Science Olympiad Division C

Northview Invitational

Geologic Mapping - Answer Key

1. You are looking for some property where you can drill a well and get a good, reliable water supply. Which
materials below would probably provide the poorest supply.

1. very highly jointed and fractured volcanic rock

2. outwash gravels from a continental glacier
3. lake sediments
4. fine-grained, compact glacial till
5. greywacke sandstone

a. 1 and 2
b. 3 and 4
c. 2 and 5
d. 1 and 4
e. all of them would provide poor supplies

Questions 2 and 3 refer to the map below

This map shows the elevation of the water table by means of contours on it (dashed lines). The elevation of the
land surface is shown by topographic contours (solid lines).

2. Which direction is the groundwater flowing?

a. NW to SE
b. SW to NE
c. NE to SW
d. SE to NW
e. you cannot tell from such a map

3. If you were drilling a well at point B, about how many feet down would you have to drill before you hit
water?
a. 500 feet
b. 230 feet
c. 730 feet
d. 270 feet
e. you cannot tell from this sort of map

4. A rock with high porosity and high permeability would

a. provide little storage but transmit water easily
b. provide much storage but transmit water poorly
c. provide little storage and transmit water poorly
d. provide much storage and transmit water easily
e. the question is impossible: rocks of high porosity always have low permeability

Questions 5 through 9 refer to the geologic map below

5. Which bed is the oldest?
a. pCm
b. Dm
c. Pl
d. Tsh
e. there is no way to tell from this map

6. Which bed is the youngest?

a. pCm
b. Dm
c. Pl
d. Tsh
e. there is no way to tell from this map

7. Are there any unconformities evident on the map?

a. yes, between pCm and Dm only
b. yes, between pCm and Dm, and between Tsh and all the rocks it is in contact with
c. yes, between Dm and Mss only
d. no, all the beds are conformable
e. there is no way to determine the answer from this map

8. What sort of geologic structure do the Paleozoic beds form?

a. a monocline
b. a syncline plunging SW
c. a syncline plunging NE
d. an anticline plunging NE
e. an anticline plunging SW

9. Some speculators are forming the Silver River Oil Exploration Company. Their land is shown on your
geologic map. You wonder if you should buy in. After looking at the map and applying your geologic expertise,
you decide:

a. There are likely source and reservoir rocks, and a good trap.
b. Although there are possible source and reservoir rocks, there is no trap.
c. There is no trap, and there are no possible source or reservoir rocks.
d. There is a likely source rock and a trap, but no reservoir rocks
e. There is no way to decide from the map

10. Where would you most expect to find large normal faults?

a. mostly in the central areas of continents

b. in places where lithospheric plates are sliding by one other
c. in areas of strong crustal extension or stretching such as on mid-oceanic ridges or in uparched continental
areas
d. in areas of crustal shortening such as fold-mountain belts and subduction zones
e. mostly in volcanic arcs

11. Ores of heavy metals (such as copper, lead, zinc, gold, silver,etc.) are most commonly found

a. in sandstones and silts deposited in shallow marine (shelf) environments

b. in shales deposited in swamps
c. in association with hot springs and igneous or metamorphic rocks
d. in stream gravels
e. in association with strike-slip faults

12. In the block diagram below

a. the strike of the bed is E-W and the dip is N

b. the strike of the bed is E-W and the dip is S
c. the strike of the bed is N-S and the dip is E
d. the strike of the bed is N-S and the dip is W
e. the strike of the bed is N and the dip is S

13. You find a layer of coal exposed in a roadcut. Which one of the following rocks would be most likely to be
lying above it (on top of it)?

a. shale
b. greywacke
c. mica schist
d. coarse angular conglomerate
e. basalt

14. Which rock should produce the least clay on thorough chemical weathering in a cool temperate climate?
a. granite
b. quartz sandstone
c. greenstone
d. Feldspar & endash;rich gabbro
e. they would all produce about the same amount

15. A soil formed by thorough chemical weathering of gabbro (mineral content: pyroxene, plagioclase) in the
tropics would consist mostly of
a. silica
b. quartz and clay
c. pyroxene and clay
d. iron oxides and alumina
e. olivine and pyroxene grains

16. If the same gabbro were weathered in a very arid area, the upper part of the soil would probably consist
mostly of
a. plagioclase and pyroxene grains, along with a little clay and iron oxide
b. calcium carbonate and alumina
c. quartz and clay
d. nearly pure silica
e. humus

17. In a humid temperate forested area, which of the rocks below would probably weather the fastest?
a. silica-cemented quartz sandstone
b. granite
c. basalt
d. limestone
e. clay

18. Match each of the dune types listed with the conditions appropriate for its formation.

____unidirectional wind, ample sand supply A. barchan

____unidirectional wind, limited sand supply B. parabolic dune

____bidirectional strong winds, limited sand supply C. star dune

____winds from many directions D. transverse dune

____partially vegetated or downwind of blowout E. longitudinal (linear) dune

The correct matching order is:

a. DAECB
b. EBACD
c. EBCDA
d. ACEBD
e. CDBAE

Use the diagram below, which illustrates the cross-cutting relations of a series of geologic units, to work out the
relative ages of the section for Questions #19-28.
19. The Madison Granite is __________________.
a) older than the Bascom Fm
b) younger than the Bascom Fm.
c) younger than the Weeks Sandstone
d) this age relationship is impossible to determine

