Chap 010

Chapter 10 - Streams and Floods
Chapter 10
Streams and Floods
True / False Questions
1. The interrelationship of the hydrosphere, geosphere, biosphere, and atmosphere is

visualized through the hydrogeologic cycle.
FALSE
Bloom's Level: 2. Understand

Topic: Rivers and Streams
2. Sheetwash is a thin layer of unchanneled water flowing downhill.

TRUE
Bloom's Level: 1. Remember

3. Drainage basins are bowl-shaped depressions with a lake in the middle, and all streams in
the basin discharge their water and sediment into that lake.
FALSE

4. A trellis stream pattern consists of parallel main streams with short tributaries meeting them
at right angles.
TRUE

10-1
5. Stream erosion and deposition are controlled primarily by a river's velocity.

TRUE

6. Low stream velocity generally results in erosion and transportation of sediment.

FALSE

7. Stream discharge is one of the most important factors that controls stream velocity.
FALSE

8. Hydraulic action refers to the ability of flowing water to pick up and move rock and
sediment.
TRUE

9. A stream reaches its maximum velocity close to the shoreline.

FALSE

10-2
10. The discharge of a stream is the volume of water that passes a given point in unit of time
(for example, 50 cubic meters per second).
TRUE

11. A bar in a river channel is a ridge of sediment, usually sand and gravel, deposited in the
middle or along the banks of a stream.
TRUE

12. Saltation of sand grains begins when they are dissolved.

FALSE

13. Braided streams flow in a network of interconnected rivulets around numerous bars.
TRUE

14. Point bars are sandbars deposited in the middle of river channels.
FALSE

10-3
15. A cutoff meander can become an oxbow lake.

TRUE

16. Stream-dominated river deltas, like the Mississippi, display the characteristic triangular
shape of a delta.
FALSE

17. An alluvial fan is a fan- or cone-shaped pile of sediment that forms where a stream
emerges from a narrow mountain canyon.
TRUE

18. The process of deepening a valley by erosion of the streambed is called downcutting.
TRUE

19. Paved areas and storm sewers decrease the rate of surface runoff of water.
FALSE

10-4
20. A stream can lengthen its valley by headward erosion.

TRUE

Multiple Choice Questions
21. The gravel bed load of a stream moves by _____.

A. dissolution
B. solution
C. suspension
D. sliding and rolling
E. flotation

22. ________ are low ridges of flood-deposited sediment that form on both sides of a stream
channel and thin away from the channel.
A. Point bars
B. Natural levees
C. Oxbows
D. Cut banks
E. Deltas

10-5
23. The movement and interchange of water between the sea, air and land can be visualized
by the ____.
A. longitudinal profile of a stream
B. channelization procedures
C. hydrologic cycle
D. hydrosphere interactions such as precipitation
E. solar radiation

24. A(n) ___ stream flows in a network of rivulets (subchannels) around numerous sandbars.
A. braided
B. meandering
C. incised
D. channelized
E. rilled

25. A stream can increase its length by _____.

A. building a delta
B. meandering
C. headward erosion
D. All of the answers are correct.

10-6
26. A ridge or strip of ground separating one drainage basin from another is termed a ____.
A. delta
B. neck
C. crest
D. plateau
E. divide

27. Certain features on the planet Mars resemble _____ on Earth.

A. river channels
B. hydrologic cycle
C. alluvial fans
D. deltas
E. placer deposits

28. A(n) __ is the body of sediment deposited at the mouth of a river when the river's velocity
decreases.
A. apron
B. alluvial fan
C. bar
D. delta
E. wart

10-7
29. A "100-year flood" has a _______ percent chance of occurring in any given year.
A. 1
B. 100
C. 10
D. 0.1
E. 0.01
Bloom's Level: 3. Apply

30. Rivers may develop pronounced sinuous (wiggly) curves called a ___ pattern.
A. braided
B. meandering
C. incised
D. channelized
E. rilled

31. A cutoff meander may become a crescent-shaped __.

A. kettle lake
B. moraine lake
C. levee lake
D. oxbow lake
E. Yazoo lake

10-8
32. A _____ is a ridge of sediment built by sedimentation on the middle or banks of a stream
channel.
A. levee
B. flood plain
C. meander loop
D. channel
E. bar

