Part One

What term is used for a large mass of moving ice that can erode the Earth!s
surface?
Glacier (Also acceptable: ice sheet)
Aftershocks sometimes occur after what seismic event?
Earthquakes (Also acceptable: faulting)
What term is used for a piece of land - smaller than a continent - that is
completely surrounded by water?
Island (Also acceptable: isle)
What term is used to describe a country such as Paraguay that does not have a
seacoast?
Landlocked
What kind of precipitation is caused by the mixing of some kinds of air pollutants
and rainfall?
Acid rain
What term is used for the height of a mountain, expressed in terms of its distance
above sea level?
Elevation (Also acceptable: altitude)
What is the term for a narrow, natural waterway that connects two larger bodies
of water?
Strait (Also acceptable: channel)
The windward side of a mountain faces the prevailing winds. What is the term for
the side of a mountain that faces away from the prevailing winds?
Leeward (Also acceptable: lee, or lee side)
What is the term used for energy that is obtained from the sun and used to heat
houses?
Solar energy
What is the term for a rapidly rotating funnel cloud that descends to touch land?
Tornado (Also acceptable: cyclone, twister)
Stalactites and stalagmites are formed in what kind of underground feature?
Caves (Also acceptable: cavern, karst, or limestone)
In which U.S. state would you find the Everglades?
Florida

What term is used for an unusually long period of time with little or no rainfall?
Drought (Also acceptable: dry spell)
The Ring of Fire, a volcanic region that experiences many earthquakes,
surrounds which ocean?
Pacific Ocean
What term is used for the endless movement of water among the oceans, the
atmosphere, and the Earth!s surface?
Water cycle (Also acceptable: hydrologic cycle)
What term is used for the climate that receives the smallest amount of
precipitation?
Desert (Also acceptable: arid, or dry)
What term is used when heavy rainfall or snow melt causes a river to overflow its
banks?
Flood
Thunder is heard when air is quickly heated and expanded by what other
atmospheric occurrence?
Lightning
Alluvium is made up of sediments that have been transported and deposited by
which agent of erosion?
Water (Also acceptable: rivers etc.)
What term is used for fuels such as coal, oil, and peat that are formed from
previously living organisms?
Fossil fuels
Large chunks of ice that break off glaciers and float in the sea can be hazardous
to ships. What term is used for these chunks of ice?
Icebergs
What instrument is used to measure temperature?
Thermometer
What term is used for an intense storm containing winds of at least 74 miles per
hour that sometimes threatens the Gulf and Atlantic Coasts of the United States?
Hurricane
What term is used for the molten rock that flows from a volcano onto the earth!s
surface?
Lava

Part Two
What term is used for a large, triangular-shaped deposit of sediment and other
materials found at the mouth of the Nile River?
Delta
A seasonal change in wind direction gives India and other parts of southern Asia
distinct wet and dry seasons. What term is used for these winds that can bring
very heavy rains?
Monsoon
What is the term for a mound of sand that has been piled up by wind in a desert
or along a coastline?
Dune
Condensation sometimes causes water droplets to collect on vegetation and
other objects at night. What term is used for this moisture?
Dew (Also acceptable: frost)
What term is used for the broad, flat area in a river valley that is subject to
flooding?
Floodplain
What scale is commonly used to measure the magnitude of earthquakes?
Richter scale
What term is used for the summer-like weather sometimes occurring in late
October and early November that is characterized by warm, sunny days?
Indian Summer
The boundaries between most U.S. states are marked by survey lines or the
meandering paths of what kind of natural feature?
Rivers
How many degrees of east longitude are there?
180 degrees
Which continent, most of which lies between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic
of Capricorn, has the warmest overall climate?
Africa
What is the term for a ground-level cloud that can drastically reduce visibility?
Fog
What is the term for the kind of physical feature occupied by Italy, a country that
is largely bordered by water?
Peninsula

Grasses are the dominant vegetation in marshes. What kind of vegetation

dominates swamps?
Trees (Also acceptable: woody vegetation)
In South America the continental divide runs along which coast?
West (Also acceptable: Pacific)
What name is given to the lengthy periods during which glaciers covered much of
the earth?
Ice age
During an equinox, the sun is directly above what line of latitude?
0 degrees (Also acceptable: Equator)
The Persian Gulf, Red Sea, and Gulf of Oman are all extensions of which ocean?
Indian Ocean
Jackrabbits, sidewinders, and roadrunners are all creatures that have adapted to
what kind of climate?
Dry (Also acceptable: arid, semi-arid, or desert)
The Uinta Mountains are the only major range with an east-west orientation in
the mountain system that forms the Continental Divide of North America. The
Uintas are part of which mountain system?
Rocky Mountains (Also acceptable: Rockies)
What name is given to the winds that enabled European explorers to travel to the
West Indies?
Trade winds (Also acceptable: easterlies)
Mesas and buttes are the eroded remains of what larger steep-sided, but
relatively level, kind of landform?
Plateau
Malta, Madagascar, and Sri Lanka are examples of what kind of physical
feature?
Islands
Name the equatorial river that carries more water than the combined flow of the
Mississippi, Nile, and Congo - or Zaire - Rivers.
Amazon River
Of the six permanently inhabited continents, which one has the smallest area
covered by desert?
Europe

