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169 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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Geomorphology
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The science that analyzes and describes the origin, evolution, form, and spatial distribution of landforms
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denudation
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the tearing down of landscape through processes of weathering, mass movement, erosion, transportation, and deposition
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differntial weathering
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different rock resistance causes different weathering patterns
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dynamic equilibrium model
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considers slope and landform stability to be consequences of the resistence of rock materials to the attack of the denuation process
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geomorphic threshold
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the point at which there is enough energy to overcome resistance against movement
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waxing slope
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convex slope
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free face slope
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flat part between waxing and waning slope
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debris slope
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receives rock fragements and materials from above
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waning slope
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concave surface along the base of the slope
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slope order
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waxing slope, free face, debris slope, waning slope
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Geomorphology
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The science that analyzes and describes the origin, evolution, form, and spatial distribution of landforms
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denudation
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the tearing down of landscape through processes of weathering, mass movement, erosion, transportation, and deposition
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differntial weathering
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different rock resistance causes different weathering patterns
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dynamic equilibrium model
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considers slope and landform stability to be consequences of the resistence of rock materials to the attack of the denuation process
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geomorphic threshold
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the point at which there is enough energy to overcome resistance against movement
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waxing slope
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convex slope
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free face slope
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flat part between waxing and waning slope
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debris slope
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receives rock fragements and materials from above
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waning slope
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concave surface along the base of the slope
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slope order
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waxing slope, free face, debris slope, waning slope
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angle of equilibrium
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optimium comprimise incline that balances forces
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weathering
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processes that either disintegrate rock into mineral particles or dissolve them into water
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regolith
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broken-up rock on the upper surface of bedrock that undergoes continual weathering
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bedrock
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parent rock from which weathered regolith and soil develop
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sediment
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sandy and unconsolidated fragmental material
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parent material
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material from which soil evolves
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joints
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fractures or seperations in the rock a that occur without displacement of the sides
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physical weathering
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mechanical weathering
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frost action
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water freezes and expands inside rock causing massive forces
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talus slope
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poorly sorted, cone-shaped dposit of debris at the base of a steep slope
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crystallization
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salt crystal growth causes physical weathering
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sheeting
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after an overburden of granitic batholith is remove, pressure is released, causing layers of rock to peel off in curved slabs
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exfoliation dome
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arch-shaped featurs on the exposed landscape of sheeting
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spherodial weathering
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chemical weathering occurs in cracks of rocks
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hydration
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when a mineral absorbs water and expands
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hydrolysis
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breaks down silicate minerals in rock
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oxidation
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oxygen and metalic elements
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carbonation
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carbonation combines with certain minerals, such as after acid rain
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karst topography
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distinctley pitted and weathered limestone landscapes
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sinkholes
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circular limestone caves. Leads to karst valley and collapse sinkholes
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mass movement
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any movement of a body of material. mass wassting
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angle of repose
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represents a balance of driving and resisting forces on a slope
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rockfalls
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volume of rocks falling
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debris avalanche
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tumbling rock at high speeds
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landslides
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a large amount of material falling simultaneously
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mudflows
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material in motion with high moisture concentration
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soil creep
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a persistent movement of individual soil particles that are lifteb by expansion ofsoil moisture as it freezes by cycles of wetness and dryness, temperature variations, or the impact of animal grazing
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scarification
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human mining and construction lead to mass movements
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hydrology
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the science of water, its global circulation, distribution, and properties
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fluvial
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stream releated processess
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transport
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weatherd sediment is pciekd up and moved
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deposition
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sediments laid down
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alluvium
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general term for deposit by running water as sorted or semisorted sediment on a floodplain, delta, or streambed
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base level
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lowest elevation limit of stream erosion
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drainage basin
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base fluvial system
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watershed
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water-receiving area of a drainage basin
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sheetflow
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area in a drainage where water moves initially downward
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continental divide
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extensive mountain and highland regions that seperate major drainage basins
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internal drainage
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regions that don't connect to oceans
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drainage density
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determined by the number and length of channels in a given area and is an expression of landscape's topographic surface apperance
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drainage pattern
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arangement of patterns in a channel
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types of drainage patterns
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trellis, radial, parallel, rectangular, annular, and deranged
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meandering stream
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a sinuous form of a river
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undercut bank
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outer portion of each meandering curve
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point-bar
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deposit on the inner portion of meanders
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oxbow lake
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when a meander neck is cut off as two undercut banks emerge
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graded stream
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a portion of a stream where characteristics are measured
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nickpoint
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an interruption in a stream's longitudinal profile
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floodplain
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flat lowlying area along a stream channel
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natural levees
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by-products of flooding on either bank of a stream
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yazoo tributary
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a tributary that does not reach the main stream due to natural levees, runs parallel
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backswamp
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marshy area around a river
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alluvial terraces
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formed by the entretchment of a river into its own floodplain
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delta
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depositional plain at the mouth of a river
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estuary
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where sea and freshwater mix
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flood
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high water overflows
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hydrograph
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a graph of stream discharge over time
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eolian
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the processes modify and move sand accumulation along costal beaches and desert
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deflation
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the removal and lifting of individual loose particles
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abrasion
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the sand-blasting of rock surfaces with particles captured in the air
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desert pavement
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concentrations of pebbles an gravel left by erision by wind deflation and moving water
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blowout depressions
