Quiz 14: Waves, Beaches, and Coasts

Groins are short walls built parallel to shore to keep sand from moving.

Stacks are erosional remnants of headlands left behind as the coast retreats.

Barrier islands are associated with an erosional coastline.

A particle of water in a wave moves in a circular orbit as the wave passes; the particle returns to its original position after the wave has passed.

Waves usually come straight into shore.

Longshore currents transport most of the beach sand parallel to the shoreline.

Wave orbits decrease in size until motion is gone at a depth equal to twice wavelength.

Gravel beaches are found on coasts with low wave energy.

Wavelength is the horizontal distance between two wave crests or two troughs.

Gravel beaches have a steeper face slope than sand beaches.

Jetties and groins work because they enhance the flow of sand along a beach.

The highest wind wave ever measured was 34 meters high.

An irregular coast with bays separated by headlands can be straightened by plate tectonic forces.

A baymouth bar is a ridge of sediment that cuts a bay off from the open ocean.

Estuaries, such as Chesapeake Bay, are drowned glacial-cut valleys.

Winter beaches build up underwater sandbars that serve as a storage facility for next summer's sand supply.

More sand is moved along the beach face than in the surf zone.

A tombolo is a bar of sediment connecting a former island to the mainland.

Seawalls are constructed perpendicular to the shore to prevent wave erosion.

A fiord is a glacially-cut valley flooded by rising sea level.

Ordinary ocean waves are created by the interaction of the ____ and ____. A) hydrosphere, atmosphere B) geosphere, biosphere C) hydrosphere, biosphere D) atmosphere, geosphere E) biosphere, atmosphere

Waves breaking along the shore are known as ____. A) swells B) surf C) spits D) longshore drift E) tsunami

You can get out of a rip current easily by swimming ____ to the beach instead of struggling against the current. A) perpendicular B) on your back C) diagonally D) parallel E) There is no easy way out of a rip current.

Vast amounts of sand are moved by ____. A) surf B) breakers C) longshore currents D) longitudinal currents E) Army Corps of Engineers

A _____ is a structure built to absorb the force of large, offshore breaking waves and provide quiet water near shore. A) rock wall B) sea wall C) groin D) jetty E) breakwater

____ are rock walls designed to protect the entrance of a harbor from sediment deposition and storm waves. A) Groins B) Tombolos C) Barrier islands D) Jetties E) Breakwaters

A ___ encompasses all land near the sea, including the beach and a strip of land inland from it. A) coast B) shoreline C) shore D) high tide E) tidal range

Wave erosion of headlands produces ____, steep slopes that retreat inland by mass wasting as wave erosion undercuts them. A) barrier islands B) sea cliffs C) baymouth bars D) coastal straightening E) sea caves

During what season can you find the best beaches? A) summer B) winter C) spring D) fall E) any season

The vertical distance between the crest and the trough of a wave is called the ____. A) wave length B) period C) wave height D) swell E) tombolo

Wave orbits decrease in size with depth, and motion is essentially gone at a depth of _____ A) one half wavelength B) 2 to 3 times wave height C) 200 meters D) one wave length E) 600 feet

Waves break because: A) height decreases while length increases B) height increases while length decreases C) both height and length increase D) both height and length decrease E) water particle orbits change from circular to oval

The upper part of a beach landward of the high tide line is the _____. A) beach face B) marine terrace C) berm D) surf zone E) spit

Sediment may build up off a point of land to form a ____. A) fiord B) cliffed headland C) stack D) spit E) groin

Drowned coasts may be marked by ___, glacially cut valleys flooded by rising sea level. A) deltas B) arches C) straits D) fiords E) estuaries

_____ are wave cut platforms formed by erosion of rock associated with cliff retreat. A) Uplifted marine terraces B) Arches C) Stacks D) Spits E) Barrier islands

The bending of waves as they enter shallow water is called _____. A) wave speed up B) wave refraction C) wave run up D) wave diffraction E) wave dispersion

The diameter of the orbital path of a water particle near the surface is equal to _____. A) wave length B) water depth C) wave height D) 1 meter E) wave speed

______ are narrow currents that flow straight out to sea in the surf zone. A) Swash currents B) Tidal currents C) Body currents D) Rip currents E) Longshore currents

Some _____ beaches are made up of sand-sized particles of basalt. A) California B) Great Lakes C) Carolina D) Florida E) Hawaiian

U.S. coasts with gently sloping plains, such as those along the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico, are ____. A) depositional B) emergent C) erosional D) tectonic E) shaped by organisms

Tidal deltas are usually associated with _________. A) earthquakes along coastlines B) gaps in barrier island systems C) major rivers entering the sea D) emergent erosional coastlines E) longshore drift connecting offshore bodies

_______ are sometimes built perpendicular to shore in an attempt to protect beaches that are losing sand from longshore drift. A) Breakwaters B) Inlets C) Groins D) Tombolos E) Headlands

Coastal straightening occurs because of ____. A) longshore drift B) rip currents C) barrier island deposition D) wave erosion of headlands and deposition in bays E) uplifted marine terraces

The steepest part of a beach is the ____. A) berm B) marine terrace C) estuary D) lagoon E) beach face

A _____ is a ridge of sediment that cuts a bay off from the ocean. A) spit B) tombolo C) barrier island D) berm E) beach

____ coasts are common because sea level has been rising for the past 15,000 years. A) Deltaic B) Submergent C) Emergent and erosional D) Emergent and depositional E) Organism dominated

For the past 3000 years sea level has been rising at a rate of _______. A) 1 inch per year B) 1 meter per century C) 4 cm per century D) an unknown amount E) 1 km per century

The greater part of the sand from most beaches comes from ____. A) mass wasting B) glaciers C) igneous activity D) rivers E) wind

_____ is the movement of sand parallel to the shore. A) Longshore drift B) Swash C) Turbidity flow D) Refraction E) Wash

The net effect of wave ____ is to move sand in a series of arcs along the beach face. A) backswash B) rip currents C) oscillation D) refraction E) run up and return

The energy that moves sand along a beach ultimately comes from ____. A) the Earth's rotation B) changing climates C) temperature variations throughout the ocean D) underwater earthquakes E) the wind

The horizontal distance between two wave crests is called the ______. A) wave period B) wave amplitude C) wave height D) wave distance E) wave length

Water in _____ has lost its orbital motion and moves back and forth. A) a wave crest B) a wave trough C) a deep-water wave D) the surf zone E) the beach zone

The height and length of a wave is a function of _____. A) wind strength B) wind duration C) distance over which the wind blows D) All of the answers are correct. E) None of the answers are correct.

A wave begins to "feel the bottom" at a water depth equal to ____. A) wave length B) 2 to 3 times wave height C) the edge of the continental shelf D) half a wave length E) wave amplitude

Waves arriving at an angle to the shore push water parallel to the shore in a ______. A) surf current B) breaker current C) refraction flow D) longshore current E) rip current

A _____ is a bar of sediment that connects a former island to the mainland. A) baymouth bar B) jetty C) groin D) breakwater E) tombolo

_____ carry fine-grained sediments out of the surf zone into deeper water. A) Longshore drift currents B) Swash currents C) Backswash currents D) Rip currents E) Coriolis currents

The sea level rise in the past 15,000 years is due to ____. A) melting glaciers B) global land mass subsidence C) thermal expansion of the ocean's water D) increased precipitation E) variations to Earth's rotational spin