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Floods_Landslides
Exam 3
59
Geology
Undergraduate 4
10/31/2013

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Term
Debris Avalanche
Definition
A fast moving Avalanche of loose debris that flows out a considerable distance from its source
Term
Cohesion
Definition
Attraction between small soil particles, caused by surface tension between water and the surface of the particles
Term
Fluidization
Definition
The process of changing a soil saturated with water into a fluid mass that flows downslope
Term
Frictional Resistance
Definition
The resistance to down slope movement of a flow or a landslide.
Term
Kaolinite
Definition
Clay mineral formed by weathering, does not expand when wet.
Term
Quick Clay
Definition
Water saturated Mud deposited in salty water and tends to consist of random oriented flakes of clay with large open spaces between the flakes. If the the salt is washed out, the flakes are unstable and may easily collapse and flow like water.
Term
Rockfall
Definition
A rock mass that falls from a steep slope
Term
Rotational Slump
Definition
A landslide in which the mass rotates(bottom edge outward) as it slides on a basal slip surface
Term
Runout
Definition
The distance a rockfall will travel, including that beyond the base of a slope.
Term
Slope Angle
Definition
The angle of a slope a measured down from the horizontal
Term
Smectite
Definition
A soft "swelling" clay that forms by alteration of volcanic ash, swells when wet, and becomes extremely slippery
Term
Snow Avalanche
Definition
Rapid downslope movement of snow
Term
Soil Creep
Definition
Slow down-slope movement of near surface soil or rock, caused by freezing and thawing of water
Term
Surface Tension
Definition
The effect by which grains of sand are held together by the thin films of water between them.
Term
Talus
Definition
Coarse angular rock fragments that fall from a cliff to form a cone shaped pile banked up against the slope
Term
Toe
Definition
The lowest, farthest extent of a landslide.
Term
Translational Slide
Definition
A landslide with a slip surface approximately parallel to the slope of the ground
Term
100 Year Flood
Definition
A flood magnitude that comes along once every 100 years
Term
Alluvial Fan
Definition
A fan-shaped deposit of sand and gravel at the mouth of a mountain canyon, where the stream gradient becomes gentler or flattens at the main valley floor
Term
Base Level
Definition
The level below which a stream cannot erode, typically a lake or ocean.
Term
Bedrock Stream
Definition
a stream that has eroded down to bedrock
Term
Braided Stream
Definition
A stream characterized by interlacing channels that separate and come together at different places. The stream has more sediment that it can carry, so it frequently deposits some of it
Term
Channel Scour
Definition
The depth of sediment eroded during stream or river flooods.
Term
Debris Flow
Definition
A slurry of rock and sand and water flowing down a valley
Term
Delta
Definition
The accumulation of sediment where a river reaches the base level of a lake or ocean.
Term
Discharge
Definition
measured volume of water flowing past a cross section of a river in a given amount of time.
Term
Dynamic Equilibrium
Definition
Term
Flash Flood
Definition
A short lived flood that appears suddenly, generally in a dry climate
Term
Flood Crest
Definition
The point where the flood reaches its peak discharge
Term
Floodplain
Definition
Flat lowland that boarders a river, usually dry but subject to flooding every few years
Term
Gaining Stream
Definition
A stream, typically in a climate with abundant rainfall, that lies below the water table and gains water from groundwater as it flows down stream.
Term
Glacial-Outburst Flood
Definition
Term
Graded Stream
Definition
Stream in equilibrium with ts environment; its slope is adjusted to accommodate the amount of water and sediment amounts and grain size provided to it.
Term
Gradient
Definition
Slope along the channel of a streambed, typically expressed in M/km or ft/mi
Term
Hydrograph
Definition
A graph that shows changes in discharge or river stage with time.
Term
Load
Definition
1) weight of material on a slope
2) the volume of sediment a stream can carry.
Term
Losing Stream
Definition
A stream, typically in a dry climate, that lies above the water table and loses water to an aquifer
Term
Meandering Stream
Definition
Streams that sweep from side to side in wide turns called meanders
Term
Mudflow
Definition
A flow of mud, rocks, and water dominated by clay or mud-sized particles
Term
Natural Levee
Definition
A natural embankment of sediment at the edge of a stream, where sediment is deposited and flood waters slow and spread over and adjacent floodplain
Term
Oxbow Lake
Definition
A small lake left when a meander of a stream is cut off and abandoned by a flood
Term
Paleoflood Analysis
Definition
Information on previous floods gathered from erosion and depositional features left by such a flood
Term
Point Bar
Definition
Deposits of sand and gravel on the inside (concave side) of a meander bend of a stream
Term
Recurrence Interval
Definition
The average number of years between events of a certain size in a location
Term
Drainage basin
Definition
The area up-slope from a point in a valley that drains water to that point.
Term
Stream Order
Definition
A way of numbering streams in a hierarchy
Term
Surface Runoff
Definition
Water flowing across the ground after heavy rain
Term
Watershed
Definition
Part of a landscape that drains water down to a given point on a stream
Term
Cavern
Definition
A large Natural underground cave or tunnel, most commonly in limestone.
Term
Cover Collapse
Definition
Collapse of the roof material over an underground cavity, often a soil cavern over a limestone cavern.
Term
Cover Subsidence
Definition
Gradual depression of the roof material over an underground cavity.
Term
Dissolution
Definition
Minerals or rocks dissolving in water
Term
Groundwater Mining
Definition
The amount of water pumped from the ground exceeds recharge from participation
Term
Karst
Definition
The ragged top of limestone exposed at the surface, resulting from dissolution from acid rainfall and groundwater.
Term
Land Subsidence
Definition
settling of the ground in response to extraction of water or oil in subsurface soil and sediments, drying of peat, or formation of sinkholes
Term
Permafrost
Definition
the condition where water in the ground remains frozen all year
Term
Sinkhole
Definition
A ground depression caused by collapse into an underground cavern
Term
Soluble
Definition
Able to be dissolved, typically in water
Term
Swelling Soil
Definition
Soil that expands when wet; generally, a soil that contains smectite, the swelling clay
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