Deck 20: Coastal Processes and Terrain

Question 1

An island connected to the coastline by a sandy spit is a relatively rare occurrence called a ________.

A) baymouth bar
B) tombolo
C) fjord
D) hook
E) lagoon

Answer 1

B

Question 2

The most widespread of all coastal depositional features is ________.

A) the cliff
B) the bar
C) the beach
D) the spit
E) the tombolo

Answer 2

C

Question 3

The vertical distance from the still water level to the crest of a wave is called the ________.

A) trough
B) height
C) oscillation
D) swash
E) refraction

Answer 3

B

Question 4

Which of the following is most closely associated with fjords?

A) chemical erosion
B) longshore drift
C) coral
D) glaciers
E) none of the above

Question 5

Waves generated by wind are also known as ________.

A) waves of oscillation
B) waves of translation
C) trough waves
D) forced waves
E) backwash

Question 6

Tides

A) produce currents scouring the bottom.
B) are significant on large lakes.
C) are unpredictable in occurrence.
D) are of approximately equal amplitude on all seacoasts.
E) do not occur in estuaries.

Question 7

The oceanic tides rise and fall in a rhythmic cycle that takes place roughly once every ________ hours.

A) 4
B) 6
C) 12
D) 18
E) 24

Question 8

The single most important force in shaping coastal topography is (are) the ________.

A) waves
B) longshore current
C) tidal movement
D) ice push
E) stream outflow

Question 9

The most advanced stage of tropical reef formation is exhibited in ________.

A) a fringing reef
B) a barrier reef
C) an atoll
D) polyps
E) dolines

Question 10

Most waves are generated by ________.

A) tides
B) wind
C) seismic activity
D) coastal refraction
E) vulcanism

Question 11

The cascading forward motion of breaking waves as they rush upon the shore is called ________.

A) an oscillation wave
B) swash
C) backwash
D) wave refraction
E) a littoral current

Question 12

The main "ingredient" in the formation of coral is ________.

A) nitrogen
B) barnacles
C) plant roots
D) waves
E) calcium carbonate

Question 13

Beach sand moves along the shore in a movement of materials called ________.

A) barrier bar deposition
B) spit organization
C) beach drifting
D) tombolo genesis
E) karst solution

Question 14

________ are strings of closely spaced coral islets separated by narrow channels of water.

A) Polyps
B) Notches
C) Tombolos
D) Motus
E) Fjords

Question 15

A coast embayed with numerous estuaries is likely to be ________.

A) a shoreline of submergence
B) a shoreline of emergence
C) a compound shoreline
D) a natural shoreline
E) associated with littoral drift

Question 16

Seismic sea waves may also be referred to as ________.

A) tsunamis
B) breakers
C) waves of translation
D) forced waves
E) tombolos

Question 17

The phenomenon of waves changing direction as they approach the shoreline is known as ________.

A) submergence
B) eruption
C) magic
D) refraction
E) carbonation

Question 18

Global warming would cause

A) tectonic uplift.
B) inundation of coastal plains.
C) the seas to become less salty.
D) global eustatic fall of sea level.
E) the size of the world ocean to become slightly smaller.

Question 19

The combination of hydraulic pounding, abrasion, and other forces at the base of a sea cliff produces a(n) ________.

A) notch
B) doline
C) lagoon
D) spit
E) atoll

Question 20

The Great Barrier Reef is associated with ________.

A) Greenland
B) Australia
C) California
D) Florida
E) South Africa

Question 21

Which location does NOT possess a fjorded coastline?

A) Chile
B) Norway
C) Alaska
D) California
E) Greenland

Question 22

Most material eroded from a coastal cliff ends up as a ________.

A) terrace
B) notch
C) beach
D) spit
E) none of the above

Question 23

Only after ________ have attained large size, do they begin to migrate toward the shore.

A) tombolos
B) barrier islands
C) wave-cut cliffs
D) spits
E) none of the above

Question 24

Generally, ________ waves are gentle phenomena.

A) oscillation
B) translation
C) seismic sea
D) forced
E) breaker

Question 25

Concerning lakeshores, which of the following is FALSE?

A) Coral reefs can be present.
B) Tides significantly affect coastal landform development.
C) Lake levels tend to change with time.
D) Development is by the same forces as ocean shores.
E) Lakeshore landforms are less conspicuous than ocean shore landforms.

Question 26

Most atolls began as ________ around volcanic islands which later subsided beneath the sea.

A) fringing reefs
B) dolines
C) polyps
D) tombolos
E) none of the above

Question 27

The ________ is regularly covered and uncovered by the rise and fall of tides.

A) berm
B) offshore zone
C) beach
D) backshore zone
E) foreshore zone

Question 28

Most present atolls are on former ________ islands.

