Geology exam questions on plate tectonics and landforms

LANDFORMS

Barrier island beaches generally develop where:

a The coast is composed of hard rock b the nearby land has a rugged topography of hills and mountains c the sea floor deepens rapidly offshore d The sea floor remains shallow for a long distance offshore

During storms in winter:

a There is a higher percentage of fine-grained sand on beaches

b More erosion occurs in bays than on headlands

c Beaches are eroded d Beaches are built up e Offshore sand bars are destroyed

Along the Midocean ridge

a earthquakes occur b sea floor spreading occurs c volcanism occurs d all the above occur

Where would you find examples of barrier island coasts?

a Oregon

b California

c British Columbia and Alaska

d Texas and the Gulf Coast

e Hawaii

Which of the following boundaries characterize the San Andreas Fault?

a Spreading

b Convergent

c Transform

d None of the above

Construction of dams upstream on rivers may lead to:

a Narrower beaches b Wider beaches c The filling in of bays d The building of a barrier island

7. In the late 1920's until the present, the movement of plates is thought to be due to a convection currents in the crust b convection currents in the mantle c convection currents in the core d earthquakes along subduction zones

8. ____ are mudflows due to rapid melting of snow packs along the sides of snow covered mountains.

a Pyroclastic avalanche b Pahoehoe

c AA

d Lahars

9.Question: Longshore currents are likely to travel along the coast from:

a North to South

b South to North

c West to East

d In a southwest direction e In a westerly direction

10. Volcanism in Iceland is due to which of the following plate boundaries?

a Spreading

b Convergent

c Transform

d None of the above

11. Subduction zones are mostly likely found where an ocean crust collides with ocean crust

b ocean crust collides with continental crust c continental crust collides with continental crust d where continental crust divergence takes place

12. The longest continuous chain of mountains formed by tectonic processes is found a in North America

b in South America

c in Asia

d on the ocean floor

14. The "Ring of Fire" is due to an ocean crust colliding with ocean crust

b ocean crust colliding with continental crust c continental crust colliding with continental crust d where continental crust divergence takes place

16. Volcanoes are found an along the midocean ridge

b near subduction zones

c hot spots (mantle plumes)

d all of the above

Rivers

17. What is discharge?

a a stream's cross-sectional area multiplied by its velocity b the volume of a stream divided by it's cross-sectional area c the width of a stream times it's depth d the amount of water flowing past a certain point in a given amount of time e both a and d

18. Two different drainage basins or watersheds are separated from each other by an imaginary line called:

a a divide b a trellis c a floodplain d a gully e a terrace

19. Which of these factors contributes to stream velocity?

a stream channel size b stream gradient c stream channel shape d all of the above e only b and c

20. Which river has the largest discharge?

a Congo

b Mississippi

c Amazon

d Nile

e Brahmaputra

21. The volcanoes that comprise the Hawaiian Islands are a shield volcanoes b composite volcanoes c cinder cones d none of the above

22. When do floods occur?

a when a stream is diverted by the headward erosion of another stream b when a stream channel is altered to speed the flow of water c when a stream's discharge exceeds the capacity of its channel d only during the spring e when the artificial levees are overrun

23. The limiting level below which a stream cannot erode is known as the:

a Meander

b Base Level

c Gradient

d Discharge

e Velocity

24. A meander that has been completely separated from a river is called:

a an incised meander b an oxbow lake c a drainage basin d a cutoff e a cut bank.

25. Which one of the following is the key factor controlling stream erosion, transport, and deposition?

a Sediment Load

b Gradient

c Temperature

d Velocity

26. How does a stream change as its discharge increases?

a Stream velocity, channel width and depth, all increase b Stream velocity increases, but channel width and depth decreases c Stream velocity, channel width and depth, all decrease d Stream channel depth and width increases, load decreases, and velocity decreases

27. An area which has NOT been glaciated may show ?

a Hanging valleys b V shape valleys c Corries

d Drumlins

28. Which part of a stream's load is actually held in solution?

a weathered load b suspended load c chemical load d dissolved load e bed load

d All of the above e None of the above

42. This biome is scattered across the planet and accounts for only 3% of water on Earth. Salinity (salt) levels in this area are generally less than 1%.

a freshwater biome b estuary c marine biome d none of the above

45. You are in an area where the water fluctuates between very salty and not-so-salty. You look around you and see that the region is at the mouth of where a river and the ocean meet. You are most likely in a (n) ____ biome.

a estuarine aquatic biome b river aquatic biome c tundra terrestrial biome d inter-tidal aquatic biome e None of the above

GEOLOGY

47. Metamorphosed sandstone is called a Marble

b Slate

c Gneiss

d Quartzite

e None of the above

49. The Ural Mountains were formed primarily by a Volcanism

b Rifting

c continental collision d intrusion of magma

50. Field capacity of a soil tends to increase with an increasing clay content b decreasing clay content c increasing sand content d decreasing sand content e Field capacity is not associated with soil

53. The Red Sea lies in a rift zone b subduction zone

c transform fault zone d deep sea trench

CLIMATE AND WEATHER

55. The two most important elements in a climatic description are temperature and a wind direction b precipitation c pressure d wind speed e altitude

58. Multi-layer clouds are heavy precipitation producers. Which of the following may be considered in this category?

a Nimbostratus

b Cirrostratus

c Cumulonimbus

d a and b e a and c

66. What percent of the Earth's water is fresh and accessible?

a 0.60%

b 5.20%

c 10.60%

d 17.30%

e 24.20%

68. Where is most accessible fresh water found?

a Groundwater

b Rivers

c Lakes

d Ocean

69. ____ dams resist the force of the water entirely by their own weight.

