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Env Finals 14
chapter 14
20
Environmental Studies
Undergraduate 2
12/04/2014

Additional Environmental Studies Flashcards

 


 

Cards

Term
A dry desert lake bed is a/an ____________________.
Definition
playa
Term
Because Death Valley has no external drainage, the ____________________ eroded from surrounding mountains creates bajadas, pediments, and alluvial fans.
Definition
sediment
Term
Wind erosion, called ____________________, is a selective process in which the wind moves only small particles, such as silt and sand.
Definition
deflation
Term
Sand grains are transported by wind close to the ground in a bouncing movement called ____________________.
Definition
saltation
Term
The growth of a desert by human mismanagement is called ____________________.
Definition
desertification
Term
Outside of the polar regions, the Earth's land surface is ____ desert.
Definition
about 25 percent
Term
When a dry desert streambed suddenly fills with water during a rainstorm, this is called a/an ____ flood.
Definition
flash
Term
____ is a continuous cover of stones left behind when wind blows silt and sand away.
Definition
desert pavement
Term
Wind-scoured depressions are called ____.
Definition
blowouts
Term
The leeward side of a dune is called the ____ face.
Definition
slip
Term
The largest loess deposits in the world are found in ____.
Definition
central china
Term
Human mismanagement can cause the conversion of semiarid land to arid land in a process called ____.
Definition
desertification
Term
Salt deposits are found on playas because:
Definition
dissolved ions precipitate during evaporation of the playa lake water
Term
In fossil dunes:
Definition
the dipping beds are the layering of the dunes slip face
Term
Loess is:
Definition
silt that has been transported and deposited by wind
Term
T/F The sand on the slip face of a dune is loose compared to the windward face.
Definition
True
Term
T/F Migrating dunes can overrun buildings and highways.
Definition
True
Term
A desert is defined as any region that receives less than ____ centimeters of rain per year.
Definition
25
Term
A/An ____________________ is a broad, gently sloping depositional surface formed by merging alluvial fans.
Definition
bajada
Term
T/F Rainfall patterns and deserts have no direct relationship to tectonic activity.
Definition
false
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