Physical Geography Trivia

1. Many of the world's iconic volcanoes are stratovolcanoes, characterized by their steep, conical shape. What name, which might remind you of a medieval knight's protective gear, is given to another, less common type of volcano?

From Quiz River Deep - Mountain High

Answer: Shield volcano

As their name implies, stratovolcanoes, or composite volcanoes, are built up by many layers of hardened lava and tephra (fragmented volcanic material), which account for their distinctive profile. This structure is due to the high viscosity of the lava, which cools and hardens quickly instead of spreading out. Shield volcanoes, on the other hand, are formed by the eruption of low-viscosity lava, which is able to travel for longer distances before cooling down in broad sheets - whose accumulation results in a low, gently sloping shape, similar to a shield lying on the ground. While stratovolcanoes are associated with explosive activity, shield volcanoes are the product of effusive eruptions. Active shield volcanoes, such as those found in Hawaii - part of the world's largest chain of shield volcanoes, the Hawaiian-Emperor seamount chain in the Pacific Ocean - are almost constantly active. The gradual buildup of lava often creates extremely large volcanoes in terms of width: such is the case of Mauna Loa, on the island of Hawaii, which is over 100 km (60 mi) wide at its base. In addition, Mauna Loa is so massive that it depresses the crust beneath it by 8 km (5 mi) - meaning that the mountain's total height is about twice that of Mount Everest. Shield volcanoes do not only occur on Earth: Olympus Mons, the tallest known mountain in the Solar System, is a shield volcano. Other forms of volcanic mountains are cinder cones (hills created by loose pyroclastic fragments around volcanic vents) and lava domes (mound-shaped protrusions of viscous lava). The term "shield volcano" is a literal translation of the German "Schildvulkan", coined by Austrian geologist Eduard Suess in 1888. This burning question was written by LadyNym of the Phoenix Rising team.

From Quiz Global Runners-Up

Answer: Lake Victoria

Of the five largest fresh-water lakes in the world, three of them are in North America. Lake Superior takes the gold at 31,820 sq. miles (depending on rainfall). Lake Huron (23,010) and Lake Michigan (22,400) come in third and fourth respectively. But to find the silver medalist you have to go all the way to Africa, where Lake Victoria takes a healthy second at 26,828 sq. miles.

From Quiz Geography's Record Breakers

Answer: Lake Baikal

Lake Baikal, located in the southern part of eastern Siberia in Russia, is the deepest lake of the world. It is up to 5,314 feet deep and holds over 20% of the world's total unfrozen freshwater. It has an area of about 12,200 square miles, with a length of 395 miles and an average width of thirty miles. Moreover, this lake is also the oldest existing freshwater lake on Earth (over 20 million years old).

From Quiz Geography Terms

Answer: isthmus

Isthmus, a Greek word which means "neck", serves as a bridge for two large land areas; North and South America are joined together by the Isthmus of Panama making each accessible via land.

From Quiz Down in the Valley

Answer: Egypt

The Whale Valley in Egypt, Africa is on the desert floor of the Wadi al-Hitan. It is situated south of the great city of Cairo. This valley has numerous fossils that belonged to the last whales known to have had legs. These remarkable fossils are what remain to reveal how land-based whales made their transition to the great mammals of the oceans of today.

From Quiz Supermassive Black Hole

Answer: The Bahamas

Black holes on earth are believed to be caused when sea water dissolves carbonate mud flats and fills the hole with water, including a three feet/one meter thick layer of sulfur bacteria which makes the water appear black. As carbonate mud flats with sulfur bacteria aren't common, black holes are a rarity. However, there are thirty or so in the Bahamas, with the Black Hole of Andros being the most famous with a depth of at least 155 feet/47 meters.

From Quiz We Made the Top 5!

Answer: Nicaragua

Nicaragua has an area of 50,446 sq. miles. The top four are: 1. Canada 2. The United States 3. Greenland (politically, it is a territory of Denmark) 4. Mexico

From Quiz Let's Get Physical...Geography

Answer: Mojave Desert

No time to stop at a Vegas buffet! Instead, you can work up a sweat around the Mojave Desert, home of Las Vegas, the Grand Canyon, and Death Valley, the hottest location in North America. The Mojave Desert is home to sparsely populated desert areas, though it's home to many native plantlife including the Joshua Tree, the California Fan Palm, and the Barrel Cactus. Numerous movies and music videos have been shot with this landscape as a backdrop. The Desert is also home to the nearby Hoover Dam and Zion National Park. Unsurprisingly, the Desert houses many diverse animals from Gila Monsters to Diamondback Rattlesnakes to rodents of all shapes and sizes. The highest temperature on the continent was recorded in Death Valley National Park which, reportedly, has the clearest night skies of all the national parks of the United States. Heck, think of all the muscles you'll tone pulling the slots at a Vegas casino, let alone jogging through the desert!