Part Three
Which sea is the saltiest?
The Dead Sea
What do we call the largest areas of land?
Continents
What is the science of mapmaking called?
Cartography
Dense growths of giant kelp, a kind of seaweed that thrives in cold water, provide
habitat for sea otters along which coast of North America?
West (Also acceptable: Pacific)
Condensation and precipitation are two of the three stages of the hydrologic, or
water cycle. What is the third stage?
Evaporation
What is the term for a strip of land that acts as a bridge between two larger land
areas?
Isthmus
Pilots conserve fuel by using high-altitude winds that circle the earth at speeds as
fast as 300 miles per hour. What are these high-speed winds called?
Jet streams
Portions of the coast of only one contiguous U.S. state are protected by coral
reefs. Name this state.
Florida
Trenches are the deepest parts of the ocean floor. Which of the Earth!s four
oceans has the deepest trenches?
Pacific Ocean
The Hawaiian Islands were formed by what physical process?
Volcanic eruptions (Also acceptable: volcanism or plate tectonics)
Which of the 50 U.S. states has the largest area of tundra?
Alaska
What is the term for a natural gap, or break, in a mountain ridge that provides a
way through a mountain barrier?
Pass (Also acceptable: col)
What is the term for the area drained by a river and its tributaries?
Drainage basin (Also acceptable: basin or watershed)

Scientists believe that the land mass that includes present-day India collided with
Asia to trigger the uplifting of which major mountain system?
Himalaya
A great circle is an imaginary line that divides the earth into equal halves. What
is the term for these equal halves?
Hemispheres
Volcanic, fold, fault-block, and dome are terms that describe the chief building
processes of what kind of land form?
Mountains
What are the names of the places on the surface of the earth that mark the ends
of the earth!s axis?
North & South Poles (Also acceptable: Poles)
Much of the surface of the earth!s land area is covered by a layer of mineral and
decomposed organic material. What is the term for this surface layer of
material?
Soil (Also acceptable: dirt or humus)
What is the term for the place where a river or stream begins?
Source (Also acceptable: headwaters)
What is the term for fractures in the earth!s crust where sudden movement along
the fracture causes earthquakes?
Faults (Also acceptable: fault line or rifts)
Zion National Park is located in which state?
Utah
What is the smallest ocean?
Arctic Ocean
Most of the earth!s available fresh water is beneath the surface of the earth.
What is the term for this fresh water?
Ground water
What universal force, associated with Isaac Newton, plays a key role in erosion?
Gravity
Many people recognize the Ural Mountains as part of a natural boundary
between Asia and which other continent?
Europe
What is the purpose of a grid system on a map?
To help locate places

Part Four
What is the popular term for smaller movements of the earth!s crust that follow an
earthquake?
Aftershocks
Which North American mountain system kept early English colonists
concentrated along the Atlantic coast?
Appalachian
Which river system in the United States drains water from 31 states and 2
Canadian provinces?
Mississippi River
Peat is generally considered to be the first stage in the formation of which fossil
fuel?
Coal
How many times a year does an equinox occur?
Two
Mont Blanc is the highest peak in which European mountain system?
The Alps
Oxygen and what other gas make up 99 percent of the earth!s atmosphere?
Nitrogen
What body of water do Alabama, Mississippi, and Texas border?
Gulf of Mexico
What physical process created the Great Lakes of North America?
Glaciation (Also acceptable: glaciers or ice sheets)
Which continent has the largest area?
Asia
The chain of mountains stretching along the center of the Atlantic Ocean floor is
known by what name?
Mid-Atlantic Ridge (Also acceptable:Mid-Oceanic Ridge)
What is the term for an area in the desert made fertile by a source of fresh
water?
Oasis
What is the term for a hot spring through which jets of water and steam erupt
periodically?
Geyser

What waterfall is made up of American Falls and Horseshoe Falls?

Niagara Falls
Which continent has the smallest area?
Australia
What is the name of the chain of islands that extends westward from the Alaska
peninsula?
Aleutian Islands
Which of the five Great Lakes in North America has the largest surface area?
Lake Superior
Each year, the greatest number of tornadoes occurs in what country?
The United States
What is the principle source of energy for all the earth!s food chains?
Sun (Also acceptable: sunlight or solar energy)
What atmospheric phenomenon causes many forest fires?
Lightning
The lowest point in North America is in which U.S. state?
California
What country is just south of the United States?
Mexico
What is the largest country in South America?
Brazil
What river flows from Utah Lake to the Great Salt Lake?
The Jordan River
What river formed the Grand Canyon?
The Colorado River
What is the study of oceans called?
Oceanography
What is the top layer of the earth called?
The crust
What do you call the sudden movement of snow falling down a mountain side?
An avalanche