Geography · Environmental Studies

Geomorphic Processes

2,085 Questions

Geomorphic processes shape the Earth surface through physical mechanisms like weathering, erosion, and deposition. This topic covers soil formation, glacial movement, and coastal landform development. It forms a core component of physical geography in major competitive examinations.

Soil erosion controlGlacial movementCoastal landformsSedimentary rock formationWeathering processes

Geomorphic Processes Questions

Multiple choice geography understanding maps maps - our companions maps and its study contour maps and landforms

A drainage pattern with streams spreading out in all direction like spokes of a wheel is called a ______________.

  1. dendritic drainage

  2. trellised drainage

  3. radial drainage

  4. none of the above
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

A drainage pattern with streams spreading out in all directions like spokes of a wheel is called radial drainage.

Definition of radial drainage pattern - A drainage pattern in which consequent streams radiate or diverge outward, like the spokes of a wheel, from a high central area; it is best developed on the slopes of a young, unbreached dome structure or of a volcanic cone.

Multiple choice geography understanding maps maps - our companions maps and its study contour maps and landforms

Which drainage pattern is shown like a branching tree?

  1. Trellised drainage pattern

  2. Radial drainage pattern

  3. Dendritic drainage pattern

  4. Disappearing stream
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

A dendritic drainage pattern is the most common form and looks like the branching pattern of tree roots. It develops in regions underlain by homogeneous material. That is, the subsurface geology has a similar resistance to weathering so there is no apparent control over the direction the tributaries take.

Multiple choice geography understanding maps maps - our companions maps and its study contour maps and landforms

A rectangular drainage pattern with streams flowing parallel to each other and joining the main stream at right angle is called ________________.

  1. dendritic drainage pattern

  2. trellised drainage pattern

  3. radial drainage pattern

  4. disappearing streams
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation

A rectangular drainage pattern with streams flowing parallel to each other and joining the main stream at right angle is called trellised drainage pattern.

It is a rectangular pattern formed where two sets of structural controls occurs at right angles. In a trellis pattern, the river forms a net like system and the tributaries flow roughly parallel to each other. The old folded mountains of the Singhbhum (Chotanagpur Plateau) have drainage of trellis pattern.

Multiple choice geography understanding maps maps - our companions maps and its study contour maps and landforms

A ridge with a steep scarp in the front and a dip slope on the back is called a _____________.

  1. crest

  2. cuesta

  3. dissected scarp

  4. none of the above
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation

A cuesta is a hill or ridge with a gentle slope (backslope) on one side, and a steep slope (frontslope) on the other.

Cuesta, also called Homoclinal Ridge, physical feature that has a steep cliff or escarpment on one side and a gentle dip or back slope on the other. This landform occurs in areas of tilted strata and is caused by the differential weathering and erosion of the hard capping layer and the soft underlying cliff maker, which erodes more rapidly. Cuestas with dip slopes of 40°–45° are usually called hogback ridges.

Multiple choice

Which of the following is NOT a geoscience process?

  1. burning of fossil fuels

  2. weathering & erosion

  3. movement of tectonic plates

  4. earthquakes
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

Burning fossil fuels is a human activity, not a natural geoscience process. Weathering, erosion, tectonic movement, and earthquakes are all natural geological processes.

Multiple choice

The process by which rocks are broken down by water, wind, or ice is

  1. mechanical weathering.

  2. biological weathering

  3. chemical weathering.

  4. structural weathering.
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

Mechanical (or physical) weathering is the process of breaking big rocks into smaller pieces through physical forces like wind, water, or ice, without changing the chemical composition of the rock.

Multiple choice

Which of the following is an example of erosion?

  1. water freezing and expanding in the cracks of a driveway

  2. wind breaking down small bits of rock in a canyon

  3. rain raising water levels in a river

  4. ocean waves carrying away sand from the coastline
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

Erosion is the process by which weathered rock and soil particles are moved from one place to another. Ocean waves carrying sand away from the coastline is a clear example of this transport process.

Multiple choice

Which of the following is an example of weathering?

  1. river current breaking down rock in a canyon

  2. rain causing water levels to rise in a river

  3. ocean waves carrying away sand from the coastline

  4. wind blowing grains of rock across the desert
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

Weathering is the physical or chemical breakdown of rocks into smaller fragments at Earth's surface. A river current wearing down and breaking apart rock in a canyon represents weathering, whereas carrying those pieces away would be erosion.

Multiple choice

What process hollows out limestone caves?

  1. Mechanical weathering

  2. Spacial weathering

  3. Chemical weathering

  4. Cave weathering
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

Limestone is composed of calcium carbonate, which dissolves when it reacts with acidic groundwater. This dissolution is a form of chemical weathering that creates large underground cavities over time. Mechanical weathering, by contrast, only breaks rocks physically without changing their chemical composition.

Multiple choice

What impact does weathering have on soil formation?

  1. Chemical weathering adds helpful chemicals to the soil

  2. Mechanical weathering adds ice to soil; then into water

  3. Rocks are broken down into small pieces; then into sediment

  4. Volcanic eruptions contribute metamorphic rocks to the soil
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

Soil is primarily composed of tiny rock particles, organic matter, water, and air. Weathering breaks down larger rocks into smaller fragments and sediment, which serves as the foundational mineral component of soil. Without this breakdown of rock, soil cannot develop.

Multiple choice

How is mechanical weathering (MW) different from chemical weathering (CW)?

  1. CW occurs in a quicker time frame than MW

  2. CW occurs in the mountains; MW occurs in flat landscapes

  3. CW occurs in the tropics; MW occurs in temperate climates

  4. CW changes the chemical composition of materials; MW doesn't
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

Mechanical weathering physically breaks rocks into smaller pieces without altering their mineral composition. In contrast, chemical weathering involves chemical reactions that transform the minerals within the rock into new substances.

Multiple choice

The movement of the Rongbuk glacier caused the valley to _______.

  1. erode

  2. evaporate

  3. evaporation

  4. erosion
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

The structure 'caused [something] to' must be followed by the base form of a verb. 'Erode' is the correct verb form here. 'Erosion' and 'evaporation' are nouns, and 'evaporate' does not make sense in the context of a valley and a glacier.

Multiple choice

How do cliffs collapse by the seaside?

  1. The cliff is eroded by land slides

  2. The cliff randomly colapse

  3. The cliff is eroded by waves
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

Coastal cliffs collapse primarily because waves erode the base of the cliff, creating a wave-cut notch. Over time, the lack of support causes the overhanging cliff to collapse under gravity.

Multiple choice

what is erosion?

  1. The natural movement of all living creatures

  2. The movement of the sea

  3. Lots of people building homes on cliffs

  4. the process of eroding by wind, water or natural substances
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

Erosion is the geological process in which earthen materials are worn away and transported by natural forces such as wind or water. Option D provides the standard scientific definition of this process.