Question 1

to produce the molecule water.

Accepted Answer

2 hydrogen atoms can be joined to one oxygen atom by covalent bonds

Question 2

Hydrologic cycle

Accepted Answer

The continual circulation of water in its three states (liquid, solid, and vapor) through the atmosphere, hydrosphere, and lithosphere.

Question 3

Evapotranspiration

Accepted Answer

Fancy word combining evaporation and transpiration together.

Question 4

Evaporation

Accepted Answer

Liquid water that is turned into a gas (opposite of condensation).

Question 5

Transpiration

Accepted Answer

Water that has infiltrated the ground is absorbed by plants, which in turn release it to the atmosphere as a gas.

Question 6

Run off

Accepted Answer

The flow of water across land that occurs when precipitation exceeds infiltration.  Usually in the form of streams/rivers.

Question 7

Infiltration

Accepted Answer

The movement of water into the ground (soil or rock).

Question 8

Streams/River

Accepted Answer

A ribbon of water that flows in a channel.

Question 9

Channel

Accepted Answer

A trough dug into the ground surface by flowing water

Question 10

Trunk stream

Accepted Answer

is the main branch of the stream.

Question 11

tributaries

Accepted Answer

The smaller branches that feed the main branch

Question 12

drainage network

Accepted Answer

This network of tributaries and a trunk

Question 13

drainage basins

Accepted Answer

array of interconnecting streams that together drain an area. can also be called watersheds

Question 14

Divides

Accepted Answer

a highland or ridge that separates one drainage basin from another.

Question 15

Continental divide

Accepted Answer

separates the drainage of water between the Pacific and Atlantic oceans within the lower 48 States

Question 16

dendritic drainage

Accepted Answer

An approximate uniform substrate, and an approximate uniform initial slope will lead to a tree like branching network of streams

Question 17

radial drainage

Accepted Answer

Stream drainage emanating from a central high elevation (i.e., mountain Like spokes on a wheel.

Question 18

rectangular drainage

Accepted Answer

A highly fractured and jointed surface will result in this, a pattern where streams meet at high angles.

Question 19

trellis drainage

Accepted Answer

In places where a series of mountains and valleys form parallel ridges and basins this network will occur.  The tributaries will be confined to the valleys while the main branch of the river (trunk) can cut across the ridges.

Question 20

Permanent streams

Accepted Answer

form in humid or temperate climates where water in the stream not only comes from surface runoff but also from the ground.

Question 21

Ephemeral streams

Accepted Answer

form in dry climates where there are high surface evaporation rates and little precipitation and the water in the ground is limited and deep.

Question 22

Streams have a discharge

Accepted Answer

the volume of water in a conduit or channel passing a point in one second.

Question 23

Stream velocities depend on

Accepted Answer

the physical shape of the stream channel.

Question 24

maximum velocity

Accepted Answer

is in the center of the stream near the surface. The maximum velocity usually stays positioned over the deepest part of the channel.  This increase in velocity in the outer part of the meander is a result of tangential, or angular velocity

Question 25

Point bar

Accepted Answer

wedge-shaped deposit of sediment on the inside bank of a meander.  Deposition occurs here because the stream velocity is lowest at the inside of the meander

Question 26

Cut bank

Accepted Answer

outside bank of the channel wall of a meander, which is continually undergoing erosion.

Question 27

Gradient

Accepted Answer

the change in the slope of a stream over a given distance
At their source streams have a steep gradient
At their mouth streams have a shallow gradient

Question 28

Eroded material is Transported by streams in 3 different ways

Accepted Answer

bed, suspended and dissolved load

Question 29

Bed load

Accepted Answer

Large particles, such as sand, pebbles, or cobbles, that bounce or roll along a stream bed. Most of the bedload only moves during periods of high discharge.

Question 30

Suspended load

Accepted Answer

Tiny solid grains carried along by a stream without settling to the floor of the channel.

Question 31

Dissolved load

Accepted Answer

Ions dissolved in a stream’s water.

Question 32

Saltation

Accepted Answer

The movement of a sediment in which grains bounce along their substrate, knocking other grains into the water column (or air) in the process

Question 33

Competence

Accepted Answer

the maximum size of particle (clay, silt, sand, etc.) that a stream can carry.

