Deck 14: Extreme Realms: Desert and Glacial Landscapes

Question 1

Physical weathering produces piles of broken rocks called

A)inselbergs.
B)arroyos.
C)caliche.
D)talus.

Answer 1

D

Question 2

Piles of sand that form simple, wavelike shapes are called __________ dunes.

A)barchans
B)transverse
C)star
D)parabolic

Answer 2

B

Question 3

Chimneys (also called hoodoos) and yardangs differ in that chimneys are __________ , whereas yardangs are __________ .

A)formed by evaporation; formed by water erosion
B)formed by water erosion; formed by evaporation
C)fossilized trunks of saguaro and other large cactus; not
D)remnants of cliff retreat; remnants of wind erosion

Answer 3

D

Question 4

Wind erosion can create a faceted rock known as a __________ as shown in the figure below.

A)ventifact
B)lag deposit
C)yardang
D)wadi

Question 5

When fine-grained sediment is blown away as shown in the figure below, the coarser sediment left behind is known as

A)a sabkha.
B)ventifacts.
C)a lag deposit.
D)talus.

Question 6

The deserts found in the western United States are primarily the result of being located

A)in the subtropics.
B)within rain-shadows of mountains.
C)near the center of a large continent.
D)next to a cold ocean current.

Question 7

Mesas, buttes, and chimneys are all the result of

A)cliff retreat.
B)wind erosion.
C)chemical weathering.
D)deposition.

Question 8

Why is chemical weathering relatively rare in deserts?

A)Chemical weathering requires much colder temperatures than are seen in deserts.
B)Physical weathering occurs only in hot regions; thus it is more prevalent in deserts.
C)Chemical weathering only occurs in the presence of salt water from the ocean.
D)Chemical weathering most often involves reaction with water, which is rare in deserts.

Question 9

Which of the following is an example of wind erosion?

A)a large boulder sitting on the side of a dry streambed
B)large piles of sand that move across the desert floor
C)a fan-shaped pile of sediment at the mouth of a canyon
D)deeply eroded arroyos that cover the desert floor

Question 10

Most of the erosion in desert environments is caused by

A)wind.
B)surface water.
C)groundwater.
D)salt wedging.

Question 11

Desert varnish consists of

A)pesticides and other pollutant residues.
B)iron and magnesium sulfides.
C)dust deposits affected by microorganisms.
D)carbonate cements with iron impurities (e.g., siderite).

Question 12

Deserts do not need to be in hot regions; they only need to be __________ . For example, deserts can form in cold, dry, __________ regions.

A)dry; tropical
B)humid; polar
C)arid; polar
D)humid; subtropical

Question 13

The image below is of a __________ dune.

A)transverse
B)star
C)longitudinal
D)parabolic

Question 14

Compared with humid climates, the rates of chemical weathering in deserts are

A)much faster.
B)much slower.
C)very similar.
D)too variable to understand.

Question 15

Why do deserts form in polar regions?

A)Increased albedo prevents evaporation.
B)There is no vegetation to release CO2.
C)There are no sources of water to evaporate.
D)Cold air does not hold much moisture.

Question 16

Imagine a flat, thick layer of rock salt in an outcrop. What can be determined about the sedimentary environment in which it was formed?

A)It was an ocean.
B)It was a beach.
C)It was humid.
D)It was arid.

Question 17

What type of deserts form on the leeward (dry) side of mountain ranges?

A)tropical
B)rain-shadow
C)coastal
D)subtropical

Question 18

A desert may form along a coastline because a

A)warm current warms and dries the air.
B)warm current forces hot air inland.
C)cold current cools and dries the air.
D)cold current forces hot air inland.

Question 19

Fine-grained sediment, such as dust and silt, is transported by wind in

A)suspension.
B)saltation.
C)deflation.
D)surface creep.

Question 20

In the figure below, the sand grains are being transported by

A)desertification.
B)saltation.
C)surface creep.
D)deflation.

Question 21

Which of the images below shows the oldest snow?

A)A
B)B
C)C
D)D

Question 22

Which of the following are formed when one glacier beheads another?

A)Piedmont glaciers
B)hanging valleys
C)U-shaped valleys
D)roche moutonnée

Question 23

Cirques, horns, and arêtes form from glacial __________ , whereas moraines, erratics, and till form from glacial __________ .

A)erosion; deposition
B)deposition; carving
C)retreat; advance
D)erosion; sublimation

Question 24

The desertification of the Sahel region in Africa was the result of

A)overcrowding by nomadic people.
B)removal of grasses from the soil.
C)drying out of the area by overpopulation.
D)diversion of rivers to larger cities.

Question 25

Which types of features would be found in a glacially carved landscape?

A)eskers, drumlins, cirques, and kettles
B)cirques, arêtes, horns, and striations
C)cirques, arêtes, kettles, and tarns
D)drumlins, ground moraines, and arêtes

Question 26

An intermediate product in the transformation of snow to glacial ice is

A)firn.
B)deposition.
C)ablation.
D)terminus.

Question 27

Which of the figures below shows glacial lake-bed deposits?

A)A
B)B
C)C
D)D

Question 28

Which of the following hazards could lead to desertification?

A)climate change
B)earthquakes
C)landslides
D)flooding

Question 29

You are hiking in your favorite forest when you encounter a surface that appears to have very fine directional scratches in it. What are these features?

A)glacial till
B)moraines
C)striations
D)scour marks

Question 30

What types of moraines are shown in the figure below?

A)medial
B)terminal
C)lateral
D)recessional

Question 31

The Dust Bowl event in 1933 resulted from which natural event?

