Chapter#15: Mass movement

1. What is the relationship between earthquakes and landslides?

- If a slope exists under conditions that favor mass wasting but has not had any
movement occur, the shaking force from an earthquake may jar the material loose
from the slope.
- If a slope that has not previously experienced mass wasting is covered by surface
materials that are saturated with water, the vibrations of an earthquake may trigger
liquefaction of these materials, causing them to travel downslope.

2. What term is commonly used to describe a sudden event in which large volumes of rock move
down steep slopes?

- Rockslide

3. Mudflows are big enough to move in any direction, regardless of the orientation of the
landscape.

- False
4. What is the risk for landslides in West Virginia?

- Very high potential

5. Which of the following factors does not influence mass wasting?

- Geologic age

6. "De-watering" a slope could include constructing horizontal ________ to remove the water.

- drain pipe

7. What was the trigger for the landslide in Menton, France?

- removal of stabilizing vegetation

8. ________ is the downslope movement of rock, regolith, or soil under the direct influence of

gravity.

- Mass wasting

9. The creation of which sedimentary feature is controlled in part by debris flows exiting a narrow

canyon?

- Alluvial fan

10. The weathering process of frost action can make a slope less stable.

- True

11. Define mass movement. How does it differ from erosional agents such as streams, glaciers,

and wind?

- Mass movement is the downslope movement of rock material driven by the force of

gravity. It differs from erosional processes in that mass movement does not require a

transporting medium.

12. Central Wisconsin and south-central Minnesota both have regions with the potential for

landslides. However, neither of these locations is located in mountainous areas. Why might

landslides occur in these specific regions?

- These locations have steep bluffs along rivers

13. Trees will result in more slope stability than grasses.

- True
14. One main cause of creep is ________.
- expansion and contraction of soils during freezing and thawing

15. How might a wildfire influence mass movement?

- Wildfire destroys plants which anchor soils and loosen upper layers of soils,

increasing mass movement events.

16. During which season does solifluction occur in the Arctic, and why?

- Solifluction occurs during the Arctic’s summer, when the top meter or so of the

active layer thaws. Because the resulting meltwater has nowhere to go, it saturates

the active layer, causing it to slowly flow.

17. What is the difference between an earthflow and a debris flow?

- Debris flows generally occur within semiarid areas and tend to be restricted to
channels, whereas earthflows most often occur on hillsides in humid areas.

18. What is permafrost, and what can result from disturbing it?
- Permafrost is permanently frozen ground. If the thermal balance of permafrost is
disturbed, ice within the permafrost may melt, causing the ground to slide, slump, or
subside.

19. A ________ is not the sole cause of a mass wasting event, but the last of many causes that
initiate the downslope movement of materials.
- Trigger

20. Which type of mass wasting forms a crescent-shaped scarp at the head of movement?
- slump

21. What ways material can move during mass movement events?

- Fall, slide, flow

22. How is a lahar different from a debris flow that might occur in southern California?

- Debris flows are composed of soil and regolith, whereas lahars are composed of

volcanic materials.
23.

24. What causes creep, and how can it be recognized?

- Creep is caused by the repeated expansion and contraction of the regolith, which may be

caused by repeated freezing and thawing or wetting and drying. Creep can be recognized

by tilted trees, tilted fences, and displaced retaining walls.

25. A stream is cutting into a valley wall. Which of the following is the most likely trigger for a mass

wasting event?

- The stream erodes the toe of the slope, which results in the slope becoming

oversteepened.

26. Stream valleys are produced through combined effects of mass wasting and running water. If

running water alone were responsible for creating stream valleys, how would they appear?

- Narrow valleys with vertical walls

27. Which factor exerts the greatest control over the velocity of debris flows and the distance they

will travel?

- Water content

28. A ________ is a process that can cause harm to people or property if they are sufficiently

exposed.