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the removal of enough material through deflation that causes a basin
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ventifacts
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rocks that bear evidence of eolian erosion
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surface creep
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saltating particles knock each other loose and move forward
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dune
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wind-sculpted accumulation of sand
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erg desert, sand sea
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an extensive area of dunes
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types of dunes
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star, cresentic, linear
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slipface
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a steeply sloping area on the lee side of a dune
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loess
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deposits of clay and silt formed by long distance eolian transportation
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flash flood
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a torrent that fills dry streambeds
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wash
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dry streambed affected by flash floods
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playa
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salt cursts left behind in a wet/dry low area of a closed drainage basin, site of ephemeral lakes
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alluvial fan
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a location at the mouth of a canyon where it exits into a valley,formed by water that loses velocity
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bajada
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a continuous apron if individual alluvial fans come together
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Basin and Range Province
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western US region where alternating basins and mountain regions
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bolson
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a slope and basin area between the crests of two adjacent ridges in a dry region
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desertification
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process that leads to an unwanted expansion of the earth's desert lands
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salinity
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concentration of disolved solids
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brine
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water that exceeds 35% salinity
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brackish
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water that is less than 35% salinity
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littoral zone
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costal environment
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Mean Sea Level
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based on avergage tidal levels
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Tides
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complex dailiy oscillations in sea level
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flood tides
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two rising high tides day
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ebb tides
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two low tides each day
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spring tides
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exhibit the greates tidal range
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neap tides
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produces a lesser tidal range than spring tides
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waves
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up and down movement of water
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swells
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regular patterns of smooth rounded waves
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breaker
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the falling wave
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wave refraction
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different sections of the coastline vary in erosion potential
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longshore current
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water moving parallel to shore
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beach drift
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longshore drift of sand caused by longshore current
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littoral drift
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trnasport of materials along a shore
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tsunami
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seismic sea wave
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wave-cut platform
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an erosional coast that cuts a horizontal bench in the tidal zone
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barrier spit
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material deposited in a long ridge extending out from a coast
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bay barrier
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spit that cuts off the bay from the ocean and forms an inland lagoon
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tombolo
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where sediment deposits connect the shoreline with an offshore island or sea stack
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beach
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land along the shore where sediment is in motion, deposited by waves and currents
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barrier beaches
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barrier chains
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barrier islands
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broader and extensive barrier chains
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coral
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simple marine invertebrate that forms a hard, calcified, external skeleton
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wetlands
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lands saturated with water that support specific plant tiypes
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salt marsh
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costal wetlands poleward of the 30th parallels
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mangrove swamps
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costal wetlands equatorial of the 30th parallels
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glacier
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mass of ice
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snowline
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lowest elevation where snow occurs year-round
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alpine glacier
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a glacier in a mountian region
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cirque
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a bowl-shaped erosional landform that is the area of origin for a snowfall
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icebergs
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where alpine glaciers flow down to the sea, they calve and form these
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continental glacier
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continuous mass of ice on land
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ice sheet
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most extensive continental glacier
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ice cap
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smaller continental glacier
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ice field
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smallest form of a continental glacier, usually found in mountains
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firn
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compact and granual snow
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glacial ice
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dense snow
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firn line
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lower extent of a fresh snow-covered area
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ablation
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glacial losses from upper and lower surfaces along its margins
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crevasses
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vertical gaps formed from downhill glacial movement
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glacier surge
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rapid downhill glacial movement
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abrasion
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when glaciers plucks rock debries and use it to score the underlying rock
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aretes
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saw-toothed serated ridges
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col
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two eroding circues reduces an arte to a saddlelike area
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horn
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several cirque glaciers gouge an individual mountian summit from all sides, forming a peak
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bergschrund
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forms when a crevasse or wide crack opens along the headwall of a glacier
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tarn
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forms when an ice-carved rock basin left as a glacier retreats may fill with water
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paternoster lake
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tarns in a string seperated by moraines
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fjord
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forms where a glacial valley trough joins an ocean and the glacier retreats, and the sea extends inland
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glacial drift
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ice-borne and meltwater-born glacial deposit
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stratified drift
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glacial meltwater deposits are sorted and called this
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till
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direct deposits from ice
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moraines
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landforms formed by deposition of drift
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lateral moraine
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forms along each side of a glacier
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medial moraine
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merging glaciers with lateral morianes
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terminal moraines
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eroded debris dropped at a glaciers terminus
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till plain
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forms behind end moraines
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outwash plains
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stratified drift feature stream channels that are meltwater-fed
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esker
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curving, narrow ridge of course sand and gravel that froms along a channel of meltwater stream behind a glacer
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kettle
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an isolated block of ice left by a retreateing glacier that becomes surrounded by debris
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kame
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small hill deposited directly by water/ice in crevasses
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roche moutonnee
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asymmetrical hill of exposed bedrock
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drumlin
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deposited till, streamlined in the direction of continental ice movement
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periglacial
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describes cold-climate processes and landforms
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permafrost
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an ara of permafrost that is not covered by glaciers
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active layer
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zone of seasonally frozen ground that exists between the subsurface permaforst and the ground surface
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patterned ground
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formed in the periglacal enivornment where freezing and thawing of the ground create polygonal forms of arranged rocks at the surface
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ice age
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extendd period of cold
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paleolakes
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formed in periglacial regions
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