A)overpopulation
B)long-term drought
C)bad farming practices
D)change in the course of rivers

Question 32

Valleys carved by glaciers tend to be shaped like the letter __________ , whereas valleys carved by water tend to be shaped like the letter __________ .

A)V; U
B)V; C
C)U; V
D)V; I

Question 33

Which of the following scenarios would lead to glacial advance during a time of global warming?

A)glacier in a depression that lies in shadows most of the day
B)glacier in a valley on the leeward side of a mountain range
C)glacier that caps the highest mountain on the planet
D)continental glacier that covers an entire continent

Question 34

Wind blows finer particles long distances from glacial environments, where they settle out to form

A)firn.
B)loess.
C)outwash
D)till.

Question 35

Which of the following involves the internal flowing of ice under generally solid conditions, via the breaking and reforming of chemical bonds?

A)brittle flowing
B)basal sliding
C)plastic deformation
D)plastic sliding

Question 36

Conversion of productive land to desert is known as

A)deflation.
B)saltation.
C)degradation.
D)desertification.

Question 37

A glacier will always advance from its source area if the rate of accumulation is greater than the rate of

A)subsidence.
B)erosion.
C)ablation
D)uplift.

Question 38

Which of the following human activities will lead to desertification?

A)addition of fertilizer to soil
B)diversion of water from an area
C)overirrigating an area
D)building a city in an area

Question 39

Glacial ice forms when snow accumulates in large enough volumes to compact and force __________ out and __________ the ice crystal size.

A)air; increase
B)water; increase
C)air; decrease
D)water; decrease

Question 40

__________ glaciers cover vast areas of land, whereas __________ glaciers are restricted to mountaintops.

A)Alpine; continental
B)Continental; alpine
C)Piedmont; cirque
D)Piedmont; valley

Question 41

Imagine you are a farmer moving into the Great Plains area after the Dust Bowl of 1933. What can you do to make the land fertile enough for farming again? What about grazing of livestock?

Question 42

Draw a representative eustatic sea level curve you would expect to see for a world that experienced two glacials and three interglacials. Make sure to label your axes and the glacials and interglacials on the graph.

Question 43

What do geologists call the process that describes how continental glaciers melt away and the surface of the underlying continent rises back up?

A)glacial subsidence
B)ground patterning
C)glacial rebound
D)terminal moraine

Question 44

Explain why the deposits made by glacial outwash are stratified.

Question 45

The Milankovitch cycles describe the change in __________ because of changes in the __________ of Earth relative to the Sun.

A)greenhouse gases; tilt
B)eccentricity; orientation
C)albedo; precession
D)solar insolation; orientation

Question 46

During the last ice age, a __________ glacier covered much of the northern United States.

A)piedmont
B)cirque
C)mountain
D)continental

Question 47

Describe the differences between lag deposits and desert pavement.

Question 48

The loss of rain forests would __________ the concentration of greenhouse gasses, leading to an __________ in global atmospheric temperature.

A)increase; increase
B)increase; decrease
C)decrease; increase
D)decrease; decrease

Question 49

Label the images below with the name of the type of sand dune shown.

Question 50

If a volcano were to erupt and release large amounts of ash into the air, the ash would __________, causing global temperatures to __________ .

A)increase the albedo; decrease
B)decrease the albedo; increase
C)increase the greenhouse gases; increase
D)decrease the greenhouse gases; decrease

Question 51

What is a desert? Explain how a desert could be formed at one of the poles.

Question 52

The Mars rover Curiosity has recently found evidence that there was liquid water on the planet's surface at some point in its history. Because we have not found any liquid water on the planet today, what does this imply about Mars?

A)The planet was once covered entirely in liquid water.
B)A drought must have removed all the water from the surface.
C)The climate was once warm enough that the polar ice caps melted.
D)The interior of Mars must be made entirely of liquid water.

Question 53

Today, continental glaciers are limited to Antarctica and

A)Alaska.
B)Greenland.
C)Canada.
D)Siberia.

Question 54

Label the glaciers in the image below using words from the word bank included (hint: not all the names will be used).
piedmont glacier cirque glacier
continental glacier valley glacier ice apron
tidewater glacier hanging glacier mountain ice cap

Question 55

An important long-term factor that determines whether glacial ice will form on a continent has likely been the proportion of which gas in the atmosphere?

A)oxygen
B)nitrogen
C)carbon dioxide
D)carbon monoxide

Question 56

Sea level __________ during glaciation and __________ during interglaciation.

A)decreases; increases
B)increases; decreases
C)remains constant; decreases
D)decreases; remains constant

Question 57

There have been __________ ice ages in Earth's history, with the latest one occurring in the __________.

A)four to five; Pleistocene period
B)five to six; Pleistocene period
C)four to five; Proterozoic era
D)five to six; Cenozoic era

Question 58

You find evidence of changes in sea level along a coastline. How can you tell if they are the results of glaciers?

A)Look for evidence of glacial till in the form of moraines, drumlins, kettle lakes, or stratified glacial outwash sediment.
B)Determine if the sea level changes coincide with the advance of glaciers in the mountains nearest to the coastline.
C)Determine the timing of the changes in sea level and look for evidence of changes in sea level in other places around the world.
D)Determine if the area contains evidence of glacial erosion such as U-shaped valleys, striations, erratics, and rock flour.

Question 59

What is the dominant erosional force in deserts, wind or water? Why?

Question 60

What are the circumstances that lead to glacial advance versus glacial retreat? Most glaciers today are in retreat. What does this imply about the glaciers and their environment?

Question 61

List and describe one short-term cause for glaciations.