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Multiple Choice Quiz
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For each question below, choose the letter corresponding to the BEST answer.



1

The defining characteristic of a desert is:
A)high temperature
B)low rainfall.
C)precipitation exceeds evaporation.
D)shifting sand dunes.
2

Which of the following is a common feature of desert regions?
A)flash floods
B)slow chemical weathering
C)internal drainage
D)all of these
3

The primary difference between a mesa and a butte is one of:
A)rock type.
B)elevation.
C)size.
D)shape.
4

The Basin and Range Province of North America covers almost all of:
A)Colorado
B)Nevada
C)Texas
D)Utah
5

A very flat surface underlain by a dry lake bed of hard, mud-cracked clay is called:
A)plateau
B)mesa
C)bajada
D)playa
6

Rocks with flat, wind-abraded surfaces are called:
A)ventifacts
B)pediments
C)blow-outs
D)barchans
7

The erosion of sand, silt, clay from the land surface is called:
A)depletion
B)deflation
C)deposition
D)abrasion
8

Which of the following is not a type of sand dune?
A)mobyus
B)transverse
C)barchan
D)parabolic
9

A broad ramp of sediment formed of coalesced alluvial fans is:
A)wahdi
B)arroyo
C)playa
D)bajada
10

A surface layer of closely packed pebbles found in desert areas is:
A)ventifact
B)bajada
C)desert varnish
D)desert pavement
11

Plants living in desert regions:
A)are not able to survive when it rains.
B)are all type of cactus.
C)are doomed to die.
D)are adapted to low water levels.
12

Deserts centered on 30 degrees north and south latitude owe their origins to:
A)the global atmospheric circulation
B)the distribution of the continental landmasses.
C)the occurrence of mountains at these latitudes worldwide.
D)none of these
13

Flash floods are caused by:
A)high run-off associated with short but intense rainfall.
B)lack of vegetation in desert areas.
C)discharge of groundwater to playas.
D)rapid melting of snow in mountain regions.
14

Flash floods in desert areas:
A)are almost non-existent.
B)are less common than in humid areas.
C)are more common than in humid areas.
D)none of these
15

Arroyos are:
A)great places to escape desert heat.
B)epehemeral lakes in desert areas.
C)large, wedge-shaped deposits of gravel and sand at the foot of mountains in desert areas.
D)narrow, steep-sided stream valleys in desert regions.
16

A sand dune that is convex in the downwind direction is:
A)a transverse dune.
B)a parabolic dune.
C)a barchan dune.
D)a longitudinal dune.
17

Sand dunes have been observed on:
A)Mars
B)Uranus
C)The Moon
D)Venus
18

Deposits of windblown silt and clay are called:
A)dunes.
B)loess.
C)clay.
D)silt
19

Mesas form as a result of:
A)continuous, long-term erosion of mountains in desert regions.
B)wind erosion of mountains in desert regions.
C)flash floods in desert regions.
D)none of these
20

In the United States, Death Valley is a desert because:
A)it is the location of a secret flying saucer base.
B)it is very hot.
C)it is below sea-level.
D)it is in the rain shadow of the Sierra Nevada Mountains.







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