A) volcanic
B) granitic
C) karst
D) tombolo
E) barrier

Question 29

Concerning tsunamis, which of the following is FALSE?

A) They are associated with earthquakes.
B) They are very tall in the open sea.
C) They move rapidly.
D) They can devastate coastlines.
E) They have very long wavelengths.

Question 30

Almost all of the world's oceanic coastlines show evidence of ________ during the past 15,000 years.

A) submergence
B) emergence
C) long-term stability
D) isostasy
E) none of the above

Question 31

If you were floating in the middle of the ocean and a wave passed by, your motion would be ________.

A) in the direction of the wave
B) in the direction opposite to that of the wave
C) up and down
D) first in the direction of the wave and then in the direction opposite to that of the wave
E) none of the above

Question 32

Which of the following is most closely associated with waves of oscillation?

A) waves of perturbation
B) tsunamis
C) surface waves on deep water
D) backwash
E) swash

Question 33

The individual, sandy barrier islands, characteristic of the U.S. Atlantic and Gulf coasts, are as long as ________ kilometers.

A) 1
B) 10
C) 50
D) 500
E) 1,000

Question 34

Over time, most coastal lagoons become ________.

A) spits
B) marshes
C) tombolos
D) terraces
E) beaches

Question 35

A group of anthozoan animals is responsible for the formation of ________.

A) beaches
B) coral reefs
C) spits
D) bleached reefs
E) ria shorelines

Question 36

A ________ is a landform which almost always assumes a circular shape.

A) hook
B) tombolo
C) spit
D) atoll
E) none of the above

Question 37

A linear extension of sand from the shore into the ocean is a ________.

A) spit
B) lagoon
C) estuary
D) barrier island
E) none of the above

Question 38

Which of the following is a term associated with coral reefs?

A) barrier
B) fringing
C) atoll
D) motus
E) all of the above

Question 39

Which of the following is NOT a necessary condition needed for the growth of coral?

A) warm water
B) saltwater
C) the presence of tiny marine animals
D) shallow water
E) the presence of an underwater volcano

Question 40

Which of the following is a shaper of the oceanic coastlines?

A) long-term changes in the water level
B) tidal movements
C) waves
D) ice push
E) all of the above

Question 41

Which of the following is NOT a type of spit?

A) tombolo
B) baymouth bar
C) barrier island
D) hook
E) connecting bar

Question 42

Besides waves, ________ is (are) important to coastal erosion.

A) air forced into cracks in rocks
B) abrasion by water-carried materials
C) solution of rocks
D) crystallization of salts in rock crevices and pores
E) all of the above

Question 43

Some coastal landforms are built by sea creatures capable of producing rocklike material called ________.

A) polyps
B) clay
C) calcium carbonate
D) granite
E) sand

Question 44

Which of the following shoreline features does NOT belong with the others?

A) bench
B) lagoon
C) terrace
D) notch
E) cliff

Question 45

The force of ________, in conjunction with the wind, is the cause of most waves.

A) gravity
B) pressure
C) temperature
D) Coriolis effect
E) Friction

Question 46

As they travel on the open sea, tsunamis ________.

A) have very short wavelengths
B) can be as tall as 30 meters
C) become taller and taller
D) are inconspicuous
E) move at speeds of 5-10 kilometers per hour

Question 47

A ________ is attached to and built out from the shoreline.

A) fringing reef
B) atoll
C) barrier reef
D) coral reef
E) motu

Question 48

The most prominent result of coastal submergence is the ________.

A) drowning of river valleys
B) formation of barrier islands
C) creation of coral reefs
D) creation of cliffs
E) destruction of estuaries

Question 49

The largest storm waves stir the subsurface water down to the ________.

A) depth of tens of millimeters
B) depth of tens of meters
C) depth of tens of kilometers
D) bottom, however deep it is
E) depth at which the temperature goes below freezing

Question 50

Where are tides significant agents in coastal erosion?

A) on barrier islands
B) along shorelines of submergence
C) in narrow bays
D) on the ocean bottom
E) in all the above places

Question 51

A wave-cut platform closely resembles the letter ________.

A) L
B) T
C) V
D) U
E) C

Question 52

The distance between one wave crest and the next is known as the ________.

A) trough
B) amplitude
C) fetch
D) wave length
E) oscillation

Question 53

A wave will "break" because ________.

A) the bottom interferes with its oscillatory motion
B) the wind increases its speed near shorelines
C) the density of water increases closer to shore
D) the sediment load of water is greater near the shore
E) of random molecular motion in wave forms

Question 54

Which of the following is a zone of deposition of materials by waves?

