This Geography quiz is called 'Flooding and Management' and it has been written by teachers to help you if you are studying the subject at high school. Playing educational quizzes is a user-friendly way to learn if you are in the 9th or 10th grade - aged 14 to 16.
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As a part of their study of rivers in high school, Geography students will look at flooding. This is the second of two quizzes on that topic and it looks at both the risk of floods and their management.
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Flooding is a natural part of the yearly cycle of a river, creating flood plains, levees and various other features. Floods occur when the discharge volume of the river becomes too large for the channel to contain. They are commonly seasonal, as in the UK where in winter a combination of frozen, sodden ground and higher than average rainfall will lead to a river going into spate before overtopping its banks and causing a flood.
Before the Neolithic Age, during the winter hunter-gatherer populations would have retreated to higher grounds, only returning when the risk of flooding had passed. In later times we began to attempt flood management. In the 3rd and 4th millennium BC humans started creating canals, dams and channels to try and control the flow of the river. Since then we have been trying to manage and control river flow to prevent flooding. Until recently hard engineering systems were used, but lately the value of soft engineering to reduce the flood risk has been realized.
Now that there are settlements built in the high risk areas for flooding, the management of rivers is a must if we want to prevent homes from flooding. Cases such as Boscastle, which flooded in 2004, and the Cumbria floods in 2009, along with the more recent flooding of the Somerset Levels in 2014, have shown that floods are a risk that is still very much present. For governments with a limited budget, even in MEDCs (more economically developed countries), cost effective protection from flooding is a growing area of science.
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1.
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For hundreds of years sheep farmers have been managing the uplands of Britain. How does their management increase the risk of flooding? |
|
| [ ] |
Sheep eat the grass, destroying the plants and reducing the water uptake |
| [ ] |
There is an increased drainage of marshland to make it suitable for grazing |
| [ ] |
The machinery needed to take care of the sheep destroys the soil structure |
| [ ] |
Sheep increase erosion as they move across the landscape |
|
|
|
2.
|
One way of reducing the flood risk is to recreate peat bogs in the upland areas of drainage basins. How do these peat bogs help reduce the risk of flooding? |
|
| [ ] |
Peat bogs allow the water to pass an area quicker |
| [ ] |
Peat bogs direct the water into ground water supplies rather than allowing it to pass across the surface |
| [ ] |
Peat bogs act like a sponge, retaining water and releasing it slowly |
| [ ] |
Peat bogs increase evaporation because of the large number of trees found in these ecosystems |
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3.
|
Beavers are being reintroduced to the British countryside. How are they helping to manage flood risks? |
|
| [ ] |
Beaver tunnels undermine banks and allow them to collapse, creating a wider and shallower river that is hard for the water to escape from |
| [ ] |
Beavers destroy trees which stabilize river banks and so reduce flooding |
| [ ] |
Beavers encourage tourism that brings more money into the local economy that can be spent on flood defenses |
| [ ] |
Beavers create dams that trap water upstream, allowing it to flood undeveloped higher land |
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4.
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Which of the following is an example of hard engineering to help prevent flood damage? |
|
| [ ] |
Planting trees in upland areas |
| [ ] |
Allowing a river to naturally flood into dedicated areas |
| [ ] |
Straightening a river channel |
| [ ] |
A planning restriction placed on an area of high flood risk |
|
|
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5.
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In 2014 residents living on the Somerset Levels accused the government of not preventing the flooding by failing to dredge the rivers and drainage ditches that criss-cross the land. How might this lack of dredging have contributed to the floods? |
|
| [ ] |
The shallower rivers and drainage had a reduced capacity. Had they been deeper the drainage system may have been able to drain the water out of the Somerset Levels |
| [ ] |
The main river channel had silted up entirely blocking the water from escaping. This caused the water to back up and lead to the flooding |
| [ ] |
Because of the silt in the channel and the amount carried by the river itself there was more volume of discharge, leading to the water overflowing the banks and flooding the area |
| [ ] |
The silting of the channel allowed the river to pick up greater velocity, causing greater damage when it escaped its banks |
|
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6.
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In the 18th and 19th Centuries people began straightening sections of the Mississippi to aid navigation. How does straightening channels impact on the flood risk? |
|
| [ ] |
The water builds up as it enters the straightened cut, increasing the risk upriver and decreasing the risk down river of the cut |
| [ ] |
The water passes through the straightened sections faster, decreasing the risk upriver, but increasing the risk down-river of the cut section |
| [ ] |
The water passes into the cut faster, leading to flooding either side of the cut |
| [ ] |
Straightening the cut has no measurable effect on the flood risk, although it makes it much safer to navigate |
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7.
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What is a washland? |
|
| [ ] |
An area that is deliberately flooded during times of heavy river flow to avoid flooding elsewhere |
| [ ] |
A area that is dredged out to allow faster flow to avoid a flood risk |
| [ ] |
An area near a river that is protected to prevent flooding as this can risk the bank stability |
| [ ] |
An area of the riverbed, normally downstream of a straightened section, that is scoured out by high velocity flow |
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8.
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Which of the following are systems that might be in place in Flood Plain Zoning? |
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| [ ] |
Grazing areas zoned on higher ground |
| [ ] |
Roads and parking lots situated closer to the river than factories |
| [ ] |
Industry located directly on the river banks |
| [ ] |
Critical infrastructure (e.g. hospitals) closer to the river than residential properties |
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9.