33. The ______ is the total area drained by a river and its tributaries.
A. flow area
B. divide
C. drainage basin
D. domain
E. hood

34. A stream's discharge is __.

A. the volume of dissolved mineral matter carried by the stream in a unit of time
B. the volume of solid sediment carried by the stream in a unit of time
C. the volume of water passing through a specific point along the stream in a unit of time.
D. the volume of excess water during flood stage
E. the average amount of water in the entire stream system

10-9
35. Movement of cobbles and boulders by rolling, sliding, or dragging in a streambed is called
____ load.
A. dissolution
B. solution
C. suspension
D. traction
E. saltation

36. The limit to downcutting of a stream is called the ___ level.

A. head
B. base
C. flow
D. stream
E. foot

37. A ____ drainage pattern is one in which streams diverge outward likes spokes on a wheel.
A. jointed
B. tilted
C. compass
D. radial
E. conical

10-10
38. In North America, the ___ separates streams that flow into the Pacific Ocean from those
that flow into the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico.
A. Appalachian Mountain Range
B. Mississippi River
C. Continental Transect
D. Sierra Nevada Mountain Range
E. Continental Divide

39. _____ are low ridges of flood deposited sediment that form on either side of a stream
channel and thin away from the channel.
A. Point bars
B. Natural levees
C. Incised meanders
D. Deltas
E. Oxbow lakes

40. ___ influences the velocity of a river along with gradient.

A. Direction of flow
B. Channel shape and roughness
C. Temperature of the water
D. Chemistry of the water
E. Latitude of the river

10-11
41. A river's velocity is faster ____.

A. along the inside of a meander loop near the point bar
B. along the center line of the stream channel, exactly halfway between point bar and cut bank
C. along the outside of a meander loop near the cut bank
D. at the water's surface, in contact with the atmosphere
E. along the channel bed at the very deepest part of the channel

42. A stream can lengthen itself by ____.

A. headward erosion
B. deposition of a delta
C. meander-loop cut-off
D. stream discharge
E. Headward erosion and deposition of a delta are both correct, but meander-loop cut-off and
stream discharge are incorrect.

43. The ______ load is sediment light enough to remain lifted indefinitely above the bottom
by water turbulence.
A. dissolution
B. solution
C. saltation
D. suspension
E. segregation

10-12
44. The delta of the ______ River is a wave-dominated delta that resembles the Greek letter
delta and is the origin of the name.
A. Mississippi
B. Nile
C. Amazon
D. Colorado
E. Ganges

45. _____ refers to sand grain movement in a series of short leaps or bounces off the bottom.
A. Jumping
B. Floating
C. Saltation
D. Hopping
E. Vaulting

46. _____ meanders are meanders that retain their sinuous pattern as they cut vertically
downward below the level at which they originally formed.
A. Incised
B. Excised
C. Excavated
D. Concentrated
E. Superposed

10-13
47. A graded stream can be deepening its channel by down cutting while part of its energy is
also widening its valley by ______ erosion.
A. downward
B. longitudinal
C. lateral
D. distal
E. proximal

48. A(n) ___ is a step-like landform found above a stream and its floodplain. It is a remnant of
an older flood plain or river-eroded flat surface.
A. levee
B. incised meander
C. cut bank
D. stream terrace
E. upland plateau

49. A(n) ____ stream is one that exhibits a delicate balance between its transporting capacity
and the sediment load available to it.
A. graded
B. ephemeral
C. consequent
D. incised
E. beheaded

10-14
50. Flood control structures along the Mississippi River surrounding New Orleans are
predominantly _____.
A. upstream dams
B. riprap lining
C. bypasses
D. artificial levees
E. All of the answers are correct.

