Physical Geography Exam 3 July PDF

## Sun Obuka ## Physical Geography Exam 3 July ### Ch11 **Geomorphology** is the study of the physical features of the earth and their relation to its geological structures. **Topography** is the study of the physical features of the Earth's surface. What is *relief*, and what is a geographic lan...

## Sun Obuka ## Physical Geography Exam 3 July ### Ch11 **Geomorphology** is the study of the physical features of the earth and their relation to its geological structures. **Topography** is the study of the physical features of the Earth's surface. What is *relief*, and what is a geographic landform example of low relief versus high relief? - A landform with low *relief* is relatively flat - High *relief* has significant elevation changes. **Igneous process** is the geological activity involving the melting, movement, and cooling of molten rock. **Anticline** is a geological formation that occurs when rock layers fold into an arch-like shape on each side. **Syncline** is a fold of rocks with younger rock layers closer to the center of the structure. **A fault** is a fracture or crack on the Earth's crust where movement has occurred between two blocks of rock. **Earthquakes** are measured on a Richter scale. ### Ch 12 **Weathering** is when rocks and minerals are broken down into smaller pieces of the Earth's surface. **Erosion, transportation,** and **deposition** are crucial because they shape the Earth's surface by moving debris to new locations. The two types of weathering are called **mechanical weathering** and **chemical weathering.** **Unloading weathering** is when a large rock mass is exposed at the surface and due to the pressure, begins to expand and break apart in layers parallel to the surface. **Freeze-thaw weathering** is when water seeps into cracks in a rock, freezes, expands, and widens the crack further. **Salt crystal growth** is when saltwater seeps into cracks and evaporates, leaving behind salt crystals that grow and exert pressure on the rock, gradually breaking it apart. **Mass wasting** is the movement of rock and soil down a slope solely due to the force of gravity. ### Ch13 **Fluvial** means "of, in, or by a stream or river." Water shapes the landscape by eroding rocks and soil through its movement. The relationship between infiltration and surface runoff are inversely related. Some factors that enhance infiltration are high soil organic matter content, good vegetation cover, gentle slopes. Some factors that enhance surface runoff are land cover, steep slopes, soil compaction, vegetation cover. **Aquifer** is a geological formation that stores and provides water by holding water in porous rocks and sediment underground. ### Ch 14 **Fluvial geomorphology** is the study of how rivers and streams are shaped and maintained by the interactions of water, sediment, and the landscape. **Fluvial landform** is a geographical feature shaped by the action of flowing water. Ex. Mississippi River Delta **Erosion** is the process where soil, ash, or other material is worn away. *Streams erode through 3 ways:* 1. **Abrasion** (particles grinding against each other) 2. **Hydraulic action** (force of water breaking rock pieces) 3. **Solution** (dissolving minerals from the bedrock) **Erosional landform** is a geographical feature that is shaped by the process of erosion. **Depositional landform** is a geographical feature created when sediment, carried by wind, water, or ice, is deposited and accumulates in a new location. **Alluvium and collovium** are both types of material that are created by the action of other forces on the Earth's surface. **An alluvial fan** is a cone-shaped deposit of sediment that is formed at the base of a mountain or steep slope where a fast-flowing river suddenly empties onto a flatter plain, causing the water to slow down and deposit the sediment it was carrying. **An oxbow lake** is a crescent-shaped lake that forms when a meandering river cuts off a loop in its channel, leaving the old loop as a lake. **A braided stream** is a multi-threaded channel that branches and merges to create the characteristic braided pattern. ### Ch 16 **A glacier** is a large mass of ice and snow that forms on land and moves downhill. **Ice flows through two ways:** 1. **Internal deformation** 2. **Basal sliding** **The two major types of glaciers:** 1. **Alpine glaciers** (mountain glaciers) 2. **Ice sheets** (continental glaciers) **The core of ablation** on a glacier is the lower part of the glacier where most ice is lost through weathering, sublimation, and calving that is governed through meltwater. **The core of accumulation** on a glacier is the area at higher elevations where more snow accumulates than melts. **When accumulation exceeds ablation**, it means that the amount of snow accumulating is greater than the ice lost through meltwater. **And likewise when ablation exceeds accumulation**, the ice sheet will be melting. **Crevasse** is a deep crack of fracture that forms in a glacier due to the stress placed on ice as it moves over terrain, causing the ice to break apart. **Moraine** is a mass of rocks and sediment carried down and deposited by a glacier, typically as ridges of its edges.