- geologic Hazard

29. Which rapid form of mass wasting is found at the base of slump blocks?

- Earthflow
30. Repeat laser or radar surveys, photogrammetry from ground or air, and satellite measurements

(InSAR) provide motion assessments of large areas and provide a good indication of changes

occurring on the landscape.

- True

31. ____ is a trigger for mass wasting. CHOOSE ALL THAT APPLY.

- Oversteepening a slope, A wildfire, Adding water to sediments

32. In a river valley, mass-wasting processes can ______. CHOOSE ALL THAT APPLY.

- make the valley walls less steep, make the valley wider

33.

Why might West Virginia have the landslide risk that it does?

- Appalachian Mountains

34. Which type of motion will supply material to and maintain talus slopes?

- Fall

35. What factors led to the massive rockslide at Gros Ventre, Wyoming?

- The sandstone layer had almost no support at the bottom of the slope, as it had been

undercut by the Gros Ventre River.

- Heavy rains and meltwater seeped through the sandstone and saturated the clay

underneath.
36. How is it possible for a landslide to occur without a trigger?

- Long-term weathering weakens the rock past the strength necessary to maintain

stability.

37. Which mass wasting process involved volcanically derived material from the eruption of Nevado

del Ruiz and destroyed the city of Armero in 1985?

- Lahar

38. Wildfires, such as the ones in Montecito, California in 2018, contribute to mass wasting. What

effect do they have?

- Wildfires clear the slope of vegetation, leading to a more unstable slope.

Chapter #16

What is a floodplain?

- a flat surface next to a river channel

How does the formation of a natural levee impact flooding?

- Natural levees raise the height of the stream channel, reducing the amount of
flooding that will occur on the floodplain.

How might a stream channel become braided?

- If a large portion of a stream’s sediment load consists of coarse material and the
stream has a highly variable discharge, a stream channel can become braided.

About what percentage of Earth's water is in the form of seawater?

- 97%
Which of the following scenarios represents the best nonstructural approach to flood control?
- Managing a floodplain to limit development in sensitive areas
What is infiltration?
- Water soaking into the Ground
Why are urban areas susceptible to flash floods?
- A high percentage of the surface area is covered with cement, asphalt, and other
impervious materials
In what ways does a stream transport its load, and which part of the load moves most slowly?
as a suspended load
as a bed load, which is the slowest mode of particle transport in streams
as a dissolved load
In general, how do the channel width, channel depth, flow velocity, and discharge change between
the headwaters and the mouth of the stream?

- The channel width, channel depth, flow velocity, and discharge all increase as the stream
approaches the mouth.
Which of the choices below is not a factor that causes infiltration and runoff to vary from place to
place and from time to time?

- time of the day

What is meant by a nonstructural approach to flood control?
- limiting certain activities or land uses and implementing appropriate zoning
regulations in high-risk flood areas

India’s population has more than doubled in the last 40 years. What is its population now?
- India’s current population is 1.2 billion people.
Why do the Koli believe they are deliberately being denied community services?
o The Koli believe they are deliberately being denied community services as a
means to force them to move from their valuable waterfront property.
Why do the Koli insist that they will never leave their waterfront community?
o The Koli believe that the sea is their god and it is what feeds their children
and how they make their living.
o The biggest threat to the Koli way of life is the overall decrease in the number of
fish because of significant water pollution and Mumbai’s population explosion.
According to the hydrologic cycle, once precipitation has fallen on land, what paths might the water
directly take?

evaporation/transpiration, runoff into a river, runoff into the sea, infiltration into the
ground
How can pieces of rock in contact with a stream bed move?
- rolling, sliding, bouncing
Complete this analogy: Bouncing is to sand as suspension is to_____________.
- Clay
Complete this analogy: Sliding is to gravel as dissolution is to_____________.
- Ions
Which of the following are part of the bed load?
- Sand and gravel
What are the three types of loads carried by streams?
- bed load, suspended load, dissolved load
What is suspended load?
- the fine-grained particles that travel in the water column above the stream bed