20. The deformation of the Bascom Fm. is ________.

a) older than the intrusion of the Madison Granite
b) older than the Basalt Dike
c) younger than the Demets Shale
d) both a) and b) are correct

21. The Mendota Dolomite is older than the _________, and younger than the ___________.
a) Dayton Limestone, Demets Shale
b) Johnson Till, Weeks Sandstone
c) Monona Shale, Basalt Dike
d) Wingra Sandstone, Basalt Dike
22. The age relationship between the Johnson Till and the Basalt Dike ___________.
a) cannot be determined
b) can be established from the principle of original horizontality
c) can be established from the principle of correlation
d) can be established from the principle of cross-cutting relations

23. The principle that tells us that the Basalt Dike is older than the Basalt Sill is the principle of _______.
a) superposition
b) lateral continuity
c) cross-cutting relations
d) inclusions

24. The principle that tells us that the Wingra Sandstone is older than the Demets Shale is the principle of:
a) inclusions
b) faunal succession
c) superposition
d) lateral continuity

25. The Fault is __________________.

a) older than every rock unit shown on the diagram
b) younger than Weeks Sandstone
c) younger than the Madison Granite
d) none of the above

26. Surface C is an example of _____________.

a) an angular unconformity
b) a disconformity
c) a nonconformity
d) none of the above

27. The surface between the Madison Granite and the Weeks Sandstone is __________.
a) an angular unconformity b) a disconformity c) a nonconformity d) an intrusive contact

28. The surface between the Mendota Dolomite and the Wingra Sandstone is __________.
a) erosional
b) a disconformity
c) an angular unconformity
d) both a) and c)

29. Radioactivity is the result of ________.

a) rapidly moving electrons
b) instability in the nucleus of an atom
c) an atom’s ability to share electrons
d) an atom’s ability to share protons
30. A pahoehoe lava __________.
a) is generally basaltic in composition
b) has a ropy appearance
c) forms close to the volcanic vent
d) all of the above

31. In addition to continental North America, the North American plate includes the
a. eastern half of the Pacific Ocean crust
b. western half of the North Atlantic Ocean crust
c. Cocos plate
d. Nazca plate
e. East Pacific rise

32. The principle of superposition applies to ___________.

a) layers of sedimentary rock
b) metamorphic rocks only
c) dikes
d) lithospheric plates

33. The difference between a sill and a dike is that a sill _______.
a) is always vertical whereas a dike is always horizontal
b) is much thinner than a dike
c) intrudes parallel to sedimentary layers
d) cuts across sedimentary layers

34. The Andes Mountains are believed to be the result of

a. a part of the oceanic ridge system that slid under the continent
b. the drift of a part of the Himalayas across the Pacific
c. an enormous unconformity
d. the convergence of large lithospheric plates
e. lava welling up from the Peru-Chile trench

35. A volcano that is constructed of alternating layers of pyroclastics and solidified lava flows is called
________.
a) a shield volcano b) a composite volcano c) a maar-type volcano d) a cinder cone

36. The oldest oceanic lithosphere is about

a. 2.0 billion years old
b. 200 million years old
c. 20 million years old
d. 2.0 million years old
e. 200,000 years old
37. Kilauea in Hawaii is an example of a _________.
a) composite volcano b) spatter cone c) shield volcano d) cinder cone

38. The deepest earthquakes are found at what depths

a. 300 km
b. 700 km
c. 3000 km
d. the inner core
e. the boundary between mantle and core

39. All of the following are characteristic products from a pyroclastic eruption except __________.
a) ignimbrites b) volcanic ash c) pumice d) aa lavas

40. An angular unconformity implies that the following geologic event(s) occurred:
a) tilting b) erosion c) deposition d) a) and c) only e) a), b), and c)

41. Present-day examples of spreading centers are

a. the Himalayan chain and the Pacific Ocean Ridge
b. the Philippines and the Atlantic Ocean Ridge
c. the Aleutian chain and the Atlantic Ocean Ridge
d. the Red Sea and the Atlantic Ocean Ridge
e. the Persian Gulf and the Pacific Ocean Ridge

42. Present-day example(s) of convergent plate boundaries are

a. the Himalayas
b. the Alps
c. the Philippines
d. Japan
e. All of the above

43. Geomagnetic reversals ________________________.

a. provide strong evidence for sea-floor spreading
b. confirmed the existence of subduction zones
c. cause the movement of lithospheric plates
d. provide strong evidence that polar wandering may have occurred

44. The earth's primary layers as defined by their chemical composition are
a. crust, lithosphere, mantle, asthenosphere
b. lithosphere, asthenosphere, mesosphere
c. mantle, asthenosphere, core
d. crust, mantle, core
45. Plate Tectonics refers to the hypothesis that
a. heat moves outward from the earth's core over geologic time
b. continents drift across the earth's mantle, plowing through seafloor like icebergs
c. earthquakes must occur along the narrow boundaries that separate most plates
d. the earth's surface is composed of a mosaic of independently moving, rigid plates
e. b & c

