California State University, Northridge » Geography » Geography 321 - The United States » 2019 » Chapter 2 Test North America's Environment Setting

Geography 321 - The United States » 2019 » Chapter 2 Test North America's Environment Setting

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Question #1

Another name for the process of mountain building is what?

A. Elevation formation

B. Orogeny

C. Eolian activity

D. Down cutting

Question #2

The Erie Canal was constructed to provide water route between the Atlantic Coast and what?

A. The Mississippi River

B. Lake Powell

C. The Great Lakes

D. The Ohio River

Question #3

The San Andreas Fault is located in which part of North America?

A. The southeast

B. The Great Plains

C. California

D. The northwest

Question #4

According to the video, which is NOT a component of GIS?

A. People

B. All of the these answer choices are components of GIS

C. Database

D. Network

E. Software

Question #5

The Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plain physiographic province has which of the following characteristics?

A. Many fertile swamps and marshes

B. Low, rolling hills

C. Folding, uplift, and faulting

D. Small mountain ranges and flat valleys

Question #6

http://volcanoes.usgs.gov/observatories/cvo/ (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. According to the USGS, which mountains in the Cascade Range are monitored for volcanic activity?

A. Currently all volcanoes in the Cascade Range are monitored

B. Mount Hood and Crater Lake

C. Mount Rainier and Mt. St. Helens

D. Mount Adams and Mount Baker

E. Mount Jefferson and Newberry Volcano

Question #7

In general, warmer air masses can hold ________ moisture than colder air masses.

A. More

B. Less

C. About the same

D. Actually there isn't a stable relationship between temperature and moisture in the air.

Question #8

The first mountain chain that slowed the western movement of early American settlers was ________.

A. The Appalachian Mountains

B. The Ozark Mountains

C. The Sierras

D. The Rocky Mountains

Question #9

Orographic precipitation is caused by what?

A. Moist air warming as it is forced to lower elevations

B. Dry air warming as it is forced to higher elevations

C. Dry air cooling as it is forced to lower elevations

D. Moist air cooling as it is forced to higher elevations

Question #10

Which of Koeppen’s six major climatic zones is characterized by warm and humid weather year round?

A. A

B. C

C. B

D. E

E. H

Question #11

How are people living near the Great Lakes impacted by the weather changes related to presence of a large body of water?

A. Temperatures are unaffected by the presence of the lakes, and precipitation is increased.

B. Temperatures are moderated by the presence of the lakes, but precipitation is increased.

C. Temperatures are unaffected by the presence of the lakes, and precipitation is decreased.

D. Temperatures are moderated by the presence of the lakes, but precipitation is decreased.

Question #12

Most of North America is located on which tectonic plate?

A. The Juan de Fuca Plate

B. The Pacific Plate

C. The North American Plate

D. The Atlantic Plate

Question #13

Which major physical feature in North America did glaciers create?

A. The Grand Canyon

B. The Erie Canal

C. The Great Lakes

D. The Rocky mountains

Question #14

http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/shield/ (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. According to the webpage, which of these is NOT a geologic region in the Canadian Shield?

A. Superior

B. Nain Province

C. Bear Province

D. Toronto Province

E. Southern Province

Question #15

Which variable influences that amount of solar radiation of a place, and the length of day in that place?

A. Time

B. Longitude

C. Angle

D. Latitude

Question #16

The Intermontane physiographic province has which of the following characteristics?

A. Many fertile swamps and marshes

B. Steep canyons, mesas and buttes

C. Widespread volcanism and tectonic uplift

D. Low, rolling hills

Question #17

According to the lecture, which of the following is INCORRECT regarding the physical geography of the United States?

A. Being close to the ocean will moderate your temperature - you will have lower highs and higher lows

B. One would find midlatitude deciduous forests in states like Ohio and Kentucky

C. Land heats faster and cools faster than water

D. Continental air masses tend be moist and unstable most of the year

E. In the United States, oil fields and natural gas fields tend to overlap

Question #18

When depositional forces are dominant on a coastline, those forces produce which of the following features?