The downward limit of erosion (Base level)

Why doesn’t sea level drop even though oceans have a higher rate of evaporation than
precipitation?
- Surface water running off into the oceans makes up the difference between
evaporation from the oceans and precipitation into the oceans, creating a balance.
Where are bedrock channels more likely to be found?
- in the headwaters of river systems where streams have steep slopes.
Briefly describe a general drainage basin.
- An area drained by a stream is called a drainage basin, which is bounded by an
imaginary line called a divide. The divide can be clearly visible as a sharp ridge, or it
could be difficult to determine in subdued topography.
How does an alluvial fan form?
- When a stream with a steep gradient emerges onto a relatively flat lowland, its
gradient drops, and it deposits a large portion of its sediment load in a pattern that
looks like a fan from above.
Incised meanders and terraces are __________.
- Erosional features
Which of the choices below correctly defines base level and differentiates between ultimate base
level and local (temporary) base level?
- Base level is generally defined as the lowest elevation to which a stream can erode
its channel. The ultimate base level is sea level; local base levels are lakes, resistant
layers of rock, and rivers that act as base levels for their tributaries.
What is a stream’s longitudinal profile?
- a cross-sectional view of a stream from the headwaters to its mouth
Which of the choices below correctly describes four main types of drainage patterns and what
causes them?
- Rectangular pattern, which develops on highly jointed bedrock; Trellis pattern, which
develops in areas of alternating weak resistant bedrock; Dendritic pattern, which
develops on relatively uniform surface materials; Radial pattern, which develops on
isolated volcanic cones or domes
Transpiration moves water from _______.
- the biosphere to the atmosphere
How does an oxbow lake form?
- An oxbow lake forms when the bend of a meandering river is isolated from the river
because erosional forces create a cutoff in the main river channel. This isolated bend
becomes the oxbow lake.

What are the three main zones of a river system from highest to lowest?
- zone of sediment production, zone of transportation, and zone of deposition

In order for an aquifer to be useful for reliable water extraction, what kind of porosity and
permeability should it have?
- High porosity, high permeability

How do stalactites and stalagmites form?

- Stalagmites form when calcite-rich water falls to the floor from the ceiling, splattering
minute amounts of calcite on the floor. After many such depositions, a stalagmite
begins to take shape.
- Stalactites form on the ceiling when water seeps through the ceiling and deposits
calcite. Eventually a soda straw develops, which develops into a stalactite after many
more depositions of calcite.
Which aquifer listed below would be the most effective in purifying polluted groundwater, and why?
 - Permeable sandstone: the pores between grains are large enough to let water
through but small enough to block contaminants

What geologic process is responsible for the geothermal features in Yellowstone National Park?
- Volcanic activity
What is the source of heat for most hot springs and geysers, and how is this reflected in the
distribution of these features?
- The heat sources for most hot springs and geysers are magma bodies and igneous
rocks. Thus, hot springs and geysers are often located where igneous activity
occurs.
What occurs to cause a geyser to erupt?
- The heat underground within a geyser causes the water to expand, and some water
is forced out of to the surface. Water deep within the geyser quickly turns to steam,
causing the geyser to erupt.

What significant problem might arise when groundwater is heavily pumped at a coastal site?
- If the groundwater withdrawal exceeds recharge, the saltwater will become high
enough to be drawn into the wells.

Worldwide, the largest percentage of freshwater readily available to humans is stored in ______
- pore spaces between rocks and sediments

- Location A has a higher pressure

- A water treatment plant could be built next to well C to remove and treat the polluted
groundwater. The well will be located on the downslope side of the landfill, and it will be
heavily pumped to create a cone of depression that can draw in contaminated water and
prevent the leachate from traveling further through the aquifer.

Please contrast porosity and permeability.