46. The three types of tectonic plate boundaries are

a. transcurrent, convergent, divergent
b. divergent, convergent, rupture
c. subduction, convergent, strike-slip
d. uplift, subduction, lateral escape
e. strike-slip, transform, divergent

47. Which of the following is not a line of evidence used to support the theory of plate tectonics?
a. the distribution of certain fossil types on different continents
b. rock magnetism and wander of the paleomagnetic north pole
c. the existence of the rock cycle
d. the topography and age of the seafloor

48. Continental crust is thicker and denser than oceanic crust.

a. True b. False

49. Rocks of granitic composition commonly erupt from a mid-ocean ridge.

a. True b. False

50. Most earthquakes are concentrated in narrow geographic belts

a. True b. False

51. Earthquakes along the mid-ocean ridge system are most likely to record which kinds of motion?
a. transcurrent or divergent
b. divergent or convergent
c. transcurrent or convergent

52. Which of the following is the longest mountain chain?

a. Mid-Atlantic Ridge b. Himalayas c. Alps d. Rocky Mountains

Short Answer.
53. Terms used to describe surfaces across which there has been perceptible displacement are many. However,
most geologists would prefer one of the following terms: (a) joints, (b) fractures, (c) cracks, or (d) faults. What
term best describes a surface across which there has been perceptible displacement?
d) Faults
54. Force is a term common to physics. Its classical expression is Force = mass * acceleration. However
geologists are more concerned with the intensity of force or more succinctly the stress. Stress is defined as
______________________ .
Force / area

55. Stresses produce strains in Earth materials. What are strains?

Distortions or changes in shape

56. There are two end-member varieties of faults: dip-slip and strike-slip. The displacement along a strike-slip
fault is _________________ to the strike of the fault.
parallel

57. Though many beds are upright, others are not. For example, an overturned bed is one that has been rotated
more than __________ degrees.
90

58. A dip-slip fault consists of the dipping fault surface and hanging and footwall blocks. The hanging wall
block lies ____________ the dipping fault surface.
above

59. Imagine taking a book from your pack or book shelf. Bend the pages into a fold. Now imagine that the
pages of your book represent a sequence of sandstone beds separated by mudstones. That is, the first page is a
sandstone bed, the second a mudstone bed, the third another sandstone bed, etc.. The surface that contains all of
the hinge lines in a given fold in a sequence of beds is called the _______________________.
axial surface

60. Please fill in the missing labels for the major faults shown in the following illustration.
a. San Andreas fault, b. San Jacinto fault, c. Rose Canyon fault, d. Elsinore fault, e. Imperial fault

61. Examine the geologic map shown below. The small rectangles represent outcrops of bedrock. The bedrock
consists of four formations, labeled 1, 2, 3 and 4. Outside of the rectangles, the bedrock is covered and cannot
be seen. On the map, draw inferred contacts to show what the outcrop pattern would look like if bedrock were
exposed everywhere. Assume that each of the individual formations maintains a more or less constant thickness
throughout the region. Make the pattern of inferred contacts as simple as possible while remaining consistent
with the actual outcrops.
Answer
62. A topographic map has a ratio scale of 1:250,000. One centimeter on the map equals _____ kilometers in
the real world.
2.5

63. In which direction do the Vs formed by the contour lines point as a stream crosses them?
Upstream

64. In the Universal Traverse Mercator System, the distance measured in meters from the Equator is the
____________ coordinate.
Northing

65. The difference in degrees between due north and magnetic north for a location is that location's
______________.
Declination

66. In the U.S. Public Land Survey System, the north-south squares are called __________ and the east-west
squares are called ____________.
Townships, ranges

67. A compass direction along a line from one point to another that is expressed in degrees east or west or true
north or south is a(n) _______________.
Quadrant bearing

68. A compass direction along a line from one point to another that is expressed in degrees between 0 and 360 is
a(n) ______________.
Azimuth bearing

69. If a map has a scale of 1:24,000. If a large building has a length of 150.0 feet (actual size on the ground),
how many inches long would it be on the map?
0.075 inches

70. A device that can be used to overlap a pair of aerial photographs to form a three-dimensional image is a(n)
____________.
Stereoscope

71. A digitized aerial photograph that has been corrected so that it provides a uniformly perpendicular aerial
view that correlates precisely with a topographic map is a(n) ________________.
Orthoimage

72. An image or data layer that has been corrected so that it has the same geometry and scale as a topographic
map is a(n) __________ image or layer.
Orthorectified

73. A stream is flowing down a slope into a larger river. The elevation of the head of the stream is 1,776 feet
above sea level. The elevation of the mouth of the stream is 1,298 feet. The distance between those two points is
15,098 feet. What is the gradient of the slope the stream is flowing over in ft/mi?
167 ft/mi

74. Which stream drainage pattern would consist of a central high elevation region with several streams
draining away from it in all compass directions?
Radial