MINNESOTA GEOGRAPHY QUIZ 1
TOREN (pp.0-16 +/-) : HART (pp.0-41) : CLASS LECTURES
1) Rocks that were once sandstone, but undergo metamorphism become…
a. gneiss b. marble
c. schist d. quartzite
2) Contour lines…
a. calculate width of farm fields
b. indicate points of equal elevation above sea level
c. show horizontal scale values on maps
d. are used to estimate climatic conditions
3) The lowest point in the state is…
a. Mississippi River b. Lake Superior
c. St Croix River d. Red River of the North
4) In which part of the state can we find rattlesnakes…
a. SW corner b. SE corner
c. South Central d. Rattlesnakes are not found in Minnesota
5) The rocks found in the Bluff Region indicate that…
a. glaciers covered Minnesota several times
b. Minnesota was once under an ocean
c. that lava flowed on the surface in the SE
d. before settlers, Native Americans mined gold
6) Southern Minnesota has about how many thunderstorms per year…
a. 25 b. 35 c. 45 d. 55
7) What was the largest lake in Minnesota created during the melting of the last glacier…
a. Agassiz b. Upper and Lower Red Lake
c. Superior d. Wadena
8) Minnesota is the ‘center of things’ because…
a. it is the geographic center of North America
b. it has the strongest economic base in the Midwest
c. of the diverse number of cultural and sports activities in the Twin Cities
d. of its geographic position and number of ecological regions
9) Lanesboro’s location is a problem of ‘transition’ between which regions…
a. Bluff Region or Twin Cities
b. Rochester Plateau or Mississippi Watershed
c. Zumbro River or Bluff Region
d. Minnesota or Wisconsin
10) Maps are essential tools that show..
a. where places are and how they change
b. representations of abstract concepts
c. real time scale changes
d. representative ratios that are constant between every map
11) The state record high temperature occurred..
a. twice at 114 degrees F in Western Minnesota
b. once at 107 degrees F in SE Minnesota
c. three times at 109 degrees F at places scattered around the state
d. once at 111 degrees F near Duluth
12) On which sides of the typical farmstead are windbreaks planted…
a. south and east b. east and west
c. north and west d. south and north
13) Minnesota has a ‘lake effect’ which means…
a. many cabins are built on each lake
b. on large lakes winds blow toward the land to moderate temperatures
c. the state’s economies are primarily based on recreation
d. the quality of the rivers is because the start flowing in large lakes
14) Around 2/3 of Minnesota’s moisture…
a. falls between May and September
b. is snow
c. has disappeared due to recent droughts
d. evaporates away before it can be used
15) Severe droughts occur about every how many years in western Minnesota…
a. 5 years b. 10 years c. 15 years d. 20 years
16) How high is Giants Ridge generally above the surrounding landscape…
a. 200 - 400 feet b. 50 -100 feet
c. 100 - 200 feet d. it is actually a cliff 150 feet high
17) What is the general name for all the material/debris carried by glaciers…
a. drift b. loess c. scree d. talus
18) Eskers are good sites for…
a. sand and gravel pits b. clay for brick kilns
c. flat farm fields d. creating wetlands
19) Long parallel lines scratched into bedrock by moving ice are called…
a. drumlins b. gyros
c. shear stress d. glacial striations
20) Buffalo Ridge is…
a. known for the numerous wind turbines built on it
b. is where the last bison was killed in 1889
c. was the first Native American Reservation
d. the last major prairie tract in Minnesota
21) One of the major pieces of evidence of the Minnesota’s River Valley down-cutting and refilling several times during on-going glacial activity would be the…
a. pioneer observations
b. Native American artifacts found buried at different levels
c. lack of sand and gravel in the stream
d. terraces left high in the valleys
22) What was one of the major factors influencing Minnesota’s lowest temperature of
around -59.5 F (below zero)…
a. a low pressure system from Montana
b. a high pressure system from the Gulf of Mexico
c. a false reading due to shadows
d. a low lying dip in the ground or frost pocket
23) The average snow fall in Minnesota is around
a. 25 inches b. 35 inches
c. 45 inches d. 55 inches
24) What type of climate does Minnesota have…
a. Continental b. Mediterranean
c. Polar d. Deciduous
25) Minnesota tends to have cold winters due to…
a. low albedo due to snow
b. high rates of solar radiation
c. fewer weather systems coming from the north
d. low sun angle
26) Most of the moisture that falls in Minnesota starts…
a. in the Gulf of Mexico b. in the Pacific Ocean
c. from the Arctic Ocean d. from the Great Plains
27) The Falls of St Anthony…
a. were near Fort Snelling’s location at the end of the last glacier
b. have not changed or moved since early explorers described them
c. are some of the most stable waterfalls in the state
d. are still the highest in the state
