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89 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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What are deltas made of?
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Deposited load of the river (mostly mud)
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What forms at places in a river where the current slows?
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Placer deposit
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Explain why flood plains are both good and bad areas for farming.
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Good because flooding brings new rich soil to the land. Bad because it creates great damage to homes, farmlands and animals.
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How are alluvial fans and deltas similar?
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They are both sediment deposits.
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What is a damn?
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A barrier that can re-direct the flow of water.
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What is a levee?
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A levee is a build-up of sediment deposited along the channel of a river.
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What is a channel?
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The path that a stream follows.
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What are the four stages of a river?
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Youthful, Mature, Old, Rejuvenated.
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A river system is made up of what?
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A network of streams and rivers.
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What is the zone of saturation?
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Zone filled with empty spaces that fill with water.
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What is the difference between springs and wells?
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Springs are a natural way that water reaches the surface. Wells are made by man.
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What is the zone of aeration?
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The upper zone, where rainwater passes through before it reaches the zone of saturation.
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What is a watershed?
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A region that collects runoff water and then becomes part of a river or lake.
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How did the Grand Canyon form?
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The Colorado River carved the Grand Canyon by washing billions of tons of soil and rock from its riverbed...a process that took millions of years.
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What is erosion?
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The process by which soil and sediment are transported from one location to another.
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What are the agents of erosion?
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Rivers, wind, ice, snow and rain can cause erosion.
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What is the water cycle?
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The continuous movement of water from the ocean to the atmosphere to the land and back to the ocean.
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What is condensation?
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Water vapor cools and changes into water droplets that form clouds in the atmosphere. Water loses energy during condensation.
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What is evaporation?
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Water from the oceans and the Earth's surface change into water vapor.
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What causes evaporation?
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Energy from the sun. Water gains energy during evaporation.
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What is percolation?
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The downward movement of water through pores and other spaces in soil due to gravity.
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What is runoff?
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Precipitation that flows over land into streams and rivers. This water later enters oceans.
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What is a tributary?
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A Stream that flows into a lake or larger stream.
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What is the largest watershed in the United States?
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The Mississippi River watershed is the larges, extends from the Rocky Mounts in the west to the Appalachian Mountains, covers 1/3 of the US.
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Other major watersheds in the US are?
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Rio Grand, Colorado River and Columbia River watersheds.
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What separates watersheds from one another?
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A divide.
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Describe the difference between a watershed and a divide.
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A watershed is an area of land (or drainage basin) that is drained by a water system. A divide separates watersheds from each other. What i
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What is a channel?
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The path a stream follows. When a stream forms, it erodes soil and rock to make a channel.
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How are rivers formed?
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Over time, when streams become longer, wider and deeper with erosion, they become rivers
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What 3 factors influence a stream's ability to erode?
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Gradient, discharge and load.
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What is gradient?
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The measure of the change in elevation over a certain distance. A high gradient has more energy; a low gradient has less energy.
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What is discharge?
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The amount of water that a stream or river carries in a given amount of time. As discharge increases, so does erosive energy.
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What factors cause a stream to flow faster?
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High gradient, increased discharge
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What is load?
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The materials carried by a stream.
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How does the size of a stream's load affect it?
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The size affects the speed (fast moving streams can carry large particles); and its rate of erosion.
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What are the characteristics of a mature river?
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One that curves back and forth; bends in a river's channel are called "meanders".
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What are the characteristics of a youthful river?
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Erodes deeper rather than wider; flows quickly because of steep gradient; narrow, straight channel; very few tributaries; many rapids & falls.
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Characteristics of an old river?
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Little erosive energy; low gradient; wide, flat flood plains, fewer tributaries
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Characteristics of a rejuvenated river?
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Formed where land is raised by tectonic activity; river flows more quickly; increased gradient; steplike formations (called terraces) form on the sides.
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What is the distribution of water in the world?
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Polar ice cap: 2.3%; Rivers and lakes, 0.2%; oceans, 97%; 0.5%, water underground in soil and in air
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What stage of river development is characterized by flat flood plains?
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Old River
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a naturally occurring solid mixture of one or more minerals or organic matter
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Rock
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The series of processes in which rock forms
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rock cycle
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The process by which wind, water, ice or gravity transports soil and sediment from one location to anothr
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erosion
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The process by which material is laid down
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deposition
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The chemical make-up of a rock
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composition
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The quality of a rock that is based on the sizes, shapes and positions of the rock grains
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Texture
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The texture of metamorphic rock in which the mineral grains are arranged in plains or bands
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Foliated
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The texture of metamorphic rock in which the mineral grains are not arranged in plains or bands
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Non-foliated
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In what order is the rock cycle?
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Erosion, deposition, compaction cementation, metamorphism, melting, cooling, solidification, weathering
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Sediments are transported or moved from their original source by a process called
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a) deposition
b) erosion* c) uplift d) weathering |
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The thin and solid outermost layer of the earth above the mantle
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Crust
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The layer of rock between the earth's crust and core
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Mantle
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The central part of the earth below the mantle
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Core
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The solid outermost layer of the earth that consists of the crust and the rigid upper part of the mantle
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Lithosphere
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The soft layer of the mantle on which the tectonic plates move
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Asthenosphere
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The strong lower part of the mantle between the asthenosphere and the outer core
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Mesosphere
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Block of lithosphere that consists of the crust and the rigid
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tectonic plate
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Stress that occurs in forces act to squeeze on an object
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compression
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stress that occurs when forces occur to stretch an object
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tension
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the bending of rock layers due to stress
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folding
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The rising of regions of the earth's crust to higher elevations
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uplift
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the sinking of regions of the earth's crust to lower elevations
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subsidence
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What is a rebound?
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When areas rise without deforming
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Mixture of gases that surrounds a planet or moon
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Atmosphere
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The measure of the force with which air molecules push on a surface
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air pressure
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The lowest layer of the atmosphere in which temperature decreases at a constant rate as altitude increases
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stratosphere
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The layer of the atmosphere between the stratosphere and the thermosphere
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Mesosphere
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The uppermost layer of the atmosphere
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Thermosphere
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The contamination of the atmosphere by the introduction of pollutants
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air pollution
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Rain sleet or snow that contains a high concentrations of acids
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Acid precipitation
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Short term state of the atmosphere temperature, humidity, precipitation and wind
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weather
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the amount of water vapor in the air
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humidity
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The ratio of the amount of water vapor in the air to the maximum amount of water vapor the air can hold
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Relative humidity
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The change of state from gas to liquid
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condensation
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A collection of small water droplets or ice crystals suspended into the air
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Clouds
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An instrument that measures and indicates temperature
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Thermometer
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An instruments that measures atmospheric pressure
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Barometer
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An instrument used to measure wind speed
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Aneometer
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The height of an object above sea level
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elevation
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A large region characterized by specific type of climate and certain types of plant and animal communities
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Biome
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A long period of climate cooling during which ice sheets cover large areas of earth's surface also known as a glacial period
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Ice Age
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A gradual increase in the average global temperature
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Global Warming
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The warming of the surface and lower atmosphere of earth that occurs when carbon dioxide, water vapor and other gases in the air absorb and trap thermal energy
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Greenhouse Effect
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The average distance between the Earth and the Sun
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Astronomical unit
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List the 9 planets in order from they orbit the sun
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(My valentine enjoys money, jewelry, shopping, underpriced nice pants)
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Natural or artificial body that revolves around a planet
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Satellite
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The change in the sunlight area of one celestial body as seen from another celestial body
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Phase
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An event in which the shadow of one celestial body falls on another
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Eclipse
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