GEO 101 - Final Exam Actual study set
with Questions and correct/verified
Answers
subtropical desert - ANSWER-warm air rises at tropics, air cools and produces rainfall, dry air moves
north and south at high altitude and cools, air sinks and absorbs moisture as it warms up near earth's
surface.
Rain Shadow desert - ANSWER-Air picks up moisture from the ocean, as the air moves up and over
coastal mountains, it
cools and the moisture is released as rainfall. Once over the mountain, the dry air soaks
up moisture.
Coastal Desert - ANSWER-Cold ocean water cools air thus reducing the air's ability to hold moisture, dry
air blows
onto land creating a coastal desert
Continental Interior - ANSWER-For large continents air loses its moisture and reaches the interior of the
continent very
dry
Polar Desert - ANSWER-Polar deserts are caused by combination of atmospheric circulation delivering
cold dry
air and cold ocean water limiting moisture in air
Ventifact - ANSWER-A desert rock whose surface has been smoothed by wind abrasion
Sandblasting - ANSWER-Compressed air is used to accelerate particles of sand, which cleans (through
abrasion) surfaces
Lag Deposit - ANSWER-the coarse sediment left behind in a desert after wind erosion removes the finer
sediment
Desert Pavement - ANSWER-A mosaic-like stone surface forming the ground in a desert.
Deflation - ANSWER-the process of lowering the land surface by wind abrasion
Desert varnish - ANSWER-A dark, rusty-brown coating of iron oxide and magnesium oxide that
accumulates on the surface of the rock.
Petroglyph - ANSWER-Drawings formed by chipping into the desert varnish of rocks to reveal the lighter
rock beneath.
Talus - ANSWER-a sloping apron of falling rock along the base of a cliff. Caused by weathering and gravity.
Alluvial fan - ANSWER-a gently sloping apron of sediment dropped by an ephemeral stream at the base
of a mountain in arid or semiarid regions
Playa - ANSWER-the flat, typically salty lake bed that remains when all of the water evaporates in drier
times.
Salt lake - ANSWER-lake with high salinity due to high rates of evaporation and no outlets for the water
Mesa - ANSWER-a large, flat-topped hill (with a surface area of several square kilometers)
Cliff (scarp) retreat - ANSWER-the change in position of a cliff face
with Questions and correct/verified
Answers
subtropical desert - ANSWER-warm air rises at tropics, air cools and produces rainfall, dry air moves
north and south at high altitude and cools, air sinks and absorbs moisture as it warms up near earth's
surface.
Rain Shadow desert - ANSWER-Air picks up moisture from the ocean, as the air moves up and over
coastal mountains, it
cools and the moisture is released as rainfall. Once over the mountain, the dry air soaks
up moisture.
Coastal Desert - ANSWER-Cold ocean water cools air thus reducing the air's ability to hold moisture, dry
air blows
onto land creating a coastal desert
Continental Interior - ANSWER-For large continents air loses its moisture and reaches the interior of the
continent very
dry
Polar Desert - ANSWER-Polar deserts are caused by combination of atmospheric circulation delivering
cold dry
air and cold ocean water limiting moisture in air
Ventifact - ANSWER-A desert rock whose surface has been smoothed by wind abrasion
Sandblasting - ANSWER-Compressed air is used to accelerate particles of sand, which cleans (through
abrasion) surfaces
Lag Deposit - ANSWER-the coarse sediment left behind in a desert after wind erosion removes the finer
sediment
Desert Pavement - ANSWER-A mosaic-like stone surface forming the ground in a desert.
Deflation - ANSWER-the process of lowering the land surface by wind abrasion
Desert varnish - ANSWER-A dark, rusty-brown coating of iron oxide and magnesium oxide that
accumulates on the surface of the rock.
Petroglyph - ANSWER-Drawings formed by chipping into the desert varnish of rocks to reveal the lighter
rock beneath.
Talus - ANSWER-a sloping apron of falling rock along the base of a cliff. Caused by weathering and gravity.
Alluvial fan - ANSWER-a gently sloping apron of sediment dropped by an ephemeral stream at the base
of a mountain in arid or semiarid regions
Playa - ANSWER-the flat, typically salty lake bed that remains when all of the water evaporates in drier
times.
Salt lake - ANSWER-lake with high salinity due to high rates of evaporation and no outlets for the water
Mesa - ANSWER-a large, flat-topped hill (with a surface area of several square kilometers)
Cliff (scarp) retreat - ANSWER-the change in position of a cliff face
