Exam 11: Ground Water

How fast groundwater flows depends, in part, on the permeability of the sediment through which it passes.

Petrified wood develops when buried wood is saturated or replaced with calcite.

The rate of ground water flow tends to decrease with depth because sedimentary rock pores tend to be closed by increasing amounts of cement and the weight of the overlying rock.

Local lowering of the water table, called ____, tends to change the direction of groundwater flow by changing the slope of the water table.

Gravel has both high porosity and excellent permeability.

Most ________ and _________ are both porous and permeable.

In very dry climates such as deserts, rivers tend to be __.

The unsaturated zone is __.

The capillary fringe is thicker in fine-grained sediments and thinner in coarse-grained sediments.

An _____ rock is one that does not allow water to flow through it easily.

In a(n) _____ aquifer water rises above the top of the aquifer when a drill penetrates it.

Water in the upper part of the saturated zone tends to move downward following the slope of the water table.

Springs may form where a perched water table intersects the surface.

______ are icicle-like pendants of calcite hanging from cave ceilings.

A _____ is a deep, cylindrical hole that is dug or drilled into the ground to penetrate an aquifer within the saturated zone.

___ is the percentage of a rock or sediment that consists of void space.

In parts of Texas and New Mexico the pumping of ground water has caused the water table of the Ogallala Reservoir to drop ____.

When water is pumped from a well the water table is typically drawn down into a zone of depression.

In confined aquifers the water is under pressure and rises to a level above the top of the aquifer.

The water table ______ in humid regions.