Beginning about 70 million years ago, pressure from colliding tectonic

Question

Beginning about 70 million years ago, pressure from colliding tectonic plates pushed up the land from what is now Colorado to northern Mexico. These forces eventually formed the Rocky Mountain range. About 30 million years ago, the plates began pulling in the opposite direction, stretching the crust to form mountains and low-lying basins along fault lines. The Tularosa Basin and its surrounding Sacramento and San Andres mountains formed at this time. Two to three million years ago, the ancient Rio Grande river began to flow along the southern edge of the Tularosa Basin, and only for approximately the last 12,000 years has the basin been inhabited by human groups.During the last ice age, from about 24,000 to 12,000 years ago, the climate in the Tularosa Basin region was considerably colder and wetter. As the Earth warmed approximately 11,000 years ago, ice melt and rain flowed down the mountains into the then 1,600-square-mile Lake Otero, which once covered much of the Tularosa Basin. Gradually, the climate in the basin became more arid, and Lake Otero receded, leaving large deposits of gypsum on the basin floor. The lake disappeared by about 10,000 years ago, and today all that remains of Lake Otero is a small remnant, Lake Lucero, at the foot of the San Andres Mountains.The entries below describe human groups that lived in the Tularosa Basin between approximately 10,000 BC and the late 1800s AD.

• Paleoindians (10000 BC – 2000 BC): Small bands of nomadic hunters who roamed the basin in search of large game animals such as mammoths and camels. Fossils of these animals have been found in modern times.

• Hunter-Gatherers (6000 BC – 200 AD): Descendants of Paleoindian hunters who turned to hunting smaller game and began to rely more heavily on plants for food. Over time, they began trading with other cultures and settled near water sources.

• Jornada Mogollon (200 AD – 1350 AD): Hunter-gatherers who settled in the Tularosa Basin at the time pottery and permanent living structures first appeared in the region. Their disappearance from the region is considered accurately dated to 1350 AD based on records of drought at the time.

• Apachean (1450 AD – Present): Descendants of Athabaskan speakers from Alaska and western Canada who established seasonal villages in the basin for hunting and gathering. They had few outside influences until the late 1800s, and some historians believe they may have arrived earlier than the consensus date.

• Spanish Colonials (1536 AD – 1800s AD): Explorers who came in search of fabled cities of gold. Although no gold was found, the horses and cattle they left behind gave rise to wild herds that still exist in the region today.

Bunuel · Accepted Answer

Official Solution:

• Water is Influential. It plays a clear role in all three time frames. In Tab 1, the Rio Grande appears and reshapes the basin’s geography. In Tab 2, Lake Otero forms and later recedes, leaving gypsum deposits — all due to water movement. In Tab 3, water affects human settlement patterns, as some groups settle near water sources. Since water is described as influential in each of the three time periods, it is Influential.
 
• Humans are Not Influential. Tularosa Basin Formation had no influence by humans during the events described in the tab itself. In Tab 2, humans are not mentioned at all. Only Tab 3 describes humans as shaping conditions in the basin. Since human influence is not described in all three time frames, the correct answer is Not Influential.
 
• Animals are Not Influential. Animals are mentioned only in Tab 3, where early humans hunt mammoths and camels, and later the Spanish introduce horses and cattle. But animals are not mentioned in either Tab 1 or Tab 2. So they are not described as influential across all three time frames.

Correct answer:

Water  "Influential"

Humans  "Not Influential"

Animals  "Not Influential"

Bunuel · Answer

Official Solution:

Earlier settler groups exhibited more limited forms of inhabitance than did later ones. 
 
• This statement is True. Tab 3 shows that earlier groups, such as the Paleoindians, were nomadic hunters with no fixed dwellings, trade, or plant use. Later groups adopted more varied and permanent forms of inhabitance: the Hunter-Gatherers began relying more on plants for food, settled near water sources, and traded with others; the Jornada Mogollon lived in permanent structures and produced pottery. This progression supports the inference that earlier groups exhibited more limited forms of inhabitance than later ones.
 
 Certain groups of settlers have a more definitive date of entry or exit from the region than do others. 
 
• This statement is True. While some groups have broad or uncertain entry or exit dates, the Jornada Mogollon are said to have disappeared in 1350 AD, with that date considered accurate. So it can be inferred that certain groups have more definitive entry or exit dates than others.
 
 Humans are not the only non-native species found in the basin today. 
 
• This statement is True. Tab 3 says that horses and cattle left behind by Spanish Colonials sired wild herds that still live in the basin today. These animals were introduced and are still present, so humans are not the only non-native species found in the basin today.

Correct answer:

Earlier settler groups exhibited more limited forms of inhabitance than did later ones.  "True"

Certain groups of settlers have a more definitive date of entry or exit from the region than do others.  "True"

Humans are not the only non-native species found in the basin today.  "True"

Bunuel · Answer

Official Solution:

It has been a continuous home to human populations for the past 10,000 years.

• Tab 3 shows a 100-year gap between the disappearance of the Jornada Mogollon and the arrival of the Apachean, so the basin was not continuously inhabited over the past 10,000 years. So there is no support for this claim.

There are multiple mountain ranges located inside the Tularosa Basin.

• Tab 1 states that the Sacramento and San Andres mountains are surrounding the Tularosa Basin, not located inside it. Therefore, the basin does not contain multiple mountain ranges. So there is no support for this claim.

Fossils of early humans have been discovered in the basin.

• Tab 3 mentions fossils of animals such as mammoths and camels but does not mention any fossils of humans. There is no support for this claim. So there is no support for this claim.

Spanish Colonials did not find valuable metals in the basin.

• Tab 3 says the Spanish Colonials came in search of gold and did not find any, but it says nothing about whether they found other valuable metals. Since the statement makes a broader claim than what the tab supports, it cannot be inferred.

The Tularosa Basin was not exclusively home to permanent forms of human settlement.

• The Apachean are described in Tab 3 as having established  seasonal  villages in the basin, indicating their presence was not permanent. Therefore, the basin was not exclusively home to permanent human settlements. So, this statement is True.

Correct answer:

Which of the following statements about the Tularosa Basin can be most reasonably inferred from the information provided?  "The Tularosa Basin was not exclusively home to permanent forms of human settlement."

RajLfcMo · Answer

Anyone please explain the 3rd question? I selected B

avinavp1 · Answer

"The Tularosa Basin and its  surrounding  Sacramento and San Andres mountains formed at this time." These mountains were not in the basin. Also, there is no information on other mountains being in the basin.

yuktimahajan3 · Answer

Bunuel  - how is the answer  true  for the first statement of the second question?

LittleKKKKK · Answer

Could you please explain more about the Q1 and Q2?

Beginning about 70 million years ago, pressure from colliding tectonic

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True	Not True
		Earlier settler groups exhibited more limited forms of inhabitance than did later ones.
		Certain groups of settlers have a more definitive date of entry or exit from the region than do others.
		Humans are not the only non-native species found in the basin today.

GMAT Multi-Source Reasoning (MSR) Questions

Beginning about 70 million years ago, pressure from colliding tectonic

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