It's a Desert Out There! Trivia Quiz

Answer: Namib

Main + B

The Namib desert is located along the coast of the African continent. It is named after the Nama word for 'vast'. The desert is almost completely uninhabited by humans.

Answer: Kalahari

The Kalahari desert is located in the southern part of the African continent covering parts of Botswana, Namibia and South Africa. It is believed to have derived its name from the Tswana language from the word 'kgalagadi' which means 'a waterless place'. The popular film "The Gods Must Be Crazy" was based in this desert.

Answer: Atacama

The Atacama desert is regarded as the driest non-polar desert on earth. Situated in Chile, the lack of cloud cover and pollution in the skies over the desert have rendered it an ideal location to study the night skies. The La Salla and Paranal observatories are found within the Atacama desert.

Answer: Sonoran

S on Oran

The Sonoran desert is located in the south western part of the United States and also covers part of Mexico. It is the only place where the saguaro cactus grows in the wild. Phoenix, the capital of the American state of Arizona, is found within this desert.

Answer: Thar

The Thar desert lies across the boundary between the countries of India and Pakistan with over 80% of the desert lying within Indian territory and the balance in Pakistan. Among the wildlife found within the desert are blackbucks, gazelles and the Indian wild ass.

Answer: Simpson

thiS IMP'S ON...

The Simpson desert spans across South Australia, the Northern Territory and Queensland in Australia. The Poeppel Corner which lies within the desert marks the point where all these three Australian states/territories meet.

Answer: Gobi

Bog + i

The Gobi desert is the largest desert in Asia. Stretching across China and Mongolia, it is found within the rain shadow region of the Himalayas, with the lofty mountains preventing rain clouds from reaching here. The Nemegt Basin part of the desert is well known for the dinosaur fossils found within it.

Answer: Gibson

A gib is a type of screw that holds a structure in place.

The Gibson desert is found within the state of Western Australia in Australia. It was named after Alfred Gibson, a member of the expedition that had set out to explore the desert in 1874. He got separated from the party and was never found again, presumed to have died in the desert. There is very little human habitation in this desert and it is largely preserved in the natural state.

Answer: Sahara

CharleS A HARAre...

The Sahara is the largest hot desert in the world, the only larger deserts being the Antarctic and Arctic regions. The word 'sahara' means desert in Arabic. Located in the northern part of Africa, it covers multiple countries including Egypt, Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco.

Answer: Mojave

The Mojave desert is found within the southwestern part of the United States of America. One of the unique characteristics of this desert, is the presence of Joshua Trees which are native to this region. The tree was named by early Mormon settlers after the Biblical character of Joshua as its appearance reminded them of him praying with his hands raised to the skies.