Florida Water & Ecosystems

How can groundwater travel through Florida’s carbonate rocks?

• Through solid rock with no pores at all
• Through cracks and cavities
• Only as surface ocean waves
• Only across paved roads

What is an aquifer?

• Rock or sediment that stores and transmits groundwater
• A high-altitude river source
• A type of tropical storm
• An artificial offshore reef

Which geographic statement about the Floridan aquifer system is correct?

• It is a single surface lake
• It extends into neighboring southeastern states
• It exists only in Key West
• It ends exactly at Florida’s political borders

Why can groundwater pollution be hard to detect by looking at a river?

• Pollution always changes river color immediately
• All groundwater is naturally sterile
• Contamination may occur underground even if surface water appears normal
• Aquifers are completely separated from human activity

What must wetland restoration consider besides the total amount of water?

• When and where water flows
• The number of highways outside the watershed
• Only the height of nearby buildings
• Only the number of tourists

Why can different sources report different lengths for Florida’s coastline?

• Florida changes continents each year
• Coastlines have a fixed length under every method
• They use different shoreline definitions and map detail
• Islands are never counted in any method

What does saltwater intrusion mean?

• A river becomes permanently dry
• Freshwater freezes into a glacier
• An ocean current turns into a river
• Saline water enters a freshwater system