A. Sea cliffs

B. Rugged, narrow beaches

C. Broad beaches

D. Sea stacks (isolated columns of rocks)

Question #19

On average, temperatures decline about 3.5 degrees Fahrenheit for every 1000 ft rise in elevation. What is this temperature decline called? (Note that the book says 2.5 degrees F; this is incorrect - it is 3.5 degrees F)

A. Nominal rate of decline

B. Normal lapse rate

C. Vertical thermic lapse

D. Altitudinal decline

Question #20

The study of the environmental characteristics of Earth is called what?

A. Physical geography

B. Earth studies

C. Environmental geography

D. Human geography

Question #21

http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/shield/ (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. According to the webpage, which of these natural resources is NOT found in the Canadian Shield?

A. Plutonium

B. Silver

C. Nickel

D. Copper

E. Gold

Question #22

According to the lecture, which of the following is INCORRECT regarding the physical geography of the United States?

A. Deforestation, overgrazing, and overcropping are the three main human factors in the process of erosion

B. The Atlantic Ocean, the Pacific Ocean, and the Gulf of Mexico are the main drainage areas for the continental United States

C. The Great Lakes and the Great Salt Lake are examples of closed waterway systems

D. Precipitation in the state of Washington tends be caused by orographic lifting

E. There are four marine air masses and one continental air masses influencing the climate of the United States

Question #23

The lava of a shield volcano

A. Has a low viscosity and so flows across the landscape

B. Tends to contain a large amount of gas bubbles

C. Is the hottest form of lava because it comes from deeper within the earth

D. Erupts explosively, spreading ash and debris through the atmosphere

Question #24

Areas with dry climates on the leeward (downwinD. side of mountain ranges are said to be located in the what?

A. High deserts

B. Rain shadow

C. Arroyos

D. Nonprecipitous zones

Question #25

Looking at the map (Figure 2.13), during what time of the year does Toronto, Ontario have the most precipitation?

A. During the spring and fall

B. Actually the precipitation is even all year round

C. During the winter

D. During the summer

Question #26

Sinkholes are associated with which type of landscape?

A. Volcanic

B. Karst

C. Fluvial

D. Glacial

Question #27

Which major physical feature in North America was created by down-cutting?

A. The Grand Canyon

B. The Appalachian mountains

C. The Erie Canal

D. The Great Lakes

Question #28

Differences in atmospheric pressure are measured using what?

A. A pressure gradient

B. A barometer

C. A compression meter

D. A thermometer

Question #29

Looking at the maps (Figure 2.12), what part of North America receives the highest levels of precipitation during the summer?

A. The Great Plains

B. The Pacific Northwest

C. The Gulf Coast

D. New England

Question #30

According to the lecture, which of the following is INCORRECT regarding soil types in the United States?

A. Alfisols have high native fertility and are found in the humid and subhumid parts of the United States

B. Utisols dominate the southeastern part of the United States

C. Mollisols are the 'soils of the grasslands'

D. Oxisols are the best for growing wheat and potatoes

E. Darker colors mean more organic material in the soils

Question #31

What kind of climate does Coastal California have?

A. Mediterranean

B. Highland

C. Steppe

D. Tropical Wet

E. Humid Subtropical

Question #32

https://www.geolounge.com/continental-divide/ (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. According to the map on the webpage, the westernmost continental divide in the lower 48 states is

A. The Great Divide

B. Triple Divide Peak

C. The Great Basin

D. The St. Lawrence Divide

E. The Laurentian Divide

Question #33

The Blue Ridge Mountains are part of what mountain range?

A. The Olympic Mountains

B. The Appalachians

C. The Sierra Nevadas

D. The Rocky Mountains

E. The Cascade Range

Question #34

If the same amount of sunlight was hitting an area of land and an area of water, which area would heat more rapidly?,,

A. They would both heat at about the same rate

B. The land would heat more rapidly.

C. It would depend on the characteristics of the water and land.

D. The water would heat more rapidly.

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