What is an example of an Archipelago?
The Florida Keys
How do sinkholes form?
Sinkholes form when rain makes ground loose and it collapses into an underground cavern
What is a wetland?
A place in which the land is covered by water (salt, fresh, or in-between), either seasonally or permanently
How do dunes protect us?
They block waves from hurricanes and/or high tides
How much land area of the Earth is covered with glacial ice?
10% (5.8 million sq miles)
A group of islands closely scattered in a body of water
Can sinkholes be manmade?
Yes, when city development compromises the structural integrity of underground rock
What is a lake?
A body of water surrounded by land
What are two main characteristics of hills?
What is a beach?
A narrow strip of land separating a body of water from inland areas.
What/where is the largest archipelago in the world?
The Malay Archipelago, between the Pacific and Indian oceans in Southeast Asia. It contains more than 25,000 islands.
What is an aquifer?
A body of porous rock or sediment saturated with groundwater
What kind of species live in wetlands?
Fish, birds, mammals like otters, capybaras, tigers, sloths, and beavers.
How are dunes formed?
When wind blows sand into a sheltered area behind an obstacle.
How much of America is covered in glaciers?
35,000 square miles (34,000 of which is in Alaska)
How were most archipelagos formed?
By volcanoes erupting from the ocean floor
What are two general types of aquifers?
Confined (under a layer of impenetrable rock) and unconfined (under a layer of permeable soil)
What are some ways lakes can be formed?
Volcano craters, rivers, landslides/mudslides, humans
How can hills be formed?
Glaciers melting and shifting, currents of water over time, and through erosion and deposits
What are most beach materials the product of?
Erosion and weathering
How do barrier islands form?
When waves repeatedly deposit sediment parallel to the shoreline.
Are aquifers underground rivers or lakes?
No
How are wetlands natural water filters?
Wetlands trap pollutants in their soil, transform dissolved nitrogen into nitrogen gas, and break down solids to neutralize bacteria
What are the two sides of a dune?
The windward side and the slipface
How much of the world's fresh water is stored in glaciers?
69%