From Quiz River, Lakes, Countries and More

Answer: The Mississippi

The Mississippi River is the third longest river in the world! It starts in Minnesota and ends in Louisiana.

From Quiz Earthquakes

Answer: South America

The largest earthquake in the 20th century occurred in 1960 off the coast of Chile in South America. Numerous cities in Chile were damaged. The earthquake created a deadly tsunami which destroyed entire villages. The tsunami continued into the Pacific Ocean and killed 61 people in Hawaii and hundreds more in Japan.

From Quiz The Northern Hemisphere

Answer: Siberia, Russia

Hardy trees can handle the -70°C (-94°F) temperatures. They can grow farther than 72 degrees north. Trees in Norway, Canada, and Alaska extend 71, 69, and 68 degrees north respectively.

From Quiz Tectonic Plates and Earthquakes, Rocks and Crust

Answer: Chile

Yes it was in Chile. The unbelievable earthquake measured a shocking 9.5 on the Richter scale! U.S.A had the second most powerful earthquake ever recorded. It occurred in Prince William Sound, Alaska on March 27, 1964. The destructive Earthquake measured a staggering 9.2 on the Richter scale! The fourth most powerful earthquake ever recorded was a stunning 9.0 on the Richter scale! It occurred in Kamchatka, Russia on November 4, 1952. The sixth most powerful earthquake which measured a mind-blowing 8.8 on the Richter scale! It occurred off the coast of Ecuador on January 31, 1906.

From Quiz Physical Geography and Processes

Answer: Convergence

Convergence boundaries occur where two continental plates collide into one another, and one begins to force the other underneath it, causing the crust of the earth to buckle and produce mountains. This process occurs under the Himalayas, where the Indian and Eurasian plates are converging. Conversely, mountains may also form from the collision of a continental plate and a oceanic plate, where similar folding of the earth's crust occurs, however, the mountain range does not appear directly above the point of collision. The Rocky Mountains in central USA are an example of this.

From Quiz Geography un-done

Answer: Playa

Interior desert basins and adjacent to coasts is where you will find a PLAYA. They are found in arid or semi arid areas which were periodically covered in water that slowly filtrated in to the water system or like most occasion evaporates into the atmosphere, causing salt deposition and that of sand and mud along the bottom of the depression.The word derives from the Spanish for shore or beach and are very flat landforms.

From Quiz Natural Phenomenons And Wonders

Answer: Polynyas

Pronounced 'pol-een-yas,' polynyas are vital to the fragile polar ecosystem and also of the Earth's ecosystem as they allow life to continue throughout the harsh polar winters. Land animals can access the sea, and marine creatures can access the surface.

From Quiz Natural Wonders

Answer: Baths of the Damned

An Arabic legend inspired the name for this hot springs. The story is a man once took his own sister as his bride, as the wedding procession went up the mountain the skies suddenly opened and the entire party was struck by lightning.

From Quiz Down but not Out

Answer: The Dead Sea

The Dead Sea is located on the border of Jordan and Israel and is the deepest of the hypersaline lakes in the world. The Jordan River flows into this lake, but the only outlet from this lake is via evaporation, leading to the gradual accumulation of salt. Neither Lake Superior nor Lake Baikal are located in endorheic basins. The Great Salt Lake is in the United States and is a remnant of Ancient Lake Bonneville.

From Quiz Over Hill, Over Dale

Answer: Ottawa valley

The Ottawa Valley covers an area of roughly six million acres and a population of 1.4 million people lies within the region. Of these people that live in the region, the majority of them live in Canada's capital city of Ottawa. The Ottawa Valley is notable for its beef and corn farming. Historically, the Ottawa River which runs through the valley was settled by various first nations groups such as the Huron, Algonquin, and Iroquois, and was a major transportation route during the Ottawa River timber trade of the 1800s.

From Quiz Global Runners-Up

Answer: Amazon

Although it lies spread out like an alluvial fan compared with the narrow and fairly straight Nile basin, geologists agree the Amazon comes in second at about 3,976 miles. The Yangtze in China measures 3,917, with the Mississippi at 3,902 a close fourth. The Ganges that flows across the subcontinent of Pakistan and India falls way short at about half that distance.