Question 34

Capacity

Accepted Answer

the amount of material a stream can carry

Question 35

Base level

Accepted Answer

the lowest elevation a stream channel’s floor can reach at a given locality.  Sea level is the ultimate base level.

Question 36

terraces

Accepted Answer

The elevated surface of an older floodplain into which a younger floodplain had cut down). created by a change in base level

Question 37

Water falls

Accepted Answer

stream gradient becomes so extreme the water literally free-falls

Question 38

youth rivers

Accepted Answer

downward erosion dominates.  The streams are relatively straight, the water is moving at a high velocity, and the channel is shaped like a “V”.

Question 39

mature river or stream

Accepted Answer

As the gradient becomes less steep, streams begin to meander and erode laterally to form a floodplain

Question 40

old age river

Accepted Answer

erodes latterly (outwards, not down into the Earth), the water is moving very slowly in the channel, and the channel is shaped like a “U”.  Oxbow lakes are common as are wetlands (swampy areas).  This is like the lower part of the Mississippi River

Question 41

Meanders

Accepted Answer

sweeping bends in a stream form by lateral erosion.

Question 42

oxbow lakes.

Accepted Answer

meanders can get cut off to form these,Oxbow lakes only receive sediment during floods and thus fill primarily with mud.

Question 43

Braided stream

Accepted Answer

A sediment-choked stream consisting of entwined subchannels

Question 44

Delta

Accepted Answer

A wedge of sediment formed at a river mouth when the running water of the stream enters standing water, the current slows, the stream loses competence, and sediment settles out.

Question 45

Distributaries

Accepted Answer

The fan of small streams formed where a river spreads out over its delta.

Question 46

2 types of deltas

Accepted Answer

arc shaped and bird foot

Question 47

Arc-shaped

Accepted Answer

where the current of the water that the delta is forming in is stronger than that of the river current.  The open water current can move around the river sediment.

Question 48

bird’s-foot delta

Accepted Answer

form where the river current is stronger that the free standing water's current that it is flowing out into.

Question 49

Floodplain

Accepted Answer

The flat land on either side of a stream that becomes covered with water during times of high discharge

Question 50

Natural levees

Accepted Answer

form by sediment dropped by river when it tops its channel.  They are built by successive flooding over many years.

Question 51

Floods occur

Accepted Answer

as the discharge of a river or stream becomes larger then the channel can hold.

Question 52

floods can be produced by

Accepted Answer

1)melting of snow and heavy rains in the spring time
2)Extremely heavy rains over a very short period of time 
3)Ice-jams building up along a river in the winter time acting like a dam
4)Human activity (dams, levees, channelization

Question 53

Recurrence interval

Accepted Answer

the average time between past flood events of a similar size.

Question 54

Flood probability

Accepted Answer

= 1 / recurrence interval
2 year flood will happen, on average, once every two years (1/2 = 50%)

Question 55

Flash flooding

Accepted Answer

Local, sudden floods of large volume and short duration often triggered by heavy thunder storms.

Question 56

Pore

Accepted Answer

Any open space in soil or rock

Question 57

Porosity

Accepted Answer

total volume of empty space in a material

Question 58

Primary porosity

Accepted Answer

Original open space of a rock or soil after it forms.

Question 59

Secondary porosity

Accepted Answer

open space created in a rock or soil after it is ‘created’ (soils can become deformed not unlike rocks).

Question 60

Permeability

Accepted Answer

The ability of a material (such as rocks or soil) to allow fluid (groundwater in our case) to flow through it.

Question 61

permeable

Accepted Answer

A material that has interconnected 
pore space, allow water to flow 
through it

Question 62

impermeable

Accepted Answer

A material that does not have 
interconnected pore space, thus
Not allowing water to flow through
it

Question 63

Groundwater

Accepted Answer

water that resides under the surface of the earth within the zone of saturation.  It occurs within soil, bedrock, or in caves.

Question 64

Infiltration

Accepted Answer

the seepage of surface water into the ground.  See hydrologic cycle slides.  This is how water becomes groundwater.

