At a visitor centre in the Mojave hot desert, pupils examined Fig. 1, a section through a slope after a brief thunderstorm. The upper slope has loose weathe...
Question 1 Report
At a visitor centre in the Mojave hot desert, pupils examined Fig. 1, a section through a slope after a brief thunderstorm. The upper slope has loose weathered fragments, while a coarse apron of sediment lies at its foot. The centre guide calls this apron a talus slope. The landscape was dry before the storm, but rainwater entered cracks in the rock.
(a) Which type of weathering is shown where water enters a crack and later expands as ice? [1]
(b) Outline how a talus slope can develop below a steep desert cliff. [2]
(c) Draw a line on Fig. 1 around the area where the largest fallen blocks would usually be found. [1]
Answer Details
(a) Freeze-thaw weathering [1] (b) Rock is weathered into fragments [1]; fragments fall/slide downhill under gravity and collect at the cliff foot [1]. (c) Line around the part of the talus nearest the cliff base [1]
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