ESC 100 LAB FINAL EXAM QUESTIONS
& ANSWERS 100% ACCURATE!!
Runoff - ANSWERSthe occurrence of surplus liquid (as water) exceeding the limit or
capacity
Infiltration - ANSWERSthe point where water hits the soil
Dependent on:
-permeability of material
-slope of land
-rainfall intensity
-type/amount of vegetation
groundwater - ANSWERSwater that has soaked into the Earth's surface. Fills pore
space in bedrock
Evaporation - ANSWERSHeat energy from the sun changes water from a liquid to a
gas.
Precipitation - ANSWERSWater that falls to Earth as rain, snow, hail, or sleet
Reservoir - ANSWERSplaces that hold water; atmosphere, oceans, lakes, rivers, soils,
glaciers, snowfields, and under Earth's surface as groundwater.
Unsaturated Zone - ANSWERSAbove the water table- the soil and rock in the zone
contains air and water. Marshes don't have unsaturated zones. Pore mainly filled with
air
Water Table - ANSWERSThe boundary between the saturated zone and the
unsaturated zone
Saturated Zone - ANSWERSthe part of earth where all spaces and fractures of rock are
filled with groundwater. Above bed rock, and below water table. Space completely filled
with water
What happens when excessive pumping occurs? - ANSWERSGround Subsidence- the
compaction of ground upon the removal of groundwater from aquifers.
Karst - ANSWERS-groundwater dissolving and removing underlying soluble rock;
usually limestone
-Features include:
- sinking streams
-solution valleys
, -sinkholes
-springs
-caves
Characteristics of a mountainous desert - ANSWERS-alluvial fans
-bajadas
-playa lakes
-inselbergs
Alluvial fans - ANSWERSrock debris from the mountains picked up by flash floods and
mudflows deposited at the base of the mountain ranges
Playa Lake - ANSWERSif no outlet drains the valley, runoff water may collect and form
a playa lake
Inselbergs - ANSWERSmountains are reduced to a few large bedrock knobs that
project above a sediment filled basin, resistant to erosion and weathering
Bajadas - ANSWERS-over time, alluvial fans begin to over lap, its continued deposition
near the base of the mountain
Playa - ANSWERSdry flat lake bed in a desert region. Common in the Basin and Range
high in salt where the playa lakes dry up.
Characteristics of Deserts - ANSWERS-arid climate
-Covers over 30% of the land surface
-Water is still the dominant erosional force (wind second)
-low and inconsistent rainfall
-flash floods are common
How do glaciers form? - ANSWERS
How do mountains form? - ANSWERS-fault-block mountains are the result of
extensional forces (normal faulting creates high peaks/ ranges and low basins)
Ice Sheets - ANSWERSGlaciers at a much larger scale (multiple centers of snow
accumulation, cover the entire landscape with the exception of the highest points)
-Largest being Greenland, and Antartica
Esker - ANSWERS-ridge running through landscape made of glacial sediment
somewhat sorted melted water flows under glacier. Depositional
Kame - ANSWERSCone shaped hill in glacial system big hill of unsorted glacial
sediment, giant natural hill
-sediment collection ice depression then melts -Depositional
& ANSWERS 100% ACCURATE!!
Runoff - ANSWERSthe occurrence of surplus liquid (as water) exceeding the limit or
capacity
Infiltration - ANSWERSthe point where water hits the soil
Dependent on:
-permeability of material
-slope of land
-rainfall intensity
-type/amount of vegetation
groundwater - ANSWERSwater that has soaked into the Earth's surface. Fills pore
space in bedrock
Evaporation - ANSWERSHeat energy from the sun changes water from a liquid to a
gas.
Precipitation - ANSWERSWater that falls to Earth as rain, snow, hail, or sleet
Reservoir - ANSWERSplaces that hold water; atmosphere, oceans, lakes, rivers, soils,
glaciers, snowfields, and under Earth's surface as groundwater.
Unsaturated Zone - ANSWERSAbove the water table- the soil and rock in the zone
contains air and water. Marshes don't have unsaturated zones. Pore mainly filled with
air
Water Table - ANSWERSThe boundary between the saturated zone and the
unsaturated zone
Saturated Zone - ANSWERSthe part of earth where all spaces and fractures of rock are
filled with groundwater. Above bed rock, and below water table. Space completely filled
with water
What happens when excessive pumping occurs? - ANSWERSGround Subsidence- the
compaction of ground upon the removal of groundwater from aquifers.
Karst - ANSWERS-groundwater dissolving and removing underlying soluble rock;
usually limestone
-Features include:
- sinking streams
-solution valleys
, -sinkholes
-springs
-caves
Characteristics of a mountainous desert - ANSWERS-alluvial fans
-bajadas
-playa lakes
-inselbergs
Alluvial fans - ANSWERSrock debris from the mountains picked up by flash floods and
mudflows deposited at the base of the mountain ranges
Playa Lake - ANSWERSif no outlet drains the valley, runoff water may collect and form
a playa lake
Inselbergs - ANSWERSmountains are reduced to a few large bedrock knobs that
project above a sediment filled basin, resistant to erosion and weathering
Bajadas - ANSWERS-over time, alluvial fans begin to over lap, its continued deposition
near the base of the mountain
Playa - ANSWERSdry flat lake bed in a desert region. Common in the Basin and Range
high in salt where the playa lakes dry up.
Characteristics of Deserts - ANSWERS-arid climate
-Covers over 30% of the land surface
-Water is still the dominant erosional force (wind second)
-low and inconsistent rainfall
-flash floods are common
How do glaciers form? - ANSWERS
How do mountains form? - ANSWERS-fault-block mountains are the result of
extensional forces (normal faulting creates high peaks/ ranges and low basins)
Ice Sheets - ANSWERSGlaciers at a much larger scale (multiple centers of snow
accumulation, cover the entire landscape with the exception of the highest points)
-Largest being Greenland, and Antartica
Esker - ANSWERS-ridge running through landscape made of glacial sediment
somewhat sorted melted water flows under glacier. Depositional
Kame - ANSWERSCone shaped hill in glacial system big hill of unsorted glacial
sediment, giant natural hill
-sediment collection ice depression then melts -Depositional
