Arid climates: Practice Questions

• a.The wind abrasion of vertical strata of varying hardness into long, streamlined ridges.
• b.The chemical weathering of horizontal limestone layers.
• c.The undercut of a rock pedestal by saltation.
• d.The deflation of loose silt from a desert floor.

• a.By closing their stomata during the day to prevent transpiration
• b.By developing long taproots that reach deep groundwater stores
• c.By having a short life cycle that is completed only after rain
• d.By storing water in thick, fleshy succulent stems

• a.High precipitation levels followed by rapid infiltration, leaching minerals to the deep subsurface.
• b.The chemical weathering of limestone by carbonic acid in ephemeral streams.
• c.High rates of evapotranspiration exceeding precipitation, leading to the upward capillary movement of mineral-rich groundwater.
• d.The accumulation of aeolian sand dunes that prevent the oxidation of organic matter in the soil.

• a.The formation of vertical rock pillars with harder capstones remaining through differential weathering.
• b.The accumulation of sand into a crescent-shaped ridge perpendicular to the wind direction.
• c.The erosion of soft horizontal rock layers beneath a resistant cap rock through wind abrasion.
• d.The sculpting of streamline-shaped ridges of rock aligned parallel to the prevailing wind direction.

• a.

  Inselberg

• b.

  Pediment

• c.

  Bahada

• d.

  Playa

Write your answer out first, then check it against the worked solution.

Write your answer out first, then check it against the worked solution.

Write your answer out first, then check it against the worked solution.

Write your answer out first, then check it against the worked solution.

Write your answer out first, then check it against the worked solution.