49) A ________ occurs when the fault plane forms a low angle relative to the horizontal,
resulting in the overlying block being shifted over the underlying.
A) lateral fault
B) thrust fault
C) normal fault
D) strike-slip fault
50) When lateral shear causes horizontal movement along a fault plane, the resulting fault is
called a
A) lateral fault.
B) thrust fault.
C) normal fault.
D) strike-slip fault.
51) The San Andreas system in California is an example of a
A) strike-slip fault.
B) transform fault.
C) thrust fault.
D) both a strike-slip and transform fault.
52) ________ applies to upward-faulted blocks, whereas ________ applies to downward-faulted
blocks.
A) horst; graben
B) graben; horst
C) normal; thrust
D) thrust; normal
53) The presence of grabens and horsts indicates the occurrence of
A) volcanic activity.
B) rift activity.
C) collision activity.
D) strike-slip activity.
54) If one were to stack thick fabric fabric on top of one another, then push the opposite ends
towards one another, resulting and bending and rumpling, this would illustrate what physical
process?
A) faulting
B) folding
C) shear
D) tension
55) People often say that California is going to “fall into the ocean,”. This idea is totally wrong
because the San Andreas fault would have to be a ________ fault associated with ________
forces for this to happen.
A) normal; tension
B) normal; compression
C) reverse; tension
D) reverse; compression
E) strike-slip; compression
56) A large region identifiable by several topographic or geological traits is known as a
A) topographic region.
B) ecoregion.
C) physiographic province.
D) biome.
57) The Basin and Range Province in the western United States is a result of ________ faulting
produced by ________ forces.
A) reverse; tensional
B) reverse; compressional
C) normal; tensional
D) normal; compressional
58) Orogenesis refers to
A) the beginning of extensive faulting.
B) a general term for a mountain-building episode that thickens continental crust.
C) a general thinning of the crust.
D) the formation of mountains without faulting, folding, or the capture of migrating terranes.
59) Which of the following shows the general sequency of an orogeny?
A) thickening of crust through accretion or magma intrusion—uplift—weathering and/or erosion
B) uplift—thickening of crust through accretion or magma intrusion—weathering and/or erosion
C) weathering and/or erosion—uplift—thickening of crust through accretion or magma intrusion
D) thickening of crust through accretion or magma intrusion—weathering and/or erosion—uplift
60) The relatively young mountains along the western margins of North and South American
plates are referred to as the
A) Cordilleran system.
B) Eurasian-Himalayan system.
C) Alleghany orogeny.
D) Sierra Nevadan orogeny.
61) The Appalachians formed as a result of the
A) Laramide orogeny.
B) Alleghany orogeny.
C) Cordilleran orogeny.
D) Alpine orogeny.
62) Which of the following is not one of the three types of tectonic activity that causes orogensis
along convergent boundaries?
A) oceanic plate-continental plate collision
B) oceanic plate-oceanic plate collision
C) continental-plate—continental plate collision
D) oceanic plate-continental plate collision, oceanic plate-oceanic plate collision, and
continental-plate—continental plate collision are all correct.
63)
What type of convergent boundary associated with orogeny is illustrated here?
A) oceanic plate-continental plate collision
B) oceanic plate-oceanic plate collision
C) continental-plate—continental plate collision
64)
What type of convergent boundary associated with orogeny is illustrated here?
A) oceanic plate-continental plate collision
B) oceanic plate-oceanic plate collision
C) continental-plate—continental plate collision
65)
What type of convergent boundary associated with orogeny is illustrated here?
A) oceanic plate-continental plate collision
B) oceanic plate-oceanic plate collision
C) continental-plate—continental plate collision
66) An earthquake is best described as
A) the point within the Earth where seismic waves originate.
B) the sharp release of energy in the Earth’s crust that creates seismic waves.
C) the amount of ground displacement along a fault.
D) the amount of stress rocks along plate boundaries experience.
67) An earthquake that occurs in association with anthropogenic activity, such as waste water
injection wells, is known as
A) tectonic seismicity.
B) induced seismicity.
C) a tectonic earthquake.
D) an earthquake. (There is no special name for such an implausible event.)
68) The subsurface area where the motion of seismic waves is initiated along the fault plane is
called the
A) epicenter.
B) fault area.
C) Richter zone.
D) focus, or hypocenter.
69) The area at the surface directly above the subsurface location where seismic waves are
initiated is termed the
A) epicenter.
B) fault area.
C) Richter zone.
D) focus, or hypocenter.
70) An instrument used to record vibrations in the crust is the
A) land barometer.
B) seismometer.
C) the Richter scale.
D) tiltmeter.
71) Which of the following is correct regarding the moment magnitude scale—a scale which
quantifies the amount of energy released by an earthquake?
