Deck 16: Subsurface Water and Karst

Question 1

By the time water percolates down to the zone of saturation, it is mostly free of sediment. ​

Answer 1

True

Question 2

Caverns most commonly develop in _____. ​

A)granite
B)limestone
C)sandstone
D)shale
E)schist

Answer 2

B

Question 3

Aquicludes are rock or sediment layers that readily provide water for human use. ​

Answer 3

False

Question 4

Groundwater is an important source of freshwater for human use. ​

Question 5

Speleothems are made when water evaporates into the cavern air, leaving behind deposits of calcium carbonate. ​

Question 6

The water table typically lies closer to the surface in arid regions and deeper underground in humid regions. ​

Question 7

Sediment or rock can be porous but make for a poor aquifer.

Question 8

The Ogallala aquifer is an important resource in _____. ​

A)the Sierra Nevada
B)New England
C)Michigan
D)Florida
E)the Great Plains (from Texas to South Dakota)

Question 9

Cones of depression form when _____. ​

A)sinkholes coalesce
B)too much water is pumped from wells
C)aquifers are recharged
D)the climate is wetter than normal
E)springs dry up

Question 10

Sinkholes mainly occur in arid regions. ​

Question 11

Sinkhole collapse can result from lowering of the water table. ​

Question 12

Sinkholes only form very gradually. ​

Question 13

Joints can provide rocks with some porosity and permeability. ​

Question 14

It is possible to artificially recharge the groundwater system. ​

Question 15

Earth materials through which water flows rapidly _____. ​

A)have a high porosity
B)have a low porosity
C)have a high permeability
D)have a low permeability
E)have a high viscosity

Question 16

The zone of aeration _____. ​

A)lies directly beneath the zone of saturation
B)lies directly beneath the water table
C)is an aquiclude
D)lies directly above the intermediate zone
E)lies directly above the zone of porosity

Question 17

Springs may occur where the water table intersects the ground's surface. ​

Question 18

Water in a nonflowing artesian well rises above the water table but not to the surface. ​

Question 19

In coastal regions with excessive groundwater pumping, denser salt water from the ocean seeps inland to replace freshwater withdrawn from the zone of saturation. ​

Question 20

Groundwater at lower elevations flows within the zone of saturation toward areas where the water table occupies a higher elevation. ​

Question 21

The site where a surface stream disappears into a cavern system is referred to as a _____. ​

A)sinkhole
B)stalagmite
C)doline
D)hum
E)swallow hole

Question 22

Acid mine drainage can result from the oxidation of _____. ​

A)pyrite (FeS₂)
B)calcium carbonate (CaCO₃)
C)phosphorus (P)
D)nitrogen (N)
E)quartz (SiO₂)

Question 23

Tower karst is most common in _____. ​

A)high latitudes
B)marine west coast climates
C)humid tropics
D)caverns
E)tropical deserts

Question 24

Water in _____ wells rises to a level above the local water table. ​

A)influent
B)thermal
C)artesian
D)effluent
E)nonartesian

Question 25

What makes a rock or sediment layer a good aquiclude? ​

A)having very low permeability
B)occurring in the zone of aeration
C)having a very high porosity
D)occurring very deep underground
E)being igneous rather than sedimentary

Question 26

Karst refers to landforms and landscapes dominated by _____. ​

A)flowing ice
B)volcanic eruptions
C)steep slopes
D)oxidation
E)solution

Question 27

A sequence of porous and permeable layers of sediment or rock that acts as a storage medium and transmitter of water is called a(n)_____. ​

A)aquiclude
B)aquifer
C)geyser
D)water table
E)spring

Question 28

Most of Earth's freshwater is found in _____. ​

A)groundwater
B)lakes
C)rivers
D)glaciers, ice, and snow
E)clouds and the atmosphere

Question 29

Which two processes form most sinkholes? ​

A)solution and collapse
B)carbonation and oxidation
C)freeze-thaw and mass wasting
D)acid mine drainage and evaporation
E)hydration and hydrolysis

Question 30

Which of these karst features is indicative of the most advanced and intense solution of the landscape? ​