A) backshore
B) offshore
C) dunes
D) foreshore
E) none of the above

Question 55

Waves become ________ when they travel beyond the influence of the wind that generates them.

A) higher
B) breakers
C) swell
D) forced
E) tsunamis

Question 56

Water moving roughly parallel to the shoreline is called ________.

A) stream outflow
B) swash
C) a longshore current
D) oblique waves
E) backwash

Question 57

________ are most closely associated with a change in the volume of ocean water.

A) Tectonic forces
B) Eustatic forces
C) Erosional forces
D) Tidal forces
E) Gravitational forces

Question 58

Which of the following categories of coastline is most closely associated with fjords?

A) emergence
B) submergence
C) convergence
D) coral
E) headland

Question 59

Which of the following is TRUE of tides?

A) They are upredictable for most all areas on Earth.
B) There is one cycle per day.
C) They have small effects on landforms.
D) Daily ranges cannot exceed 2 meters.
E) They are caused by Earth's rotation.

Question 60

In the last few thousand years, sea level changes have resulted from ________.

A) submergence of land masses
B) emergence of land masses
C) deglaciation
D) eustatic changes
E) all of the above

Question 61

Debris in seawater is usually carried ________ along the beach.

A) straight
B) in a zigzag path
C) obliquely
D) at a right angle
E) randomly

Question 62

In what time of year do beaches get smaller?

A) spring
B) summer
C) fall
D) winter
E) At no time; there is no seasonal pattern.

Question 63

Compared to today, sea level 125,0000 years ago (in an interglacial part of the Pleistocene) was ________.

A) lower
B) higher
C) about the same
D) lower by more than 100 meters
E) static (all the water was frozen)

Question 64

________ are the most prominent erosional features created by waves.

A) Beaches
B) Spits
C) Estuaries
D) Headlands
E) Barrier islands

Question 65

Which of the following is NOT associated with beaches?

A) gravel
B) cobbles
C) sand
D) clay
E) sediment

Question 66

Along coastal cliffs, the most effective erosion takes place ________.

A) 5-10 meters above sea level
B) 2 meters above sea level
C) at sea level
D) 2 meters below sea level
E) 5-10 meters below sea level

Question 67

Which of the following is NOT a beach area regularly covered by water?

A) the berm
B) the foreshore zone
C) the offshore zone
D) the sand
E) the mudflats

Question 68

________ is the longest barrier island along the coast of the United States.

A) Santa Catalina Island, California
B) Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts
C) Mt. Desert Island, Maine
D) Fire Island, New York
E) Padre Island, Texas

Question 69

The steepest beaches tend to be those with ________.

A) the saltiest waves
B) no significant waves
C) sand
D) particles larger than sand
E) shorelines facing the Equator

Question 70

Coastal landform modifications are sometimes caused by a localized increase in the volume of water. The modification process is called ________.

A) melting
B) ocean currents
C) stream outflow
D) ice push
E) wave action

Question 71

Stream outflow is important to coastal landscapes because streams provide ________ to the coastal environment.

A) chemically crucial fresh water
B) sediments
C) freshwater fish
D) additions to the volume of seawater
E) organic material

Question 72

Spray from breaking waves has been found to move at more than ________ miles an hour.

A) 0.7
B) 7
C) 70
D) 700
E) 7,000

Question 73

Which of the following is NOT associated with tides?

A) gravitational influence of the Moon
B) gravitational influence of the Sun
C) large amounts of erosion on most coasts
D) two tidal cycles per day on most coasts
E) greatest erosion along shallow coasts

Question 74

Which of the following coastline EFFECTS is best matched with a CAUSE?

A) sand transport : longshore currents
B) significant erosion : tides
C) beach sand : ocean bottom erosion
D) cliffs : shorelines of submergence
E) barrier islands : rising sea level

Question 75

A(n) ________ shoreline is one with numerous estuaries.

A) emergent
B) compound
C) ria
D) coral
E) atoll

Question 76

The most effective coastal erosion is accomplished by ________.

A) wind
B) abrasion
C) hydraulic pounding
D) compressed air
E) chemical action

Question 77

The origin of tsunamis is associated with ________.

A) tides
B) storms
C) undersea tectonic events
D) wind
E) pressure gradients

Question 78

The ________ is the area where waves break and surf action is greatest.

A) berm
B) offshore zone
C) beach
D) backshore zone
E) foreshore zone

Question 79

Coral is ________.

A) a plant
B) an animal
C) a cross between a plant and an animal
D) an igneous rock
E) waste material from animals

Question 80

Which of the following is most closely associated with the compression of air in coastline rocks?

A) abrasion
B) growth of salt crystals
C) hydraulic pounding
D) pneumatic action
E) coral reef formation