Historical Geology Exam 6

Which of the following is NOT true about Homo neanderthalenis?

They evolved before Homo habilis and Homo erectus

Which Cenozoic feature formed as the crust thinned, and earthquakes and volcanic activity were common?

The Rio Grande Rift

The present topographic of the Appalachian Mountains was formed by volcanic activity and subduction along the East Coast of North America

False

Which of the following is the first primitive lineage

Prosimians

Anthropoids and prosimians both thrived in cold, dry climates during the Cenozoic

False

What glacial feature or deposit indicates the farthest extent or advance of Pleusticene glaciers?

End moraines

Over 26,000 years, Earth's axis changes orientation. This shift is called:

Precession

The Andes Mountains formed when a formerly passive margin became active and an oceanic-continental collision occurred

True

Changes in Earth's rotation and orbit cause variations in Earth's climate

True

Mammals and dinosaurs never coexisted on this planet

False

Large mammals retain heat more effectively than small mammals

True

Which part of the glacier is where snowfall exceeds local losses?

Zone of accumulation

One evolutionary adaptation of hominids was bipedalism, likely in response to environmental changes from forests to savannas

True

The last of the three Cordilleran Orogenies began in the Cretaceous and extended into the Cenozoic. This orogenic event was the

Laramide Orogeny

The fossil record contained in Cenozoic rocks is more complete becuase

The rocks are more accessible and have not been deformed

Throughout the Cenozoic, the Continental Interior of North America was volcanically active

False

Which type of glaciers are smaller and confined in mountainous regions?

Ice caps

Which of the following is NOT a characteristic of a hominid?

Herbivore diet

Since the apperance of Cro-Magnons, human evolution has been:

Cultural rather than biological

DNA ecidence suggests that humans evolved from dryopithecines

True

What percentage of mammals alive today belong to the order Rodentia

40%

What feature of birds has remained constant across all species over the Cenozoic?

Skeletal structure

Sediments in the Gulf of Mexico came from _________ in the west and __________ in the east

Laramide Orogeny; Appalachian Mountains

Monotremes are a type of mammal that

Lay eggs

During the Pleistocene, how much lower was sea level than present dat

130 m

What is the name given to the earliest known hominin

Sahelanthropus tchadensis (tourmai)

One hypothesis to explain modern humans origins states that modern humans originated in Africa, and migration into Europe and Asia began approximately 100,000 years ago

Out of Africa hypothesis

The change in Earth's orbit around the sun is called

orbital eccentricity

"Megafauna", or large Pleistocene animals, likely evolved and adapted to glaciated conditions

True

The ancestor of all living carnivored is a(n):

Miacid

Hoofed animals, like Perissodactyls and Ariodactyls, have different

Number of hoof toes

What are the periods of the Cenozoic, from oldest to youngest

Paleogene, Neogene, and Quaternary

What two plates collided forming the Alpine Orogeny

African, Eurasian

Modern day glaciers cover ___________ of Earth's land surface

10%

As the Himalayan collision occurred, India was stationary and the Eurasian Plate moved south towards a collision

False

On what continent did hominins originate

Africa

Australia is the only modern continent without any glaciers

True

New World Monkeys belong to the primary order of Prosimians

False

What leaf shape would be common in warmer, wetter climates

Leaves with smoother edges

Which did not take shape during the Cenozoic

The formation and expansion of Pangea

The Great Lakes formed from meltwater as glaciers receded

True

Short-term climatic changes, such as the Little Ice Age, may be caused by

Volcanic activity

Louis Afassiz contributed to the understanding and acceptance of glaciation using what places of evidence

Boulders and U-shaped valleys

The Cenozoic makes up the largest chunk of proportion of geologic time

False

During the Pleistocene, several massive volcanic eruptions occurred in Yellowstone

True

Carivores have specialized teeth for eating their prey, called:

Carnassials

The complex series of orogenies along the western coast of North America is called the

Cordillean Orogeny

The species name for the modern man is

Homo Sapiens

Glacial lakes that form due to greater rainfall rates and overall cooler temperatures are called

Pluvial lakes

Why was there no volcanism during the Laramide Orogeny

Transition to horizontal subduction