Question	Answer
to produce the molecule water.	2 hydrogen atoms can be joined to one oxygen atom by covalent bonds
Hydrologic cycle	The continual circulation of water in its three states (liquid, solid, and vapor) through the atmosphere, hydrosphere, and lithosphere.
Evapotranspiration	Fancy word combining evaporation and transpiration together.
Evaporation	Liquid water that is turned into a gas (opposite of condensation).
Transpiration	Water that has infiltrated the ground is absorbed by plants, which in turn release it to the atmosphere as a gas.
Run off	The flow of water across land that occurs when precipitation exceeds infiltration. Usually in the form of streams/rivers.
Infiltration	The movement of water into the ground (soil or rock).
Streams/River	A ribbon of water that flows in a channel.
Channel	A trough dug into the ground surface by flowing water
Trunk stream	is the main branch of the stream.
tributaries	The smaller branches that feed the main branch
drainage network	This network of tributaries and a trunk
drainage basins	array of interconnecting streams that together drain an area. can also be called watersheds
Divides	a highland or ridge that separates one drainage basin from another.
Continental divide	separates the drainage of water between the Pacific and Atlantic oceans within the lower 48 States
dendritic drainage	An approximate uniform substrate, and an approximate uniform initial slope will lead to a tree like branching network of streams
radial drainage	Stream drainage emanating from a central high elevation (i.e., mountain Like spokes on a wheel.
rectangular drainage	A highly fractured and jointed surface will result in this, a pattern where streams meet at high angles.
trellis drainage	In places where a series of mountains and valleys form parallel ridges and basins this network will occur. The tributaries will be confined to the valleys while the main branch of the river (trunk) can cut across the ridges.
Permanent streams	form in humid or temperate climates where water in the stream not only comes from surface runoff but also from the ground.
Ephemeral streams	form in dry climates where there are high surface evaporation rates and little precipitation and the water in the ground is limited and deep.
Streams have a discharge	the volume of water in a conduit or channel passing a point in one second.
Stream velocities depend on	the physical shape of the stream channel.
maximum velocity	is in the center of the stream near the surface. The maximum velocity usually stays positioned over the deepest part of the channel. This increase in velocity in the outer part of the meander is a result of tangential, or angular velocity
Point bar	wedge-shaped deposit of sediment on the inside bank of a meander. Deposition occurs here because the stream velocity is lowest at the inside of the meander
Cut bank	outside bank of the channel wall of a meander, which is continually undergoing erosion.
Gradient	the change in the slope of a stream over a given distance At their source streams have a steep gradient At their mouth streams have a shallow gradient
Eroded material is Transported by streams in 3 different ways	bed, suspended and dissolved load
Bed load	Large particles, such as sand, pebbles, or cobbles, that bounce or roll along a stream bed. Most of the bedload only moves during periods of high discharge.
Suspended load	Tiny solid grains carried along by a stream without settling to the floor of the channel.
Dissolved load	Ions dissolved in a stream’s water.
Saltation	The movement of a sediment in which grains bounce along their substrate, knocking other grains into the water column (or air) in the process
Competence	the maximum size of particle (clay, silt, sand, etc.) that a stream can carry.
Capacity	the amount of material a stream can carry
Base level	the lowest elevation a stream channel’s floor can reach at a given locality. Sea level is the ultimate base level.
terraces	The elevated surface of an older floodplain into which a younger floodplain had cut down). created by a change in base level
Water falls	stream gradient becomes so extreme the water literally free-falls
youth rivers	downward erosion dominates. The streams are relatively straight, the water is moving at a high velocity, and the channel is shaped like a “V”.
mature river or stream	As the gradient becomes less steep, streams begin to meander and erode laterally to form a floodplain
old age river	erodes latterly (outwards, not down into the Earth), the water is moving very slowly in the channel, and the channel is shaped like a “U”. Oxbow lakes are common as are wetlands (swampy areas). This is like the lower part of the Mississippi River
Meanders	sweeping bends in a stream form by lateral erosion.
oxbow lakes.	meanders can get cut off to form these,Oxbow lakes only receive sediment during floods and thus fill primarily with mud.
Braided stream	A sediment-choked stream consisting of entwined subchannels
Delta	A wedge of sediment formed at a river mouth when the running water of the stream enters standing water, the current slows, the stream loses competence, and sediment settles out.
