3. Unsorted, angular, rough-surfaced cobbles and boulders are found at the base of a cliff. What most likely transported these cobbles and boulders? A) running water C) gravity B) wind D) ocean currents
Q3
When there is a transporting agent like water, wind or ocean currents, generally, the sorting is better and the sediment sizes will lie in a certain range. They will also get rounded and smooth over the course of their journey.
Running water in a river or stream can only transport cobble and boulder sized material if the river is at it's youth stage and velocity of the river is extremely high. If the river is at it's mature or old stage, the size of sediments it is able to carry decreases.
Wind can carry only sand and silt and usually the sediments in wind transport are extremely well sorted.
Ocean currents transports suspended silt and clay from the shore to the deep ocean bed.
In the absence of any transporting agent, the grains can only travel a few meters. Because the course of travel is small, the grains will be unsorted, angular and rough surfaced.
Such type of sediments are deposited by rock fall or sediment gravity flows, which is controlled by gravity alone.
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