51. The process of deepening of a valley by erosion of a streambed is called __.

A. lateral erosion
B. down cutting
C. faulting
D. aggradation
E. subsidence

52. A(n) ___ drainage pattern of a river resembles a tree.

A. dendritic
B. trellis
C. bush
D. arbor
E. leaf

10-15
53. ___ is/are sudden localized floods of large volume and short duration, often triggered by
heavy rainstorms.
A. Sheetwash
B. Dry flooding
C. Flash floods
D. Channel erosion
E. Stream piracy

54. _______ deposits are found in streams where running water has mechanically
concentrated heavy sediment such as gold.
A. Placer
B. Lag
C. Granular
D. Pebble
E. Agglomerated

55. Streams erode rock and sediment by ___.

A. hydraulic action
B. solution
C. abrasion
D. All answers are correct.
E. None of the answers are correct.

10-16
56. On large alluvial fans, the _____ sediment is deposited near the mountains.
A. finest
B. clay
C. coarsest
D. quartz
E. best sorted

57. Floods are described by ____, the average time between floods of a given size.
A. discharge
B. forecasting
C. calendar year
D. recurrence interval
E. lunar month

58. Deltas may be river dominated, tide dominated or _____.

A. tsunami dominated
B. wave dominated
C. glacier dominated
D. wind dominated
E. plate tectonic dominated

10-17
59. ___ beds form the main body of a delta with angles of inclination up to 20 to 35 degrees in
small sandy deltas.
A. Turbidite
B. Foreset
C. Backset
D. Bottomset
E. Topset

60. Discharge is the product of average stream width times average stream depth times ___.
A. stream velocity
B. stream sinuosity
C. stream elevation
D. stream gradient
E. stream temperature

10-18

Chap 010

Uploaded by

Document Information

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Chap 010

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Chapter 10 - Streams and Floods

True / False Questions

1. The interrelationship of the hydrosphere, geosphere, biosphere, and atmosphere is

Bloom's Level: 2. Understand

2. Sheetwash is a thin layer of unchanneled water flowing downhill.

Bloom's Level: 1. Remember

Bloom's Level: 2. Understand

Bloom's Level: 1. Remember

5. Stream erosion and deposition are controlled primarily by a river's velocity.

Bloom's Level: 2. Understand

6. Low stream velocity generally results in erosion and transportation of sediment.

Bloom's Level: 2. Understand

Bloom's Level: 2. Understand

Bloom's Level: 1. Remember

9. A stream reaches its maximum velocity close to the shoreline.

Bloom's Level: 2. Understand

Bloom's Level: 1. Remember

Bloom's Level: 1. Remember

12. Saltation of sand grains begins when they are dissolved.

Bloom's Level: 2. Understand

Bloom's Level: 1. Remember

Bloom's Level: 1. Remember

15. A cutoff meander can become an oxbow lake.

Bloom's Level: 2. Understand

Bloom's Level: 2. Understand

Bloom's Level: 1. Remember

Bloom's Level: 1. Remember

Bloom's Level: 2. Understand

20. A stream can lengthen its valley by headward erosion.

Bloom's Level: 2. Understand

Multiple Choice Questions

21. The gravel bed load of a stream moves by _____.

Bloom's Level: 1. Remember

Bloom's Level: 1. Remember

Bloom's Level: 2. Understand

Bloom's Level: 1. Remember

25. A stream can increase its length by _____.

Bloom's Level: 2. Understand

Bloom's Level: 1. Remember

27. Certain features on the planet Mars resemble _____ on Earth.

Bloom's Level: 2. Understand

Bloom's Level: 1. Remember

Bloom's Level: 3. Apply

Bloom's Level: 1. Remember

31. A cutoff meander may become a crescent-shaped __.

Bloom's Level: 1. Remember

Bloom's Level: 1. Remember

Bloom's Level: 1. Remember

34. A stream's discharge is __.

Bloom's Level: 1. Remember

Bloom's Level: 1. Remember

36. The limit to downcutting of a stream is called the ___ level.

Bloom's Level: 1. Remember

Bloom's Level: 1. Remember

Bloom's Level: 1. Remember

Bloom's Level: 1. Remember

40. ___ influences the velocity of a river along with gradient.

Bloom's Level: 2. Understand

41. A river's velocity is faster ____.

Bloom's Level: 2. Understand

42. A stream can lengthen itself by ____.

Bloom's Level: 2. Understand

Bloom's Level: 1. Remember

Bloom's Level: 1. Remember