A) It is a scale of magnitude based on arithmetical progressions (1,2,3,4, etc.).
B) It is a closed scale that begins at 0.0 and ends at 10.0.
C) It considers the amount of fault slippage produced by the earthquake, the size of the surface
(and subsurface) area that ruptured, and the nature of the materials that faulted.
D) It is the same as the Mercalli scale.
72) The energy released by a magnitude 8 quake on the Richter scale is how many times greater
than that of a magnitude 6 quake?
A) 3.15
B) 31.5
C) 63
D) 992
E) 31,255
73) The phrase “considerable-to-serious damage to buildings” would be used in the ________
scale.
A) Richter
B) Modified Mercalli Intensity
C) Beaufort
D) Moh’s
74) What is the expected number of an M 8.0 or Mercalli XII earthquakes per year?
A) 120
B) 800
C) 1
D) 13,000
75) What is the expected number of an M 5-5.9 or Mercalli V-VII earthquakes per year?
A) 1
B) 1319
C) 134
D) 13,000
76) Which of the following is not used to rate an earthquake on the moment magnitude scale?
A) the amount of fault slippage that occurred
B) the size of the subsurface or surface area that ruptured
C) the amount of death and destruction that occurred
D) the nature of the ground materials affected by the quake
77) Small surface irregularities along a fault plane that prevent movement and are generally areas
of high strain are termed
A) asperities.
B) focal points.
C) elastic spots.
D) fore points.
78) The study of plate boundaries and the frequency of past earthquakes in order to forecast
earthquakes is known as
A) dilatancy.
B) paleoseismology.
C) perceptual studies.
D) geodesy.
79) A seismic gap refers to an area that
A) is overdue for an earthquake, based on past earthquake frequency.
B) has significant surface fracturing due to fault movement.
C) has had tectonic plates separate, leaving large cracks in the surface.
D) is lacking seismometers or other measuring devices.
80) The slight increase in rock volume produced by small cracks that form under stress and
accumulated strain is known as
A) dilatancy.
B) paleoseismology.
C) seismic gaps.
D) geodesy.
81)
Within the United States, which area has the highest earthquake hazards?
A) west coast
B) east cost
C) Gulf coast
D) mid-continent.
82) An active volcano is defined as one that
A) has erupted at least once within the past decade.
B) has erupted at least once within the past century.
C) has erupted at least once within recorded history.
D) exhibits activity indicative of an imminent eruption.
83) Molten rock that pours forth on Earth’s surface is called
A) metamorphic.
B) magma.
C) intrusive.
D) lava.
84) Volcanic activity generally does not occur
A) along sea-floor spreading centers.
B) in association with plutons.
C) in association with hot spots over plumes in the mantle.
D) along subduction boundaries.
85) Circular surface depressions usually found at or near the summit of a volcano are known as
A) cinder cones.
B) craters.
C) calderas.
D) domes.
86) Small conical-shaped hills with truncated tops that formed during moderately explosive
volcanic eruptions are known as
A) cinder cones.
B) craters.
C) calderas.
D) domes.
87) Large, basin-shaped depressions that form when summit materials on a volcanic mountain
collapse inward after an eruption or loss of magma are known as
A) cinder cones.
B) craters.
C) calderas.
D) domes.
88) Effusive eruptions are not related to which of the following?
A) magma rich in iron and magnesium
B) low-viscosity magma
C) magma with a 50-75 percent silica content, high in aluminum
D) the volcanic activity in Hawaii
89) A gently sloping mountain landform built from effusive eruption is known as a
A) cinder cones.
B) craters.
C) calderas.
D) shield volcano.
90) An effusive eruption ________, whereas an explosive eruption ________.
A) is an outpouring of low-viscosity magma onto the ground; is a violent explosion of magma,
gas, and pyroclastics
B) produces composite volcanoes; produces shield volcanoes
C) is a violent explosion of magma, gas, and pyroclastics; produces shield volcanoes
D) produces composite volcanoes; is an outpouring of low-viscosity magma onto the ground
91) Explosive eruptions tend to build up
A) shield-shaped volcanoes.
B) plateau basalts.
C) composite volcanoes.
D) many subsequent lava flows.
92) Pulverized rock and clastic materials ejected violently during an eruption are called
A) cinders.
B) explosive debris.
C) tephra, or pyroclastics.
D) volcanic ash.
93) Which of the following statements about shield volcanoes is correct?
A) They occur in shield areas of Earth.
B) They are subject to violently explosive eruptions.
C) They form from mafic magma.
D) They consist of tremendous quantities of pyroclastics.
94) Volcanic activity located away from plate boundaries is associated with
A) subduction and melting of plates along collision zones.
B) hot spots.
C) rift zones.
D) all of the above.