Distributaries	The fan of small streams formed where a river spreads out over its delta.
2 types of deltas	arc shaped and bird foot
Arc-shaped	where the current of the water that the delta is forming in is stronger than that of the river current. The open water current can move around the river sediment.
bird’s-foot delta	form where the river current is stronger that the free standing water's current that it is flowing out into.
Floodplain	The flat land on either side of a stream that becomes covered with water during times of high discharge
Natural levees	form by sediment dropped by river when it tops its channel. They are built by successive flooding over many years.
Floods occur	as the discharge of a river or stream becomes larger then the channel can hold.
floods can be produced by	1)melting of snow and heavy rains in the spring time 2)Extremely heavy rains over a very short period of time 3)Ice-jams building up along a river in the winter time acting like a dam 4)Human activity (dams, levees, channelization
Recurrence interval	the average time between past flood events of a similar size.
Flood probability	= 1 / recurrence interval 2 year flood will happen, on average, once every two years (1/2 = 50%)
Flash flooding	Local, sudden floods of large volume and short duration often triggered by heavy thunder storms.
Pore	Any open space in soil or rock
Porosity	total volume of empty space in a material
Primary porosity	Original open space of a rock or soil after it forms.
Secondary porosity	open space created in a rock or soil after it is ‘created’ (soils can become deformed not unlike rocks).
Permeability	The ability of a material (such as rocks or soil) to allow fluid (groundwater in our case) to flow through it.
permeable	A material that has interconnected pore space, allow water to flow through it
impermeable	A material that does not have interconnected pore space, thus Not allowing water to flow through it
Groundwater	water that resides under the surface of the earth within the zone of saturation. It occurs within soil, bedrock, or in caves.
Infiltration	the seepage of surface water into the ground. See hydrologic cycle slides. This is how water becomes groundwater.
Zone of aeration	zone above water table where infiltration occurs
Zone of saturation	zone where pore space is filled with groundwater
Water table	boundary that separates fully saturated soil and rock from partially saturated soil and rock under the surface of the earth.
Springs	A natural outlet from which groundwater flows up onto the ground surface. Where the water table intersect the surface
Capillary fringe	area where surface tension and/or electrostatic attraction between groundwater molecules and soil/mineral particles pulls groundwater out of the zone of saturation, above the water table.
Aquifer	Rock and/or sediment that is saturated with groundwater, and is sufficiently permeable to allow economic viable quantities of groundwater to wells and springs.
Two types of aquifer	1) Confined , and 2) Unconfined
Confining occurs by	aquitards and aquicludes
Aquitards	soil or rock that does not have a high permeability, so groundwater moves through it slowly.
Aquicludes	Soil of rock that is totally impermeable, thus not allowing any groundwater to move through it.
Unconfined aquifer	No impermeable layer obstructs water from entering or leaving the saturated rock or soi
water table	The upper limit of an unconfined aquifer
Confined Aquifer	saturated groundwater that is enclosed by impermeable layers above it.
Perched water table	pore space that is saturated with groundwater, by an impermeable layer (aquiclude or aquitard), above the regional water table
Artesian system	a special confined aquifer that is enclosed by impermeable layers both below and above it.
Pressure surface	the elevation that confined groundwater would rise, due to pressure, but it is not allowed because of aquicludes.
Highly productive aquifers	1) loose sand and gravel; 2) fractured basalt; & 3) limestone
Moderately productive aquifers	sandstone
Lesser productive aquifers	fractured plutonic and metamorphic rocks.
Recharge	areas where surface water replenishes the groundwater.
Discharge	areas were groundwater is removed
Gaining streams	are feed by groundwater
Losing streams	water is leaving stream and moving into the ground
Wells	bring groundwater to the surface through pumping or natural means.
cone of depression	cone shaped depression in the water table due to drawdown.
drawdown	lowering of the water table due to well pumping.
Wetland	areas that are saturated with water -- covered year-round or just for a few months – have water-tolerant plants, and anaerobic (oxygen-deficient) poorly drained soils.
Swamp	a wetland dominated by trees. Above is a photo from the Cypress Swamp, East Texas
Slough	Florida is a small freshwater swamp which receive water from rainfall, with no or minimal current. Typically not connected to any river system and often has a nearly closed canopy. The definition of slough varies as location changes.
Geothermal regions	areas where groundwater comes into contact with ‘hot’ area (like a magma chamber) under the Earth’s surface.