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Which of the following is not an example of flood proofing for buildings? |
|
| [ ] |
Flood barriers for doorways |
| [ ] |
Raised electrical sockets |
| [ ] |
Increased ventilation via ground level air bricks |
| [ ] |
Valves on sewage and water systems to prevent backflow |
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10.
|
The Three Gorges Dam in China has proven to be a positive in terms of flood risk reduction, but which of the following is not one of the negatives of the construction of large-scale dams such as this one? |
|
| [ ] |
Some species of fish and other aquatic animals may be driven to extinction |
| [ ] |
Millions of people have to be displaced from their homes to make way for the reservoir |
| [ ] |
The silt and pollution carried by rivers is deposited behind the dam, gradually filling up the reservoir |
| [ ] |
The discharge rates down river will be altered |
|
|
|
1.
|
For hundreds of years sheep farmers have been managing the uplands of Britain. How does their management increase the risk of flooding? |
|
| [ ] |
Sheep eat the grass, destroying the plants and reducing the water uptake |
| [x] |
There is an increased drainage of marshland to make it suitable for grazing |
| [ ] |
The machinery needed to take care of the sheep destroys the soil structure |
| [ ] |
Sheep increase erosion as they move across the landscape |
|
|
|
2.
|
One way of reducing the flood risk is to recreate peat bogs in the upland areas of drainage basins. How do these peat bogs help reduce the risk of flooding? |
|
| [ ] |
Peat bogs allow the water to pass an area quicker |
| [ ] |
Peat bogs direct the water into ground water supplies rather than allowing it to pass across the surface |
| [x] |
Peat bogs act like a sponge, retaining water and releasing it slowly |
| [ ] |
Peat bogs increase evaporation because of the large number of trees found in these ecosystems |
|
|
|
3.
|
Beavers are being reintroduced to the British countryside. How are they helping to manage flood risks? |
|
| [ ] |
Beaver tunnels undermine banks and allow them to collapse, creating a wider and shallower river that is hard for the water to escape from |
| [ ] |
Beavers destroy trees which stabilize river banks and so reduce flooding |
| [ ] |
Beavers encourage tourism that brings more money into the local economy that can be spent on flood defenses |
| [x] |
Beavers create dams that trap water upstream, allowing it to flood undeveloped higher land |
|
|
|
4.
|
Which of the following is an example of hard engineering to help prevent flood damage? |
|
| [ ] |
Planting trees in upland areas |
| [ ] |
Allowing a river to naturally flood into dedicated areas |
| [x] |
Straightening a river channel |
| [ ] |
A planning restriction placed on an area of high flood risk |
|
|
|
5.
|
In 2014 residents living on the Somerset Levels accused the government of not preventing the flooding by failing to dredge the rivers and drainage ditches that criss-cross the land. How might this lack of dredging have contributed to the floods? |
|
| [x] |
The shallower rivers and drainage had a reduced capacity. Had they been deeper the drainage system may have been able to drain the water out of the Somerset Levels |
| [ ] |
The main river channel had silted up entirely blocking the water from escaping. This caused the water to back up and lead to the flooding |
| [ ] |
Because of the silt in the channel and the amount carried by the river itself there was more volume of discharge, leading to the water overflowing the banks and flooding the area |
| [ ] |
The silting of the channel allowed the river to pick up greater velocity, causing greater damage when it escaped its banks |
|
|
|
6.
|
In the 18th and 19th Centuries people began straightening sections of the Mississippi to aid navigation. How does straightening channels impact on the flood risk? |
|
| [ ] |
The water builds up as it enters the straightened cut, increasing the risk upriver and decreasing the risk down river of the cut |
| [x] |
The water passes through the straightened sections faster, decreasing the risk upriver, but increasing the risk down-river of the cut section |
| [ ] |
The water passes into the cut faster, leading to flooding either side of the cut |
| [ ] |
Straightening the cut has no measurable effect on the flood risk, although it makes it much safer to navigate |
|
|
|
7.
|
What is a washland? |
|
| [x] |
An area that is deliberately flooded during times of heavy river flow to avoid flooding elsewhere |
| [ ] |
A area that is dredged out to allow faster flow to avoid a flood risk |
| [ ] |
An area near a river that is protected to prevent flooding as this can risk the bank stability |
| [ ] |
An area of the riverbed, normally downstream of a straightened section, that is scoured out by high velocity flow |
|
|
|
8.
|
Which of the following are systems that might be in place in Flood Plain Zoning? |
|
| [ ] |
Grazing areas zoned on higher ground |
| [x] |
Roads and parking lots situated closer to the river than factories |
| [ ] |
Industry located directly on the river banks |
| [ ] |
Critical infrastructure (e.g. hospitals) closer to the river than residential properties |
|
|
|
9.
|
Which of the following is not an example of flood proofing for buildings? |
|
| [ ] |
Flood barriers for doorways |
| [ ] |
Raised electrical sockets |
| [x] |
Increased ventilation via ground level air bricks |
| [ ] |
Valves on sewage and water systems to prevent backflow |
|
|
|
10.
|
The Three Gorges Dam in China has proven to be a positive in terms of flood risk reduction, but which of the following is not one of the negatives of the construction of large-scale dams such as this one? |
|
| [ ] |
Some species of fish and other aquatic animals may be driven to extinction |
| [ ] |
Millions of people have to be displaced from their homes to make way for the reservoir |
| [ ] |
The silt and pollution carried by rivers is deposited behind the dam, gradually filling up the reservoir |
| [x] |
The discharge rates down river will be altered |
|
|