 - Porosity is the percentage of the total volume of rock or sediment that consists of
pore spaces, whereas permeability is the ability of a rock or sediment to transmit
fluid.
Caves, as formed from dissolution, are most commonly formed in limestone, but are occasionally
found in other rock types, like gypsum.
- True
Why may the ground subside after groundwater is pumped to the surface?
- As water is withdrawn, the water pressure drops, and the sediment is left to support
the weight on top of it. As a result, the sediment packs more closely together,
causing the ground to subside.
Which of the following can result from excessive pumping of groundwater? CHOOSE ALL THAT
APPLY.

-subsidence
-reversing the direction of flow in the aquifer
-saltwater contamination
What geological roles does groundwater play?

- Groundwater sustains streams during periods of no rainfall.

- Groundwater erodes bedrock through dissolution.

Match the word with the correct definition. Drag the terms on the left to the appropriate blanks
on the right.

What share of Earth’s liquid freshwater is groundwater?

- 94.05%

Which of the following is an erosional feature?

- Tower karst

Match the water feature with the correct definition. Drag the terms on the left to the appropriate
blanks on the right.
How does groundwater create caverns?
- Caverns are created when acidic groundwater dissolves and carries away limestone
over time.
Assume that the irrigation well in the middle of this image was installed by a seed corn company
and not by the farmers who own the local wells on either side. If irrigation were stopped
immediately, would this localized lowering recover immediately? Why or why not?

- No. The average aquifer has a groundwater flow rate of 4 cm/day.

What is drawdown, and how does it relate to the cone of depression?

- Drawdown is when the water table around a well is lowered because of water
discharge. This depression in the water table is conical and is called a cone of
depression.

Most caverns are created at or near the water table.

- True
What geologic process is responsible for warming the water at nonvolcanic locations such as Hot
Springs National Park, Arkansas, and Warm Springs, Georgia?

- Normal geothermal gradient as groundwater circulates at depth

How does the movement of groundwater relate to hydraulic gradient and hydraulic conductivity?

- Groundwater moves more quickly down steeper slopes than down shallow
slopes. For this reason, the water table is known as the hydraulic gradient.

- Groundwater flows more rapidly through sediments having greater

permeability than through materials having lower permeability. This factor is
known as hydraulic conductivity.

How do a gaining stream and a losing stream differ?

- A gaining stream exists when the elevation of the water table is higher than
the surface of the stream. In contrast, a losing stream exists when the
elevation of the water table is lower than the surface of the stream.

- A gaining stream gains an influx of groundwater through the streambed,

whereas a losing stream loses water to the groundwater through the
streambed.
What causes cavern formation to stop at one level (depth) but not continue or begin at a lower
level?

- When the entrenchment of streams is slow or negligible, the groundwater level does
not drop, and cavern formation does not begin at a lower level.

Why do some artesian wells not flow at Earth’s surface?

- the pressure surface is below ground level

What problem is caused by pumping groundwater for irrigation in the Southern High Plain?

- A low precipitation rate and a high evaporation rate allow little water to recharge the
aquifer.

What is the difference between an aquifer and an aquitard?

- An aquifer is a rather permeable rock, whereas an aquitard is an impermeable rock.

Freshwater is less dense than saltwater.

- True

What factors cause water to follow the paths shown in the above diagram?

- Water that enters the groundwater at the recharge areas moves downward due to
gravity and then loops upward to the discharge areas due to water pressure.

An artesian well must tap into ______.

- a confined aquifer
How does the water table change around a pumping water well?
 - The water table elevation decreases.

The water table elevation decreases.

- The shape that the water table takes on near a pumping well

When will a cone of depression stop enlarging?

- when the amount of water flowing toward the well equals the amount of water being
pumped out of the well

When might a well, Well A, go dry?

- when the cone of depression of a second well intersects the deepest part of Well A

Is the water table usually flat like the surface of a kitchen table, and why or why not?
- Underground, the water table is shaped like a subdued replica of the land surface.
Additionally, the water surfaces of rivers and lakes are the level of the water table.
When rain falls on land, what factors influence the amount of water that soaks in?

