Exam 2 Study Guide

Question 1

What is a stream?

Answer 1

Any flowing water, no matter how big or small it is

Question 2

What does fluvial mean?

Answer 2

Stream related processes and landforms

Question 3

Where does unchanneled flow occur?

Answer 3

Outside of the stream banks

Question 4

Where does channeled flow occur?

Answer 4

Within the stream banks

Question 5

During rainfall, what is infiltration?

Answer 5

Where water goes into the ground where it hits

Question 6

During rainfall, what is percolation?

Answer 6

The movement of water through the soil itself

Question 7

During rainfall, what is interflow?

Answer 7

The movement of water below the soil surface towards a stream channel

Question 8

During rainfall, what is baseflow?

Answer 8

The portion of a stream’s flow that comes from ground water, rather than the direct runoff from rain fall

Question 9

During rainfall, what is surface runoff?

Answer 9

The water that flows over the lands surface during rainfall, snowmelt, or other sources

Question 10

What is low-runoff collation?

Answer 10

When the rain hits and soaks in (grass)

Question 11

What is high-runoff collation?

Answer 11

When the rain doesn’t soak in when it hits and runs off (Asphalt)

Question 12

What is a Drainage Divide?

Answer 12

An area that collects water for a particular stream

Question 13

What is a perennial stream?

Answer 13

A stream that is always flowing except in a drought

Question 14

What is a intermittent stream?

Answer 14

A stream that flows seasonally or during abnormally wet times

Question 15

What is a ephemeral stream?

Answer 15

A stream that only flows after rain or during spring melt

Question 16

In fluvial processes, what is erosion?

Answer 16

Picking up of sediment

Question 17

In fluvial processes, what is transportation?

Answer 17

Moving sediment

Question 18

In fluvial processes, what is deposition?

Answer 18

Putting down sediment

Question 19

In fluvial processes, what is the load?

Answer 19

The amount of sediment the stream is carrying

Question 20

In stream erosion, what is hydraulic action?

Answer 20

The density of water

Question 21

In stream erosion, what is abrasion?

Answer 21

The debris in the water

Question 22

In stream erosion, what is corrosion?

Answer 22

The chemistry of the water dissolves material

Question 23

In stream erosion, what is cavitation?

Answer 23

The erosion by implosion of small air bubbles

Question 24

How do you calculate stream discharge?

Answer 24

Q = width * depth * velocity

Question 25

What is the solution load?

Answer 25

Load that dissolves into the water

Question 25

What is stream discharge?

Answer 25

The volume passing a point in a given unit of time

Question 26

What is the suspended load?

Answer 26

Load that never settles into the water

Question 27

What is the bed load?

Answer 27

Load that is rolling around on the bottom of a river

Question 28

What is capacity?

Answer 28

Reflects the potential volume of sediment transported by a stream and is controlled by discharge and flow velocity

Question 29

What is competence?

Answer 29

Measures the maximum size of clast that can be transported by a stream and is related to flow velocity and discharge

Question 30

What is stream deposition?

Answer 30

When a stream slows down and the water either evaporates or sinks into the ground

Question 31

What is deposited material called?

Answer 31

Alluvium

Question 32

The faster the stream velocity equals?

Answer 32

The more capacity or competence it has

Question 33

What happens when a stream speeds up?

Answer 33

It increases its load carrying power

Question 34

What happens when a stream slows down?

Answer 34

It decreases its load carrying power

Question 35

What is the flood plane?

Answer 35

The flat area on each side of a stream

Question 36

What is a thalweg?

Answer 36

Where the fastest water flow in the stream is located

Question 37

What determines where the pools, mid channel bars, and riffles/nickpoints are located?

Answer 37

Thalweg's

Question 38

What is a alluvial fan?

Answer 38

A fan-shaped accumulation of sediment that forms when a river or stream deposits sand, gravel, silt, boulders, and woody debris over time

Question 39

What is a meandering stream?

Answer 39

Stream channel that develops a sinuous form across the landscape

Question 40

What is a cut bank?

Answer 40

The outer portion of a meandering stream where erosion takes place

Question 41

What is a point bar?

Answer 41

The inner portion of a meandering stream where deposition takes place

Question 42

What is a oxbow lake?

Answer 42

A meander which becomes separated from the stream

Question 43

What is a terrace?

Answer 43

It is developed when the base level of a flood plain is lowered, and the river begins down cutting through the old flood plains

Question 44

What is a mid-channel (mid-stream) bar?

Answer 44

A elevated region of deposited sediment with flowing water on all sides

Question 45

What is a nickpoint?

Answer 45

An abrupt steepening of the gradient of a stream, causing ripples, rapids, or water falls