Chapter 15 Exam Earth and Space

What is the term for the continuous movement of water between the atmosphere, the land, and the oceans?

The water cycle.

The total loss of water from an area, equal to the sum of evaporation and transpiration, is known as _.

evapotranspiration

What is the process of a gas changing state to a liquid called?

Condensation.

Define precipitation in the context of the water cycle.

It is any form of water, such as rain, snow, sleet, and hail, that falls to Earth's surface from the clouds.

In a local water budget, what is considered the 'income'?

Precipitation.

In a local water budget, what two processes are considered the 'expenses'?

Evapotranspiration and runoff.

What is desalination?

A process of removing salt from ocean water.

What is a tributary?

A stream that flows into a lake or into a larger stream.

The area of land that is drained by a river system is called a _.

watershed

What geographic feature separates one watershed from another?

A divide.

What are the sides of a river channel called?

Banks.

What is the bottom of a river channel called?

The bed.

What is the term for the location where a stream or river empties into another body of water?

The mouth.

What is the process by which a stream channel lengthens at its origin, often extending into hills or mountains?

Headward erosion.

What phenomenon occurs when a river from one watershed erodes through a divide and captures the flow of a river from another watershed?

Stream piracy.

What is a stream load?

The materials other than water that are carried by a stream.

What type of stream load consists of fine particles like sand, silt, and clay held up by the water's movement?

Suspended load.

What type of stream load consists of larger, coarser materials like pebbles and cobbles that move along the stream bottom?

Bed load.

What type of stream load consists of mineral matter that has been weathered and transported in solution?

Dissolved load.

The volume of water that flows within a given time is known as a stream's _.

discharge

What is the term for the change in elevation of a stream over a given distance?

Gradient.

A _ is one of the bends, twists, or curves in a low-gradient stream or river.

meander

What is the C-shaped lake formed when a wide meander of a river is cut off?

An oxbow lake.

A depositional feature made of sand or gravel that accumulates on the inside bend of a meander is called a _.

sand bar

What is a braided stream?

A stream or river that is composed of multiple channels that divide and rejoin around sediment bars.

What is a delta?

A fan-shaped mass of rock material deposited at the mouth of a stream where it flows into a larger body of water.

An _ is a fan-shaped mass of rock material deposited by a stream when the slope of the land decreases sharply.

alluvial fan

Where do alluvial fans typically form?

Where streams flow from mountains onto flat land.

What is a floodplain?

An area along a river that forms from sediments deposited when the river overflows its banks.

What are the raised banks of sediment that form along the edges of a river channel during floods?

Natural levees.

Which of these is an example of a flood control method: natural levees or artificial levees?

Artificial levees.

What is the primary purpose of a dam in relation to flooding?

To control the flow of water and store it, reducing the risk of downstream flooding.

What are floodways?

Permanent overflow channels designed to divert floodwaters away from developed areas.

The process of water loss from the leaves of plants into the atmosphere is known as _.

transpiration

What are two alternative methods for conserving water?

Wise use and desalination.

What is the general term for the deepening and widening of a river's pathway?

Channel erosion.

What kind of sediment is typically deposited across a floodplain, away from the natural levees?

Finer flood sediments.