Water Resources and Pollution Quiz

Water that is used for crop irrigation in southern California’s Imperial Valley originates as snowmelt in the

• Sierra Nevada mountain range

• Tehachapi mountain range of southern California

• Rocky Mountains

• springs that feed the Colorado River in nearby Arizona

• Cascade Mountain range

The Colorado River system can be said to provide water and electricity for

• one of every ten people in the United States

• 1% of people in the United States

• 5% of people in the United States

• 10 million people in the United States

• The Colorado River does not provide electricity, but provides water for 10% of the U.S. population

Which of the following statements about the Colorado River is not true?

• 14 major dams and reservoirs have been built along the river

• the system has experienced severe drought since 1999

• it provides resources to people in 7 states

• part of the upper basin originates in the state of Wyoming

• the river still delivers the same amount of water to the sea in the Gulf of California

Lake Powell

• is a reservoir behind Hoover Dam and is the second largest reservoir in the U.S.

• is a reservoir behind Hoover Dam and is the largest reservoir in the U.S.

• is a reservoir behind Glen Canyon Dam and is the largest reservoir in the U.S.

• is a reservoir behind Glen Canyon Dam and is the second largest reservoir in the U.S.

• is behind Hoover Dam and Lake Mead is behind Glen Canyon Dam

Water covers about ____% of the Earth's surface.

• 51

• 61

• 71

• 81

• 91

A water resource that would be categorized as nonrenewable would be

• water vapor in the atmosphere

• Precipitation

• surface water in lakes and streams

• confined aquifers

• Snowpack

That portion of surface runoff that we can generally count on as a stable source of freshwater from year to year is best described as

• surface water

• drainage basin

• reliable runoff

• watershed

• precipitation

Ultimately, which of the following is the source of energy that continually drives the hydrologic cycle?

• Gravity

• energy from the sun and gravity

• Electricity

• geothermal energy

• Wind

Virtual water is water

• that exists only in deep underground aquifers

• that we hope to be able to draw on in coming years

• that is not directly consumed but is used to provide us with food and other consumer products

• that comes as precipitation in desert areas

• that is predicted to be in runoff from snowfields at high altitudes

We can say that the United States has _____________ freshwater scarcity stress

• No

• very little or minimal

• Average

• Spotty

• Widespread