1. A flood is best described as water
a. overflow beyond the banks of a channel
b. saturation leading to earthflows
c. infiltration and recharge of groundwater
d. waterfalls over a lake sill
2. Where is the bed of the stream channel the steepest? Get the scoop on streams here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E6sWiPAu708
a. Meandering
b. Headwaters
c. Mouth
d. Braided
3. Which erosive substance is most responsible for the shaping of earth's surface topography?
This video is key for this unit...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E6sWiPAu708
a. Subsurface water
b. Glaciers
c. Surface water
d. Wind
4. Where is the erosion rate in a stream the highest? Get the scoop on streams here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E6sWiPAu708
a. Meandering section of the river
b. Headwaters of the river
c. Mouth of the river
d. Braided section of the river
5. Where is the discharge of a stream greatest? Get the scoop on streams here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E6sWiPAu708
a. Braided
b. Mouth
c. Meandering
d. Headwaters
6. Which depositional landform that is created due to a significant decrease in slope and velocity where a stream flows into an ocean or lake?
a. alluvial fan
b. delta
c. floodplain
d. natural levee
7. Flood plains are __________.
a. areas not commonly developed for housing and businesses
b. areas that the river has abandoned due to meandering
c. areas that will flood again
d. are areas that are often developed for housing
e. both answers A and B
f. both answers C and D
8. What main characteristic of a region makes a stream running through it meander? Get the scoop on streams here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E6sWiPAu708
a. More resistant bedrock
b. Shallow slope gradient (along-channel change in elevation with map distance)
c. Abundant vegetation
d. Steep slope gradient (along-channel change in elevation with map distance)
9. Be sure to understand the material in this quick video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8a3r-cG8Wic. What is expected to occur at location C?
a. Stream velocity will be high and erosion is likely occurring
b. Stream velocity will be low and erosion is likely occurring
c. Stream velocity will be low and deposition is likely occurring
d. Stream velocity will be high and deposition is likely occurring
10. What is not a common occurrence associated with a stream flooding event? Awesome info on surface water and floods here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E_BypVAw5Zc
a. Formation of natural levees parallel to the channel
b. Sedimentation across the floodplain
c. Increased erosion (sediment transport) rate for bedload
d. A shift in the channel location
e. Net decrease in stream discharge
11. The flooding of much of New Orleans by Hurricane Katrina was due to what?
a. much of the city being below sea level
b. inadequate infrastructure for a storm of that magnitude
c. levee demolition to relieve the pressure on other areas
d. answers A and B
e. answers A and C
12. Let's compare and contrast today's problems in the SF bay delta with ongoing problems in the Mississippi river delta, which were instrumental in the Hurricane Katrina disaster. Which of the following is true for both regions:
https://serc.carleton.edu/research_education/katrina/understanding.html
https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2014/02/american-aqueduct-the-great-california-water-saga/284009/
https://peakoil.com/geology/one-earthquake-could-cut-off-70-of-californias-water-supply
https://www.water.ca.gov/swp/docs/SWPmap.pdf
https://www.capradio.org/articles/2013/10/07/californias-water-supply,-a-700-mile-journey/
a. Ocean waves during violent storm surges inundate and erode the coastline and the levees that span the river network.
b. In most cases, levees spanning river networks were not designed by an engineers, and due to pumping and flood control, the levees are actively subsiding below high river flow levels.
c. Earthquake rupture and liquefaction threaten to further reduce the height of levees and sever aqueducts that bring drinking water to vast communities for many months.
13. What does it mean to say that a stream has a discharge of a 50-year flood?
a. This is the probability a certain discharge will occur, based on past data
b. This is the amount of discharge that can be expected during the next 50 years.
c. This is an estimate of flooding potential based on models without field data.
d. This is the amount of peak discharge that happens every 50 years.
14. With days of advanced warning, why did so many people die in Hurricane Katrina?
a. Much of the local population was unable to leave due to poverty
b. Local infrastructure inadequate for public safety
c. All of the above
d. Many under estimated the power of the storm and tried to ride it out
e. Mismanagement by local and federal authorities.