Question

Some historians compared an old map of a river in a rural area to a current map of the same river. The historians observed that the old map showed the river with a different flow pattern from the current map. Which geological process most likely caused the river to change its pattern of flow?

a) Erosion
b) Volcanic activity
c) Glacier movement
d) Tectonic plate shifts

Answer 1

Tectonic plate shifts are the geological process that most likely caused the river to change its pattern of flow from the old map to the current map.

Step-by-step explanation:

The geological process most likely to have caused the river to change its pattern of flow from the old map to the current map is d) Tectonic plate shifts. Tectonic plate shifts are movements of the Earth's lithosphere that occur over long periods of time and can result in changes to the landscape, including the flow patterns of rivers. These shifts can cause the river to change its course, leading to a different flow pattern on the current map compared to the old map.