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34 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
Which of the following is the primary step that allows water to enter the groundwater system? |
infiltration |
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Decreased precipitation could impact |
water supply available for humans |
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Water falling in Illinois would ultimately end up where? |
Gulf of Mexico (Illinois is located in the Mississippi River drainage basin. The Mississippi River empties into the Gulf of Mexico) |
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sheet flow |
Runoff moving in unconfined thin sheets. |
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Which of the following statements is true? 1.High stream velocity near the mouth is associated with erosion. 2.Low gradient is associated with deposition. 3.High volume is associated with erosion. 4.Small channel size is associated with deposition. |
Low gradient is associated with deposition. |
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meander |
A looplike bend in the course of a stream. |
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At which of the following locations is erosion occurring?
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a, c, and e |
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At which of the following locations is deposition occurring?
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b and d |
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_________ occurs where water is moving the fastest along the outside of the loop. |
Erosion |
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_________ occurs where water is moving the slowest along the inside of the loop. |
Deposition |
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Which portion of the stream is the most likely to become an oxbow lake in the near future?
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D (An oxbow could form if the two cut banks at the end of section D eroded all the material in between) |
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Base level |
The bottom limit to stream erosion |
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Two facts determine the base level of a stream: |
1. Streams always flow downhill. 2. Streams usually flow into other bodies of water such as oceans, lakes, or other streams.
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What is a floodplain? |
a flat surface next to a river channel |
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What is a natural levee? |
a ridge of flood deposits next to a river channel |
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How does the formation of a natural levee impact flooding? |
Natural levees raise the height of the stream channel, reducing the amount of flooding that will occur on the floodplain. |
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Dendritic drainage pattern |
drainage patterns resemble a branching tree. Dendritic patterns are the most common type of stream drainage, and typically form when streams flow over materials that are uniform in their resistance to erosion. |
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Radial drainage pattern |
drainage patterns develop when streams radiate outward from an isolated high area. |
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Rectangular drainage pattern |
drainage patterns can form when streams flow over rocks that are heavily fractured. Since fractures (joints) often run nearly perpendicular to each other, stream channels in a rectangular drainage pattern join each other at right angles as they follow the fractured, more easily eroded bedrock. |
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Trellis drainage patterns |
drainage patterns form when streams flowing over alternating bands of harder and softer areas (e.g., over folded layers of resistant and less resistant rock) establish channels that run nearly parallel to one another. These have the appearance of a garden trellis. |
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Name the four types of floods |
regional floods, flash floods, ice-jam floods, and dam-failure floods. |
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Ice-jam floods |
occur when ice obstructs the flow of water across a channel, effectively damming the stream. As a consequence, the stream's water level rises and overflows its banks. The ice jam will eventually break, which may generate an additional destructive surge of water. |
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dam-failure floods |
occur when a human-made dam or levee breaks. These floods are particularly catastrophic because they can rapidly submerge an area without warning. |
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Transpiration |
The release of water vapor to the atmosphere by plants. |
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evapotranspiration |
The combined effect of evaporation and transpiration. |
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The single most important erosional agent sculpiting earth's land surfaces |
running water |
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Drainage basin |
The land area that contributes water to a stream. |
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divide |
An imaginary line that separates the drainage of two streams, often found along a ridge. |
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What is the the difference between river and stream |
Rivers are bigger streams |
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River systems can be divided into three zones. Name those zones |
Sediment production (where erosion dominates) Sediment transport and sediment deposition |
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Where is the zone of production located on a stream |
the headwaters |
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Where is the zone of transportation located on a stream |
the trunk stream |
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Where is the zone of deposition located on a stream |
mouth |
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laminar flow |
The movement of water particles in straight-line paths that are parallel to the channel. The water particles move downstream without mixing. |