Geol 101: Physical Geology
PAST EXAM QUESTIONS
LECTURE 10: VOLCANOES I
10. How many active volcanoes are there in the world?
A. about a million
B. around 10,000
C. around 1,500
D. around 800
E. less than 100
10. The type of volcanic hazard that involves a huge cloud of extremely hot tephra that rushes down the slope of a
volcano is called a:
A. lahar
B. tsunami
C. pyroclastic flow
D. debris avalanche
E. lava bomb
10. The type of volcanic hazard that resulted in the deaths of the inhabitants of Pompeii in 79 AD was a:
A. lahar
B. gas cloud
C. pyroclastic flow
D. debris avalanche
E. lava flow
10. The type of volcanic hazard that involves a mudflow made of ash is called a:
A. lahar
B. tsunami
C. pyroclastic flow
D. debris avalanche
E. lava bomb
10. What major American city is at greatest risk for the above type of hazard?
A. San Francisco
B. Seattle
C. Portland
D. New York
E. Idaho Falls
10. Which of the following combinations is NOT a correct match of a volcanic hazard and a corresponding example?
A. ejected lava bombs (e.g., Galeras, Colombia)
B. pyroclastic flow (e.g., Pompeii in AD 79)
C lava flow (e.g., Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo)
D. lahar (e.g., Armero, Colombia in 1985)
E. toxic gas cloud (e.g., Kilauea, Hawaii)
10. A 16 million-year-old analog to the 251-million-year-old Siberian Traps is the:
A. eruption of Mount St. Helens
B. Columbia River Flood Basalts
C. Idaho batholith
D. Sierra Nevada batholith (Yosemite)
E. eruption of Mount Mazama
10. The last time Earth experienced a prolonged period of flood basalt volcanism was 16 million years ago. What
happened as a result of this event?
A. most of the species in the world went extinct
B. Siberia was completely covered in basalt
C. the Columbia River basalt was formed
D. Crater Lake formed in Oregon
E. the islands of Hawai’i were created
10. Low viscosity lava is a characteristic of (1)_________ eruptions, which commonly form a low, gently sloping
volcano type called a (2)_________.
A. (1) explosive
(2) shield volcano
B. (1) explosive
(2) stratovolcano
C. (1) nonexplosive
(2) shield volcano
D. (1) nonexplosive
(2) stratovolcano
E. (1) nonexplosive
(2) composite volcano
10. Which of the following is NOT a characteristic of a nonexplosive eruption?
A. shield volcano
B. low-viscosity lava
C. typically mafic lava
D. Plinian column
E. examples in Hawaii, Iceland and Galapagos
10. The largest volcano on Earth is also the tallest mountain on Earth (measured from base to top). The volcano is
called (1) ___________ and it is a type of (2) ___________.
A. (1) Mauna Loa
(2) stratovolcano
B. (1) Mauna Loa
(2) shield volcano
C. (1) Kilauea
(2) stratovolcano
D. (1) Kilauea
(2) shield volcano
E. (1) Mauna Loa
(2) composite volcano
10. The largest active volcano on Earth is:
A. Lassen Peak, California
B. Mount St. Helens, Washington
C. Mount Mazama, Oregon
D. Mauna Loa, Hawaii
E. Yellowstone, Wyoming
10. When Mount St. Helens (1980) and Mt. Pinatubo (1991) erupted, they both produced a high, vertical plume of
ejected pyroclastic material called a:
A. lateral blast
B. pyroclastic flow
C. tephra cloud
D. lapilli eruption
E. Plinian column
10. Volcanoes with steep slopes that form from the accumulation of viscous lava and pyroclastic flows are:
A. shield volcanoes
B. stratovolcanoes
C. composite volcanoes
D. either A or B above
E. either B or C above
10. In the list below, choose the correct match of volcano and corresponding volcano type.
A. Kilaeua / stratovolcano
B. Mount St. Helens / stratovolcano
C. Mauna Loa / stratovolcano
D. Mayon / shield volcano
E. Mount Rainier / shield volcano
10. Lava bombs, lapilli and volcanic ash are all types of:
A. lava
B. tephra
C. magma
D. pyroclastic flows
E. Nike sportswear
10. If a volcano erupts explosively and then collapses into the void left by the emptying of the magma chamber below
the mountain, it produces a wide and deep circular hole called a:
A. crater
B. cinder cone
C. lava dome
D. caldera
E. maar crater
10. After an eruption, a volcano may start to push new magma up into the crater. The evidence of this is the
development of a (1) _________, the world’s largest example of which is (2) __________:
A. (1) caldera
(2) Crater Lake, Oregon
B. (1) cinder cone
(2) Craters of the Moon, Idaho
C. (1) lava dome
(2) Lassen Peak, California
D. (1) tuff ring
(2) Diamond Head, Hawai’i
E. (1) spatter cone
(2) Mauna Loa, Hawai’i
10. The world’s largest lava dome is:
A. Lassen Peak, California
B. Mount St. Helens, Washington
C. Craters of the Moon, Idaho
D. Yellowstone, Wyoming
E. Mauna Loa, Hawai’i
10. A volcano that has never erupted in historic times but which may still erupt one day is said to be:
A. active
B. dormant
C. extinct
D. in remission
E. asleep