- Steepness of slope, nature of surface material, intensity of rainfall, and type

and amount of vegetation

What warms the waters that flow at Hot Springs National Park, Arkansas, and at Warm Springs,
Georgia?
- the geothermal gradient

Geysers are more common in the western United States because ______.
- igneous activity has occurred more recently in the western United States

Water Cycle

What is groundwater, and how does it relate to the water table?

- Groundwater is water that occupies the zone of saturation within the ground. The
water table is the upper limit of the groundwater.
List the features layered in the cross section of a flowing artesian well from top to bottom.
- pressure surface, flowing artesian well, aquitard, aquifer (containing well base),
aquitard
Which of the below circumstances can lead to the formation of a spring?
 - An aquitard blocks the downward movement of groundwater, causing it to move
laterally. Where the permeable crops out at the surface, a spring results.

This glacier, like all glaciers, has a zone of accumulation at a higher elevation than its zone of
wastage. The till deposited by the glacier has formed an end moraine at an elevation lower than the
end of the glacier and has formed a lateral moraine to its side.

This glacier near Jasper, Alberta, is a great example of a retreating alpine glacier. Glaciers are one
of the most influential agents of landscape change, on par with or even exceeding rivers, mass
wasting processes, and humans. Many have left incredible marks on the landscape from past
glacial periods such as the amazing cliffs in Yosemite Valley. Most glaciers today continue to retreat
in response to climate change, leaving clues about how fast the climate is warming and, hence,
allowing geologists to better estimate what the climate was like in the past and project its future
warming more accurately.

How do glaciers acquire their load of sediment?

- They pluck and abrade sediments from the bedrock.

Since 1850 Glacier National Park has gone from 150 glaciers to 25 glaciers.
- True
What are visible effects of glacial erosion?
- polished rock on the surface of the bedrock
- the generation of erosional landforms
- grooves parallel to the direction of the glacier’s movement on the surface of the
bedrock
Which is the best definition of glacial snow line?
- the line dividing zones of accumulation and melting of ice at the surface of a glacier
Under what conditions will the front of a glacier remain ry?
- Glacial fronts remain stationary when melting and snow accumulation are equal.
Which way does ice flow in a glacier retreating uphill?
- Downslope
How would a snow line on a glacier move as a glacial front is advancing?
- The snow line would move downslope.

How would you expect the front of a glacier to move if it undergoes a period of net accumulation,
followed by net wastage, and finally a period of net accumulation?
- The glacier's front would move forward, backward, and then forward again.
How do fjords relate to glacial troughs?
- Fjords are glacial troughs that became submerged as the ice left the valleys and the
sea levels rose.
Where were ice sheets more extensive during the Ice Age: the Northern Hemisphere or the
Southern Hemisphere? Why?
- Ice sheets were more extensive in the Northern Hemisphere because ice sheets only
form on land and the Northern Hemisphere has more land in high latitudes than the
Southern Hemisphere.

About what percentage of Earth's land surface has been affected by glaciers during the Quaternary
period?

- 30 percent
Under what circumstances will the front of a glacier advance, ept, or remain stationary?
- The terminus of a glacier advances if there is more accumulation than ablation,
retreats if there is more ablation than accumulation, and remains stationary if
accumulation is balanced with ablation.
What gives the lake adjacent to the Nigardsbreen Glacier its deep blue color?
- The deep blue color is the result of minerals found in dust that has washed into the
lake.
- The glacier grinds rocks and boulders into a fine dust. Minerals are found in this
dust, and when it washes into the lake, it gives the lake a deep blue color.
How do glaciers carve out valleys?