A)sinkholes
B)disappearing streams
C)swallow holes
D)conical hills (haystack hills)
E)speleothems

Question 31

The water table _____. ​

A)can always be found 10 feet below the surface
B)fluctuates with the quantity of recent precipitation, loss by outflow to the surface, and the amount of removal by pumping
C)occurs at varying depths from place to place, but does not change over time
D)only exists in open spaces like caverns
E)always occurs at elevations lower than stream or lake levels

Question 32

Clay sediments and shale generally have _____. ​

A)high permeability and high porosity
B)low permeability and low porosity
C)high permeability and low porosity
D)low permeability and high porosity
E)no permeability and no porosity

Question 33

Large withdrawals of groundwater can cause compaction resulting in a sinking of the land called _____. ​

A)subduction
B)subsidence
C)tectonism
D)percolation
E)a cone of depression

Question 34

Pumping ancient groundwater faster than it can be replenished _____. ​

A)is impossible
B)forms aquicludes
C)increases porosity in the intermediate zone
D)is called water mining
E)is not a problem because of the enormous reserves of ancient groundwater

Question 35

Jointed granites generally have _____. ​

A)high permeability and high porosity
B)low permeability and low porosity
C)low permeability and high porosity
D)high permeability and low porosity
E)no permeability or porosity

Question 36

In humid regions of low relief, lakes can form _____. ​

A)below a perched water table
B)at cones of depression
C)where infiltration to the subsurface is high
D)at swallow holes
E)where the water table intersects the ground surface

Question 37

Soil water is found in the zone of _____. ​

A)saturation
B)aquiclude
C)aeration
D)artesian
E)permeability

Question 38

To be an artesian spring, a spring must _____. ​

A)contain salt water
B)flow upward to a level above the local water table
C)lie below a cone of depression
D)flow for only part of the year
E)have been drilled or dug by people

Question 39

Icicle-shaped rock spikes hanging from the ceiling of caverns are called _____. ​

A)stalagmites
B)stalactites
C)tower karst
D)disappearing streams
E)columns

Question 40

Sinkholes can grow in area and merge over time to form larger karst depressions called _____. ​

A)speleothems
B)geysers
C)aquicludes
D)uvalas
E)water mines

Question 41

What factors are necessary in order for a karst landscape to form? ​

Question 42

Speleothems that grow upward from the cave floor are called _______________. ​

Question 43

The relative ease with which water moves through void spaces in Earth's material is called _______________. ​

Question 44

In _______________ conditions, groundwater will seep into a stream. ​

Question 45

In the zone of _______________, pore spaces in the soil and rocks contain air. ​

Question 46

Open spaces and connected passageways in karst bedrock are called _______________. ​

Question 47

Depressions that result primarily from the surface or near-surface solution of rock and removal of the dissolved materials by water infiltrating downward into the subsurface are called _______________. (two words)​

Question 48

Water heated by contact with hot rocks in the subsurface is referred to as _______________ water. ​

Question 49

The amount of space between the particles that make up sediments or rocks is called _______________. ​

Question 50

Stalactites and stalagmites often meet and continue growing to form pillar-like _______________. ​

Question 51

Roughly circular surface depressions produced by concentrated solution of bedrock are called _______________. ​

Question 52

Describe the properties that make rock or sediment layers good aquifers and aquicludes. ​

Question 53

Surface water soaks into the ground and moves into void spaces in soil and loose sediments by the process of _______________. ​

Question 54

What is a perched water table, and what causes it? ​

Question 55

The features that form when the land surfaces caves into large subsurface voids created by solution of bedrock some distance beneath the surface are called ______________. (two words)​

Question 56

The replenishment of subsurface water is called _______________. ​

Question 57

A(n)_______________ is an impressive phenomenon with sporadic bursts of steam and hot water expelled from a fissure or vent. ​

Question 58

The sites of natural outflows of groundwater to the surface are called _______________. ​

Question 59

How do stalactites and stalagmites form in caves? ​

Question 60

Describe in detail the path that a drop of water might take from striking Earth's surface as a raindrop to reappearing at the surface in a spring. ​