Exam 4: Weathering, soil, and Mass Wasting

The mass wasting process in steep mountain areas that causes accumulations of rock debris called talus is called ________.

________ denotes the downslope movement of soils and regolith.

Fill in the blanks on the diagram below with the names of the soil "layers" that are labeled.

All of the following are factors affecting mass wasting except for ________.

Landslides commonly occur when hurricanes hit steep terrain.Why?

According to your textbook,soil is an interface between Earth's spheres,and all life owes its existence to soil.Explain why soil is considered to be so important.

Abundant moisture and warm temperatures result in high rates of chemical weathering.

You live in a seismically active area and there are steep mountain slopes that show evidence of past large landslides.A geologist uses radiocarbon dating and determines that all of the landslides are 1000 +/- 5 years old.He also determines that there is an active fault in the area that moved in the last 1000-2000 years but he can't date it precisely.Which of the following is a reasonable conclusion?

Which type of soil would typically be the richest soil?

As a geologist working in a foreign country for the first time,you are asked to assess the potential for mass wasting in a particular region.What aspects or characteristics (geologic,geographic,biologic,etc.)of the region are you interested in for your assessment? Also,how could you possibly determine if mass wasting has been active in the recent geologic past (100's or 1000's of years)?

Which mass wasting process has the slowest rate of movement?

Sheeting is mainly a process of mechanical weathering.

Which form of chemical weathering specifically affects the iron contained in ferromagnesian,rock-forming,silicate minerals?

________ denotes the exposed,crescent-shaped rupture surface at the head of a slump.

________ involves the downslope movement of a block or blocks of unconsolidated soil and regolith along a curved,slip surface.

What is the feature labeled "A" in the diagram below? Also,how did it form?

All of the following are possible indicators that creep is occurring except for ________.

Soil classifications,like biological classifications,use a taxonomy.The first syllable(s)gives a descriptive term and last syllable is ________.

slope angle water vegetation earthquake

In which area would weathering by frost wedging probably be most effective?