From Quiz Geography's Record Breakers

Answer: Taal Volcano

Taal Volcano, located in the Island of Luzon in the Philippines, is the world's smallest active volcano. It stands at a height of 1,312 feet and sits at the center of the Taal Lake. There have been 33 eruptions recorded since 1572. The greatest eruption ever recorded took place in the year 1754, lasting from May 15 to December 1. Its last eruption in the 20th century was in 1977.

From Quiz Geography Terms

Answer: savanna

A grassland containing scattered trees and bushes is called savanna (or savannah). This is a characteristic of tropical America and much of the tropical Africa. The largest savanna can be found in Australia.

From Quiz Down in the Valley

Answer: Kenya

The Great Rift Valley is 9,656 kilometers long and stretches from Lebanon all the way to Mozambique. A section of this valley slices through and divides Kenya into two segments, the Western Highlands from the lowland coastal strip. Subterranean forces tore the crust of the earth apart because of the extreme violence that they produced. Huge portions of the earth's crust sank between fault lines forcing molten rock to erupt. This is called rifting and still occurs today.

From Quiz Supermassive Black Hole

Answer: Belize

Blue holes are underwater sinkholes or vertical caves. The water appears deep blue as opposed to black because blue holes don't have the layer of sulfur bacteria that black holes have. The Great Blue Hole is actually a collapsed limestone cave that reaches a depth of 407 feet/124 meters. The deepest blue hole in the world is believed to be Dean's Blue Hole in the Bahamas; it reaches 663 feet/202 meters.

From Quiz We Made the Top 5!

Answer: Brazil

Brazil has an area of 8,514,877 sq. km. The United States has 9.2 million sq. km; Australia has 7.6 million sq. km; and India has 3.0 million. The United States and India together almost add up to the area of Russia at 17.1 million sq. km. The four biggest countries by area are: 1. Russia 2. Canada 3. China 4. United States

From Quiz Let's Get Physical...Geography

Answer: A glacier

Why not move like a glacier to take off those pesky pounds, eh? When people tend to think of fjords, their mind wanders to Norway and Scandinavia, home to the most prominent fjords on the planet. These inlets tend to be narrow, and due to the fact that they're created by glaciers, erosion has worn away the bedrock of the surrounding walls to form the actual landscape. These are usually quite deep, and some have been known to contain coral. Fjords can be found in Europe, Canada, the tip of South America, Antarctica, and New Zealand. Due to the prominence of arctic ice, the Arctic Archipelago tends to get a fair bit of attention in the way of fjords as well. The world's longest fjord is in Greenland while the deepest is in Antarctica. I assure you that we'll move faster than glaciers though; erosion isn't the greatest way to work out.

From Quiz River, Lakes, Countries and More

Answer: Pont De Normandie

Although all four answers are bridges going across the Seine River, Pont De Normandie is the bridge at the mouth, located near Le Havre.

From Quiz The Northern Hemisphere

Answer: The average temperature in the hottest month of the year does not reach 10 C (50F).

Although Siberia is the coldest place in the northern hemisphere (colder than the North Pole in the winter), it has relatively warm summers allowing trees to grow.

From Quiz Tectonic Plates and Earthquakes, Rocks and Crust

Answer: Sedimentary

There are only three types of rocks: sedimentary, igneous and metamorphic. Sedimentary rocks are rocks that are layered. Scientists uncover fossils from these types of rocks. Other types of sedimentary rocks are shale (mudstone), chalk and sandstone. Igneous rocks are rocks that volcanoes blast out of the crater. They are very hard and they also have crystals on them. You'll find diamonds and gems. Some types of igneous rocks are basalt and granite. Metamorphic rocks are very strange. These rocks are formed by pressure and temperatures to create a new type of rock. Some types of metamorphic rock are gneiss (pronounced nice) and marble.

From Quiz Physical Geography and Processes

Answer: Deposition

Although erosion is often presented as a destructive and unwanted process, it is actually a balanced system. While one part of the earth is gradually removed (weathering), another part of the earth is gradually being built up through the accumulation of eroded materials (deposition). Erosion is usually caused by wind or water movement.

From Quiz Geography un-done

Answer: Superior

The drainage of the lakes roughly empty from west to east in to the Atlantic. Except for Michigan and Huron lakes, their altitudes drop with each lake, usually causing a progressively increasing rate of flow. Superior , bordered by Ontario, the Upper peninsula of Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota, is the most Northern and westernmost lake and can be considered the headwater of the system.

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Last Updated Dec 21 2024 5:44 AM

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