Geysers	water is “super heated” at depth (heated beyond its boiling point, but it does not turn into a gas because it is under pressure). The hot water quickly rises to the surface, releasing pressure, and causing steam to form
Caves or caverns	voids in carbonate rock (such as limestone) that have been dissolved into the rock by weakly acidic groundwater. Caves form at and below the water table.
Karst Topography	an area that has been shaped by the dissolving power of groundwater
Tower karst	develops in an area that has undergone a huge amount of surface erosion. Usually underlain by an impermeable layer
Sinkholes	surface collapse or subsidence due to dissolving carbonate bedrock located below the surface.
2 types of sink holes	collapse and solution
Collapse sinkholes	form by the roof or top of a cave falling
Solution sinkholes	carbonate rock (limestone) gradually dissolving in naturally acidic water
Tide	the daily rising or falling of sea level at a given point on the Earth.
Tidal reach	the difference in sea level between high tide and low tide at a given point.
Tide-generating force	caused in part by the gravitational attraction of the Sun and Moon, and in part by the centrifugal and centripetal forces created by the Earth’s spin.
Spring tide	an especially high tide that occurs when the Sun is on the same side of the Earth as the Moon.
Neap tide	an especially low tide that occurs when the angle between the direction of the Moon and the direction of the Sun is 90°.
Salts” in the ocean come from	volcanic eruptions: the “salts are in gas form and get deposited on the water. After deposition the water dissolved the gas particles.
Salts come from Hydrothermal alteration of ocean crust	This leaches “salts” out of the mafic rocks and adds them to the water.
Halocline	a rapid change in salinity with depth
Thermocline	a rapid change in temperature with depth
Waves in water are produced by	wind blowing across the surface of the ocean. This is dependent on the speed of the wind and the fetch (the distance that the wind blows over a water surface).
Wave refraction	The bending of waves as they approach a shore so that their crests make no more than a 5° angle with the shoreline. This happens by an ocean wave approaching shore at an angle, one side of the wave reaches shallow water first,part of the wave slows
Longshore current	is a current that flows parallel to the shore. This is a product of wave refraction.
Beach drift	movement of sand grains along a shoreline by longshore current.
Rip current	A strong, localized seaward flow of water perpendicular to a beach. They are fed by longshore currents, die out at depth, and their strength depends on the size of the waves that reach the shore.
Swash	wave energy sends a surge of water up a beach. The swash can carry beach sand within it.
Backwash	gravity drawing water back down the beach. The backwash can also carry beach sand within it.
Coastal landforms	Beaches; Erosional coast; Depositional coast;Drowned coast; Emergent coast; Coast shaped by organisms
marine terrace	can result from either tectonic uplift of land or by lowering of sea level.
drowned coast	the result of subsidence of coastal areas or a rise in global sea level
Fjord	deep, glacially carved, U-shaped valley flooded by rising sea level. This is an example of a drowned coast
Estuaries	inlet in which seawater (saltwater) and river water mix, created when a coastal valley was encroached by the seawater, or when the coastal area is very close to sea level. Flooding occurred because of either rising sea level or land subsidence.
Beaches	The zone above the water line at a shore of a body of water, marked by an accumulation of sand, stone, or gravel that has been deposited
Beach face	steeply concave part of the foreshore zone formed where the swash of the waves actively scours the sand.
Berm	horizontal or landward-sloping terrace in the backshore zone of a beach that receives sediment during a storm
Berm crest	divides the beach face and berm
Longshore currents	produce beach drift (gradual migration of sand along a beach). Therefore, it is possible to tell the direction of a longshore current from the geomorphology of shorelines.
Spits	can develop by beach drift out into open water as well as wave refraction around the end of the spit
Baymouth bars	form as spits close off bays along coast lines due to beach drift.
Barrier islands	An offshore sand bar that rises above the mean high-water level, forming an island. These type of drift deposits require large amounts of sand and protect inland areas from flooding.
organic coast	coastal wetland and mangrove swamp
Coastal wetland	a vegetated, flat-lying stretch of coast that floods with shallow water but does not feel the impact of strong waves.
Mangrove swamp	a coastal wetland dominated by mangrove trees.
Salt marsh	a coastal wetland dominated by grasses.
Erosional coast	have high energy, that is the waves are powerful enough to cause erosion of the material that the coast is made out of
Depositional coast	have low energy. Good examples of depositional coast are barrier islands and deltas.

geology exam 3

physical and historical geology

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