Geology 100 Self-Test 18

Answer the questions below and then click "submit" to send your answers.

  1. What are two reasons why the southwestern part of the United States has an arid climate?

    2. Your answer:

  2. Describe the geologic structure and sketch the major landforms of the Colorado Plateau and the Basin and Range Province.

    3. Your answer:

  3. Give two reasons why wind is a more effective agent of erosion in a desert than in a humid region.

    4. Your answer:

  4. The defining characteristic of a desert is

    5. Your answer:
    shifting sand dunes
    high temperatures
    low rainfall
    all of the above

  5. Which is characteristic of deserts?

    6. Your answer:
    internal drainage
    limited rainfall
    flash floods
    all of the above

  6. The major difference between a mesa and a butte is one of

    7. Your answer:
    shape
    elevation
    rock type
    size

  7. The Basin and Range Province covers most of

    8. Your answer:
    Utah
    Nevada
    Texas
    Colorado

  8. very flat surface underlain by a dry lake bed of hard, mud-cracked clay is called a

    9. Your answer:
    ventifact
    plateau
    playa
    none of the above

  9. The removal of clay, silt, and sand particles from the land surface by wind is called

    10. Your answer:
    deflation
    depletion
    deposition
    abrasion

  10. A surface layer of closely packed pebbles is called

    11. Your answer:
    desert varnish
    deflation
    a blowout
    desert pavement