Exam 18: The Topography of Arid Lands

Explain any three of the special conditions associated with landforms of deserts.

Rivers like the Nile or Colorado which rise in moist regions and then flow through arid landscapes are called ________ streams.

It seems likely that once "normal" rains come again, the desertification of the Sahel will cease.

A desert consisting of a large area of sand dunes is termed a(n) ________.

Loess is associated with high agricultural fertility.

In mesa-and-scarp topography, less resistant rock erodes more quickly than caprock. Which type of rock is noted as a less resistant rock in such areas?

Usually, much of the piedmont is underlain by an erosional bedrock surface called a ________.

The largest basins of internal drainage in the United States are found in Iowa.

The lowest point in an interior basin is a gibber.

In arid regions, differential erosion tends to be best developed in areas of ________.

Death Valley is present because of faulting.

The main constituent of desert sand is usually quartz crystals.

A sand surface is the main criterion for identifying a region as a desert.

One of the primary special characteristics of deserts is their ________.

Of the list of arid landscape features below, a boulder would most likely be found on(in) a(n) ________.

The process of pediment formation is easily explained because scientists understand desert erosion.

Free-moving sand is usually found near centers of desert basins.

Relative to the others, which landform is found at the lowest elevation?

The steeper leeward side of a sand dune is called a ________.

Using the concept of the water balance that you learned in earlier chapters, speculate why basins of interior drainage in the United States are only in the west.