioxide to become slightly acidic.

A) granite
B) limestone
C) igneous bedrock
D) conglomerate

Question 36

If fish on lake in your area is nutrient-poor lake, it would be low in biodiversity because it is what specific type of lake?  _________________

A) Oligotrophic
B) Minitrophic
C) Well-nourished
D) Eutrophic

Question 37

A(n) ____ forms when a meander loop is cut off and isolated from a stream.

A) crater lake
B) delta
C) kettle lake
D) oxbow lake

Question 38

If you were a geologist looking for petroleum reservoirs, what specific type of bedrock would you look for?

A) Clay
B) Quartz sandstone
C) Granite
D) Gneiss

Question 39

If you were hiking in an area that remained flooded or water-soaked for all or part of the year, what type of environment would you be hiking in? _______________

A) Springs
B) Geysers
C) Wetlands
D) Aquifers

Question 40

Most of Earth's freshwater (in liquid, frozen, or gas form) is contained in ____.

A) ice sheets and glaciers
B) groundwater
C) lakes
D) the atmosphere

Question 41

Artesian aquifers ____.

A) develop where the water table in the lower part of the aquifer is under pressure
B) develop in the unsaturated zone
C) are unconfined aquifers
D) are also called "springs"

Question 42

If you visited a wetland, you would expect to see plants such as cattails, bulrushes, and mangroves that are adapted to periodic flooding or water saturation.

Question 43

Superheated water beneath geysers constantly boils underground.

Question 44

A geologist would expect an unconfined aquifer to rise above the water table during extremely wet years.

Question 45

Explain how ocean currents help regulate Earth's climate.

Question 46

When a lake experiences turnover, nutrients are brought to surface from the bottom and this helps restore productivity in the lake.

Question 47

A hydrologist would expect a graded stream to have a smooth, concave-upward profile because there is no net erosion or deposition causing the stream profile to no longer change.

Question 48

Which is not a true statement about eutrophic lakes?

A) Has a high nutrient supply
B) Is generally very deep
C) Is also referred to as a well-nourished lake
D) Generally has high productivity

Question 49

If you dig into the saturated zone of an aquifer, your intent is to hit water.

Question 50

Sedimentary rocks are ____.

A) generally less porous than igneous rocks
B) generally more porous than igneous rocks
C) equally as porous as igneous rocks
D) less likely to serve as aquifers than igneous rocks are

Question 51

If you were paddling in a stream and it slowed down, the bed load would deposit into the river before the suspended load would.

Question 52

If you visited a cavern where water dripped from the ceiling, you would expect to see stalactites form on the ceilings of caverns.

Question 53

You would expect a stream to flow faster if it were straight rather than had numerous meanders or curves.

Question 54

Levees may solve flooding problems in the short term but they can cause larger and more destructive floods over the long term.

Question 55

Streams that flow in a meander pattern are common in low-gradient environments.

Question 56

Flooding is a natural part of delta evolution and all deltas will flood if sufficient discharge is supplied from the river that feeds it.

Question 57

Friction between flowing water and the stream channel slows current velocity.

Question 58

Explain why it is important for humans to conserve groundwater instead of over-discharging this resource.

Question 59

If a person utilizes a renewable energy resource by harnessing the heat from the Earth's interior or radioactive rocks that generate heat, what type of renewable energy have they used?

A) Hydropower
B) Nuclear energy
C) Solar energy
D) Geothermal energy

Question 60

V-shaped stream valleys are common in steep mountain environments.

Question 61

Explain how groundwater resources are being depleted and link that to human population growth.

Question 62

Explain why humans have filled, drained, mined, and turned wetlands into agricultural land over history and discuss why this practice was not a good environmental choice.

Question 63

Explain how a river with a higher gradient may not flow as fast as a river with high discharge and provide an example of each type.

Question 64

Explain the type of sediments that comprise braided streams and discuss the sources of these sediments.

Question 65

Explain how natural wetland loss can occur by both human and natural causes and discuss two ways humans contribute to natural wetland loss.

Question 66

Discuss how the building of dams have impacted coastal deposition.

Question 67

Explain how flood control mechanisms can impact humans over time.

Question 68

Explain how a stream's bed load contributes to down-cutting.

Question 69

Explain why a graded stream profile will not change.

Question 70

Explain how water from mountains at the Continental Divide reaches the Pacific and Atlantic Ocean.

Question 71

Explain how the flooding that occurred after Hurricane Katrina in 2004 is an example of complex interactions coupled with a natural disaster.

Question 72

Discuss which part of a sinuous stream would be a resource for future sand and gravel resources.

Question 73

Explain how alluvium contributes to the formation on new landforms and provide an example of a landform it makes.

Question 74

Explain what causes a lake to become a eutrophic lake, how this impacts biological productivity, and how that leads the end fate of a lake.

Question 75

Explain how the government is determining which specific lands should be allowed to flood once flood control mechanisms are abandoned.

Question 76

Explain how lake turnovers sustain biological productivity in a lake.

Question 77

Discuss why oligotrophic lakes are so blue and address its nutrient levels.

Question 78

Explain how most natural lakes were formed and provide an example of a natural lake.