a Arch

b Buttress

c Dike

d Gravity

e Embankment

HYDROLOGY

70. The evaporative loss of water from leaves is termed:

a Evaporation

b Evapotranspiration

c Transpiration

d Perspiration

e Saturation

HURRICANES

74. Spring tides are tides that ...

a have lows lower than normal and highs higher than normal

b have lows higher than normal and highs lower than normal

c are unpredictable d occur in the spring of the year

CARTHOGRAPHY

83. One of the distinctive features of a topographic map is that it shows ...

a Roads

b Latitudes

c Elevations

d scale of distances e Man-made structures

84. The cartographic technique by which points on the sphere of the Earth are transferred to points on the plane surface of a map is ...

a Trajection

b Projection

c Intersection

d Interpolation

e approximation

85. The Mercator projection is actually which type of projection?

a Conical

b Gnomonic

c Zenithal

d Conformal

e cylindrical

86. The reference lines on a globe which circle the Earth parallel to the equator are lines of ...

a Elevation

b Northings

c Latitude

d longitude

87. How many acres are in the E1/2 of the NW1/2 of the SW1/2 of a section?

a 40

b 20

c 80

d 60

e 10

BIOMES

90. What is the main cause of the dry conditions in the Atacam ?

a The rain clouds are all blocked by the Andes Mountains.

b A cold current off shore causes condensation of water vapor in the clouds before they reach land.

c It is too hot to rain.

d There is no source of water nearby.

91. Rain Forest wildlife of South America include all of the following except a Pronghorn Antelope

b Peccary

c Capybara

d Toco Toucan

e Golden Lion Tamarin

92. Name one other coastal desert with a similar weather pattern to the Atacam.

a The Sahara Desert

b The Mongolian Desert

c The Namib Desert

d Death Valley

93. Hot and dry deserts are all of the following except (circle all that apply)

a Taklamakan desert

b Arabian desert

c Kalahari desert d Mohave desert e Great Basin desert

94. What kind of ecosystem has left the most stable and fertile soils for cultivation?

a tropical rain forest

b mixed deciduous forest c prairie d boreal forest

95. Tropical rainforest plants have adapted to the existing circumstances of the environment. These include all of the following except a Large leaves b Round tip leaves c Some plants live high up in the canopy d Smooth bark e Buttress type base

96. The Steppe biome is a dry, cold, grassland that is found in all of the following continents except a Australia

b North America

c Africa

d Asia

e South America

97. Rainfall in deserts is fairly low. However, the deserts in ____ have a substantial higher rainfall than all the other deserts.

a South America

b Australia

c Central Asia

d North America

e Africa

VOLCANOES

98. Which planet has the most volcanoes?

a Mercury

b Venus

c Earth

d Mars

99. Which continent has no active volcanoes?

a Asia

b Europe

c Australia

d Antarctica

e South America

100. How is magma different from lava?

a The two are the same b Magma is unerupted lava c Lava can have gas in it

d Magma is a large amount of lava e All of the above

101. A Tombolo is a A spit that connects the mainland to an offshore island b Bowl shaped depression found at the head of glacial valleys c Pyramidal peaks that form when several cirques chisel a mountain from three or more sides d the narrow serrated ridges found in glaciated alpine areas e A spectacular erosional landforms

LANDFORMS

102. The continental margin is actually made up of three structures. They include all of the following except a Continental rise b Continental slope c Continental divide d Continental shelf e All of the above are structures within the continental margin

103.Features associated with glaciers include all of the following except a Cirques

b Lahars

c aretes d Moraines

e Horns

104. Types of Deltas include all of the following except a Arcuate (fan-shaped) delta b Bird-foot delta c Talus delta d Cuspate delta e Estuarine delta

105. The landforms that are found on the surface of the Earth can be grouped into 4 main categories. They include all of the following except:

a Structural Landforms

b Weathering Landforms

c Glacial landforms d Erosional Landforms

e Depositional Landforms

EROSION

106. Particles are normally grouped into a number of main classes:

a Bedrock, gravel and sand b River rock, gravel, sand and clay c sand, silt, and clay.

d Decomposed granite, sand, silt, and clay.

e Rocks, sand, silt, and clay.

107. In general a number of broad categories of mechanisms for weathering are distinguished. They include all of the following.

a chemical, physical and biological.

b Fluvial, physical and biological c Fluvial, Glacial and biological d chemical, glacial and biological e Fluvial, Glacial and volcanic

BIOMES

109. Main Volcano Types include

a. Vulcanian, Hawaiian, Surtsayan

b. Scoria cone, Shield volcano, Stato vulcano

c. Cylindrical, Round, Cone

d. Vesuvian, Strombolian, Vulcanian

e. None of the above

110. Eruptions of Kilauea volcano, on Hawaii, are mainly of the ____ type.

a. Plinian

b. Vulcanian

c. Effusive

d. Surtseyan

e. Strombolian

112. Which of the following definitions is false?

a. SPATTER -- Impact of molten spatter fragments hitting the ground and flattening into roughly circular disks.

b. A CALDERA is a large, usually circular depression at the summit of a volcano formed when magma is withdrawn or erupted from a shallow underground magma reservoir

c. LAHAR - An Indonesian term for a volcanic lavaflow

d. PAHOEHOE - Hawaiian term for basaltic lava that has a smooth, hummocky, or ropy surface.

e. PUMICE -- Frothy felsic rock formed by vigorous vesiculation (bubbling) due to rapid gas escape.

113. Sedimentary rocks can be divided into a number of fundamental types based upon the origin of the rock.

a. Volcanic, Marine, Fluvial

b. Glacial, Volcanic, Fluvial

c. Clastic, Chemical, Organic

d. Volcanic, Fluvial, Glacial, and Marine

Note:

Clastic sediments are broken fragments of preexisting rocks that have been transported and redeposited.