Practice Questions Paleozoic Geology
Structural Geology
Use these questions to test your knowledge of Paleozoic Geology.
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Which of the following northern regions lay near the early Paleozoic tropics?
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Canada.
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Siberia.
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Greenland.
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All of the above
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Which of the following life forms were present in the Paleozoic world?
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Brachiopods and trilobites
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Birds, Dinosaurs, and early mammals
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Which one of the following systems was NOT defined from Wales?
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Permian
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Cambrian.
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Ordovician.
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Silurian.
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At the beginning of the Paleozoic, the largest continent was:
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Baltica.
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Laurentia.
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Siberia.
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Gondwana.
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Laurentia contained the following continents:
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North America, northern Great Britain, Greenland.
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Africa, South America, India, Australia, Antarctica
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The initial stage in the assembly of Pangaea occurred when:
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Laurentia collided with Siberia.
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Baltica collided with Gondwana.
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Baltica collided with Kazakhstania.
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Laurentia collided. with Baltica.
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In the Paleozoic, Gondwana was covered by ice sheets during the:
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Ordovician Period.
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Carboniferous Period.
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Permian Period.
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All of the above.
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In the Paleozoic, lower carbon dioxide concentrations were brought about by:
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lack of forests supplying abundant organic material.
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drift of the Gondwana landmass south into colder climates.
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the large scale production. of limestone.
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widespread surface decay of organic matter.
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In the Paleozoic, the single largest source of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere was:
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deposition of large amounts of organic matter.
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volcanic activity during sea-floor. spreading and subduction.
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widespread limestone production.
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abundant vegetation on the land surface.
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In the late Permian, the continent of Pangaea was ice-free
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True
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False
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Which Early Paleozoic event was responsible for building the Taconic Mountains?
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Formation of a subduction zone beneath Avalonia.
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Suturing of portions of Avalonia to Laurentia
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Sediments eroded from the Taconic Mountains were deposited as a thick wedge of sediments:
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on the continental rise and slope.
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in the foreland basin..
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on the passive margin.
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seaward of the volcanic arc
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The Caledonian Orogeny (formed Laurasia) involved the collision of Laurentia with:
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Avalonia.
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Gondwana.
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Siberia.
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Baltica.
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The Queenston clastic wedge (E. Silurian, e.g. Shawangung and High Falls-Bloomsburg Fm.) eroded off of:
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The Acadian Mts.
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theTaconic Mts.
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The Pyrenees
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The Acadian orogeny resulted in docking and suturing of the remainder of Avalonia to Laurasia during the:
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Pennsylvanian
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Devonian
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Ordovician
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Erosion of the Acadian highlands produced the:
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Catskill clastic wedge (we saw this along US 80 in PA)
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Queenston clastic wedge (we saw this at Delaware Water Gap)
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Allentown Dolomite (we mapped this at Sparta, NJ)
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The most dramatic collision recorded in the Appalachian Mountains is the:
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Acadian Orogeny.
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Caledonian Orogeny.
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Taconic Orogeny.
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Allegheny Orogeny.
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Deformation of the Allegheny Orogeny was most severe in the:
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Plateau Province of Paleozoic sediments.
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Thin-skin tectonics of the Valley and Ridge province.
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Blue Ridge province of thrust Grenville rocks.
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Piedmont province near the suture.
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Deformation of the Allegheny Orogeny was least severe in the:
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Plateau Province of Paleozoic sediments.
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Thin-skin tectonics of the Valley and Ridge province.
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Blue Ridge province of thrust Grenville rocks.
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Piedmont province near the suture.
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Allegheny deformation in the Blue Ridge province was characterized by:
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thin-skinned folding and faulting of platform rocks.
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extreme metamorphism and intrusion
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colossal thrust faulting.
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flat-lying rocks showing a lack of deformation.
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Allegheny deformation in the Valley and Ridge province was characterized by:
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thin-skinned folding and faulting of platform rocks.
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extreme metamorphism and intrusion.
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colossal thrust faulting.
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flat-lying rocks showing a lack of deformation.
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The Ouachita Orogeny resulted from collision of the southern margin of North America with:
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Avalonia.
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Central America.
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Africa.
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South America..
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During the Early Paleozoic (Cambrian to Silurian) , the western margin of North America was a:
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passive margin..
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foreland basin.
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volcanic island arc.
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subduction zone.
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All of the following environments typify a passive margin EXCEPT:
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continental shelf.
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continental slope.
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continental rise.
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volcanic island arc.
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The Antler Orogeny began with the formation of:
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a westward-dipping subduction zone.
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a passive margin.
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a continental slope and rise.
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All of the following events occurred during the Antler Orogeny in western North America EXCEPT:
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accretion of a volcanic arc to the plate margin.
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deposition of a clastic wedge.
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rifting
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The Ancestral Rockies were produced by:
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accretion of a volcanic island arc to the plate margin.
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uplift of crustal blocks along high-angle faults.
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salt basins.
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All of the following landforms are associated with the Ancestral Rockies EXCEPT:
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the Front Range.
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the Catskill Mountains.
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the Uncompahgre Plateau.
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Sediments in the stratigraphic record of North America primarily record:
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sedimentary sequences of regression away from the cratonic interior.
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sedimentary sequences of transgression onto the cratonic interior..
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All of the following sedimentary sequences record marine transgression EXCEPT:
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fine-grained shale overlain by calcareous ooze. (fining upward)
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mudstone overlain by quartz-rich sandstone. (coarsening upward).
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quartz-rich sandstone overlain by shale. (fining upward)
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Which one of the following sedimentary sequences records regression?
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Fine limestone overlain by quartz-rich sandstone, capped by an erosional surface
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Shale overlying Quartz-rich sandstone
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Coal beds in cyclothems represent which sedimentary environment?
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Freshwater lakes.
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Alpine streams
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Coastal swamps
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Cyclic sedimentation during the Pennsylvanian was due to:
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local cycles of uplift and subsidence.
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oscillating rates of sea-floor spreading.
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periodic buildup and melting of Gondwana glaciers
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local cycles of uplift and erosion.
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Evaporite deposition in the Michigan Basin was a result of:
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evaporation of seawater in the basin.
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unrestricted flow of seawater through the basin
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