- Moving glaciers engulf large boulders and rocks, which act as tools that scrape and chip
away at solid rock.
In order to carve out valleys, glaciers have to be strong enough to drag rocks and boulders down
the mountainside, but what else has to happen for glaciers to create glacial valleys?
- Glaciers have to be soft enough to move, and it is this movement that drags the
rocks and boulders responsible for carving Earth’s surface.
- The advancing and retreating motion of the Nigardsbreen Glacier has been grinding
down surface rocks like an enormous piece of sandpaper.
Where are glaciers found today, and what percentage of the Earth’s surface do they cover today?
- Today, glaciers are generally found near Earth’s poles and in high mountains. They
cover nearly 10 percent of Earth’s land Surface
Distinguish between outwash deposits and ice-contact deposits.
 - Outwash deposits are deposited by meltwater streams beyond the terminus of a
glacier, whereas ice-contact deposits accumulate on, within, or immediately adjacent
to a glacier.
Which statement best summarizes the climate change hypothesis that involves variations in Earth’s
orbit?

- The reasons for changes in Earth’s climate during the Quaternary are changes in
eccentricity (shape of Earth’s orbit), changes in precession (wobbling of Earth’s
axis), and changes in obliquity (angle of Earth’s axis to Earth’s orbit).

How do glaciers fit into the hydrologic cycle, and what roles do they play in the rock cycle?
- Glaciers play a role in the rock cycle by being dynamic erosional agents that
accumulate, transport, and deposit sediment.
- Glaciers fit into the hydrologic cycle when precipitation that falls at high elevations
does not immediately make its way toward the sea. Instead, it may become part of a
glacier. Ultimately, the glacial ice will melt into water, which will continue on its path
to the sea.

What are the components of glacier movement?

- plastic flow, which is an internal flow within the ice
- basal slip, which is the process of the glacier sliding along the ground
What are crevasses and where do they form?
- Crevasses are cracks that form in the zone of fracture at the top of the glacier. They
form when tension is created as a result of the glacier moving over irregular terrain.
How are medial moraines and lateral moraines related to each other, and in what setting do they
form?
- Medial and lateral moraines are linear landforms that are produced by alpine
glaciers. Lateral moraines are deposited along the valley walls, whereas medial
moraines result from the merging of two glaciers, their lateral moraines combining to
form a medial moraine.
What is the best source of data showing Ice Age climate cycles?

- The most complete source of data showing Ice Age cycles were sediment cores from the
deep ocean floor. These provided an uninterrupted record of climatic cycles for the Ice
Age.
What are the effects of Ice Age glaciers besides the formation of major erosional and depositional
features?

- changes to rivers and valleys

- the creation of proglacial lakes
- sea-level changes
- crustal subsidence and rebound
- pluvial lakes
Where do glaciers form?
- in places where more snow falls in the winter than melts away in the summer
What is the snowline?

- the elevation above which snow persists throughout the year

What is the zone of wastage?

- The part of a glacier where snow melting exceeds snow accumulation

Under what conditions will the front of a glacier remain stationary?

- Glacial fronts remain stationary when melting and snow accumulation are equal.

What is an end moraine?

- a ridge of debris deposited at the end of a glacier

How does an end moraine form?

- Pieces of rock are transported to the front of a glacier as ice within the glacier
moves.

Will plucking occur if a glacier is NOT advancing?

- Yes, because glacial ice is still moving inside the glacier even if the glacier's front is
not advancing.

What is the difference between an end moraine and a ground moraine, and how do they relate to
the budget of a glacier?

- An end moraine is a ridge of till that forms at the terminus of a glacier when the
glacial budget is at equilibrium. A ground moraine is a layer of till that is deposited as
ice melts when glacial ablation exceeds accumulation.
The North American continent was covered by more ice than the South American continent at the
height of the Ice Age.

- True

Just like with surface water erosion, sea level serves as the ultimate base level below which
glaciers cannot erode.

- False

What term refers to any type of glacial deposit, and what is the difference between till and stratified
drift?

- The term “glacial drift“ describes any sediment that is of glacial origin. Till is an
unsorted type of glacial drift, whereas stratified drift is sediment that is sorted
according to the size and weight of particles.