28) The average growing season in the southern third of Minnesota is…
a. 170-190 days b. 200-210 days
c. 220-230 days d. 270-280 days
29) According to the text, one of the annual ‘rites of spring’ is to…
a. dodge potholes
b. enter the polar bear plunge
c. watch for the return of eagles near Wabasha
d. plant potatoes during the ‘blue moon’
30) The type of rocks found in NE Minnesota are associated with…
a. the Canadian Shield b. deep ocean deposits
c. shallow inland seas d. the oldest rocks in North America
31) Loose particles or dust moved and redeposited by wind into thick layers are called…
a. talus b. loess c. till d. moraine
32) Light colored veins in dark igneous rocks…
a. may contain minerals worth mining
b. are used by Native Americans for peace pipes
c. indicate that an ocean once covered Minnesota
d. were once living things that are now fossils
33) Wadena Lobe deposits in Minnesota are mostly in which part of the state…
a. west central b. north west
c. south east d. south west
34) The erosion of what rock formation undermines and creates St. Anthony Falls…
a. Glenwood b. Morton
c. Catlinite d. Gneiss
35) Moraines are usually described as having what kind of topography…
a. hummocky b. generally flat
c. steep rocky cliffs d. deep valleys
36) Where is the largest county in Minnesota by area…
a. NW b. SW c. NE d. SE
37) Which is not true about townships
a. were introduced by the British
b. are usually 6 miles by 6 miles in size
c. are only identified as letters and numbers on maps
d. sometimes use people or physical conditions for names
38) The basic rock types found in Minnesota include…
a. granite, sandstone, quartzite
b. rhyolite, basalt, kimberlite
c. shale, gneiss, kriptonite
d. slate, schist, carbonite
39) When the Minnesota River was created, it exposed some of the oldest rocks in the world that are…
a. from an old ocean floor of sandstone nearly 2 million years old
b. rich in fossils from the pre-Cambrian
c. currently mined for uranium
d. made of gneiss 3.5 billion years old
40) Minnesota’s present landscapes are rooted deeply in the past…
a. and they also strongly influence the future
b. and are for the most part unchanged
c. but, the old landscapes can no longer can be seen anywhere in the state
d. but, are recovering due to new reclamation laws
41) The ‘continental effect’ shows up in Minnesota as…
a. the trans-continental railroad system known as Amtrack
b. limited farming opportunities, especially in the south
c. a strong stable economic base
d. extremes in seasonal temperature and moderate precipitation
42) Which scale varies on the same map…
a. bar b. representative ratio
c. temporal d. all scales vary and can never be accurate on a map
43) How did the United States Public Land Survey influence farm field patterns in Minnesota …
a. it limited them to 40 acre size areas
b. it allowed them to be the size of a whole section or square mile
c. it only let fields be planted in rows running north to south
d. it influenced them to be generally ¼ mile wide and ½ mile long
44) ‘Rhythm and Blues’ rocks in Minnesota
a. refer to surface lavas
b. indicate that the rocks were once molten and deposited deep underground
c. indicate that the area was once under water
d. show that the rocks were metamorphosed
45) Which is not one of the major watersheds of Minnesota…
a. Mississippi River b. Missouri River
c. Great Lakes d. Red River
46) Virginia Blue Bells are generally found in…
a. tall grass prairies b. wet bogs
c. forest understories d. littoral zones
47) Toren uses 7 major regions as chapters, but actually describes…
a. 8 regions and subregions
b. 9 regions and subregions
c. 12 regions and subregions
d. 14 regions and subregions
48) The ‘gateway’ to the BWCA is…
a. Duluth b. Twin Cities c. Grand Rapids d. Ely
49) What ‘creeps down’ out of the tundra into NE Minnesota…
a. Timber wolves b. Boreal Forest c. Moose d. Prairie Fires
50) Brimson might lie in which of these DNR regions…
a. Toimi Uplands or North Shore Highlands
b. Anoka Sand Plain or Northern Reaches
c. St Croix Valley or Rochester Uplands
d. Glacial Lakes Region or Mille Lacs Lake District
______
Answer two of the following questions on the back of the scan-tron (bubble sheet).
Use complete sentences. (3-5 good sentences for each answer)
Points taken off if not answered.
Why is the Red River Valley region so flat?
What are the causes of glaciation?
Why do Minnesota rivers flow in different directions?
Why is there distortion in the maps used in the DeLorme Atlas?
Why are some Minnesota Lakes have sandy beaches and others have rocky/clayey beaches?
What can be used for evidence that we were once under a glacier?
Why are some valleys, such as the Minnesota River so large as compared to the river size?
What factors did Toren use to create regions?
What and why is a ‘correction line’ used?
In what ways are your atlas (or maps already used in class) tied to the world’s geographic grid?