PHSC 210 Test Questions and Answers
Alluvium - Answer-Unconsolidated sediment deposited by a stream.
Angle of Repose - Answer-When unconsolidated, granular (sand-size or coarser) particles assume a
stable slope; the steepest angle at which material remains stable; depending on the size and shape of
the particles, the angle varies from 25 to 40 degrees.
Aquifer - Answer-Rock or soil through which groundwater moves easily.
Aquitard - Answer-Impermeable layers suchs as clay that hinder or prevent water movement.
Artesian Well - Answer-A well in which the water rises above the level where it was initially
encountered.
Backswamp - Answer-A poorly drained area on a floodplain that results when natural levees are
present.
, Bar - Answer-Channel deposits composed mostly of sand and gravel; sediment picked up and
redeposited downstream; such features are only temporary, as the material will be picked up again and
eventually carried to the ocean.
Base Level - Answer-The level below which a stream cannot erode.
Bed Load - Answer-Sediment that is carried by a stream along the bottom of its channel.
Braided Channels - Answer-A complex network of converging and diverging channels that thread their
way among numerous islands or gravel bars; they form where a large proportion of the stream's load
consists of coarse material (sand and gravel) and the stream has a highly variable discharge.
Capacity - Answer-The total amount of sediment a stream is able to transport.
Cavern - Answer-A naturally formed underground chamber or series of chambers most commonly
produced by solution activity in limestone.
Competence - Answer-A measure of the largest particle a stream can transport; a factor dependent on
velocity.
Cone of Depression - Answer-A cone-shaped depression in the water table immediately surrounding a
well.
Confined Aquifer - Answer-An aquifer that has impermeable layers (aquitards) both above and below.
Cutoff - Answer-A short channel segment created when a river erodes through the narrow neck of land
between meanders.
Delta - Answer-An accumulation of sediment formed where a stream enters a lake or ocean.
Alluvium - Answer-Unconsolidated sediment deposited by a stream.
Angle of Repose - Answer-When unconsolidated, granular (sand-size or coarser) particles assume a
stable slope; the steepest angle at which material remains stable; depending on the size and shape of
the particles, the angle varies from 25 to 40 degrees.
Aquifer - Answer-Rock or soil through which groundwater moves easily.
Aquitard - Answer-Impermeable layers suchs as clay that hinder or prevent water movement.
Artesian Well - Answer-A well in which the water rises above the level where it was initially
encountered.
Backswamp - Answer-A poorly drained area on a floodplain that results when natural levees are
present.
, Bar - Answer-Channel deposits composed mostly of sand and gravel; sediment picked up and
redeposited downstream; such features are only temporary, as the material will be picked up again and
eventually carried to the ocean.
Base Level - Answer-The level below which a stream cannot erode.
Bed Load - Answer-Sediment that is carried by a stream along the bottom of its channel.
Braided Channels - Answer-A complex network of converging and diverging channels that thread their
way among numerous islands or gravel bars; they form where a large proportion of the stream's load
consists of coarse material (sand and gravel) and the stream has a highly variable discharge.
Capacity - Answer-The total amount of sediment a stream is able to transport.
Cavern - Answer-A naturally formed underground chamber or series of chambers most commonly
produced by solution activity in limestone.
Competence - Answer-A measure of the largest particle a stream can transport; a factor dependent on
velocity.
Cone of Depression - Answer-A cone-shaped depression in the water table immediately surrounding a
well.
Confined Aquifer - Answer-An aquifer that has impermeable layers (aquitards) both above and below.
Cutoff - Answer-A short channel segment created when a river erodes through the narrow neck of land
between meanders.
Delta - Answer-An accumulation of sediment formed where a stream enters a lake or ocean.
