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Just Deserts Trivia Quiz

Across the world, there are many different deserts. One might think that, being deserts, they are all quite the same -- but that isn't so. What do you know about the world's deserts?

A multiple-choice quiz by opalescent. Estimated time: 5 mins.

Author
opalescent

Time
5 mins

Type
Multiple Choice

Quiz #
257,554

Updated
Dec 03 21

# Qns
10

Difficulty
Tough

Avg Score
6 / 10

Plays
1297

Question 1 of 10

1. The Atacama is considered by many to be the world's driest desert, getting very little rainfall. In what continent is this desert located? Hint

Africa

South America

Australia

North America

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Question 2 of 10

2. True or false: The Sahara is the largest desert on Earth.

True

False

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Question 3 of 10

3. Which of these deserts is not in Africa? Hint

Gobi

Sahara

Namib

Kalahari

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Question 4 of 10

4. The only nesting colony of Socotra cormorants is in the Persian Gulf. Though cormorants are sea birds, they choose to nest on these Bahraini islands, which are over 90% desert. Hint

Amwaj Islands

Kish Islands

Hawar Islands

Tunb Islands

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Question 5 of 10

5. What is an erg, in relation to deserts? Hint

A sand slide

A large sand dune endangering a town

A big, flat area of wind-swept sand and dunes

An isolated area of vegetation

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Question 6 of 10

6. True or false: "desert island" means an island that has mostly desert terrain.

True

False

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Question 7 of 10

7. Where on Earth was the highest temperature ever recorded? Hint

El Azizia

Death Valley

Arabian Desert

Kalahari Desert

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Question 8 of 10

8. True or false: All deserts are hot.

True

False

9. The Great Basin, a large plateau that lies between the Rocky Mountains and the Sierra Nevada, is a very dry, hot region that covers over half of Utah, most of Nevada, and parts of Oregon, California, Wyoming, and Idaho. Which of these smaller deserts is not a part of the Great Basin? Hint

Amargosa Desert

Owyhee Desert

Yp Desert

Yuma Desert

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Question 10 of 10

10. What makes the Gobi desert dry? Hint

The Yangtze River

The Himalayas

The Earth's Rotation

The Tibetan Plateau

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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. The Atacama is considered by many to be the world's driest desert, getting very little rainfall. In what continent is this desert located?

Answer: South America

The Atacama desert is located by the coast of Chile. Even though it is near the sea, the Andes mountain range causes a rainshadow effect. Most of the rain happens on the mountains. Ironically, these mountains are also responsible for the wettest place on Earth -- the Amazon rainforest.

2. True or false: The Sahara is the largest desert on Earth.

Answer: False

The Sahara desert may be the largest hot desert on the planet, but believe it or not, Antarctica is a desert as well. The Antarctic is much larger than the Sahara desert.

3. Which of these deserts is not in Africa?

Answer: Gobi

The Gobi desert is located in China and Mongolia. It is a cold desert, and the terrain is mostly rocky. All sorts of animals, from the small mice-like jerboa to the big Gobi Bear, are found there.

4. The only nesting colony of Socotra cormorants is in the Persian Gulf. Though cormorants are sea birds, they choose to nest on these Bahraini islands, which are over 90% desert.

Answer: Hawar Islands

Bahrain is a small island country in the southern Persian gulf. Due to overfarming, 92% of Bahrain is desert. Socotra cormorants are listed as vulnerable.

5. What is an erg, in relation to deserts?

Answer: A big, flat area of wind-swept sand and dunes

In order for a dune field to be considered an erg, it must have at least about 50 square miles of wind-eroded sand, forming dunes, at least 20% of its surface must be sand. Ergs can be found on other planets, too, such as Venus and Mars.

6. True or false: "desert island" means an island that has mostly desert terrain.

Answer: False

Technically, "desert island" gets its roots from "deserted island," meaning that it is uninhabited. Even the wettest island you can find could be a desert island.

7. Where on Earth was the highest temperature ever recorded?

Answer: Death Valley

El Azizia, a town in Northwest Libya, was thought to have the highest temperature recorded on Earth. In 2012, scientists took another look at that record and determined it was inaccurate due to various factors. The record now stands with Death Valley which recorded a whopping 134 degrees Fahrenheit on July 10, 1913.

8. True or false: All deserts are hot.

Answer: False

Deserts are only determined by the amount of rainfall they receive -- 50 cm or less per year. While the Sahara and the Namib are dry and sandy, tundra and ice caps also count as desert.

Answer: Yuma Desert

The Yuma desert is in the Salton basin, a lower part of the Sonoran desert in the southwestern United states. The Amargosa, Yp, and Owyhee deserts are all part of the Great Basin.

10. What makes the Gobi desert dry?

Answer: The Himalayas

As wind moves northward from the Indian Ocean, the Himalayas have a rain shadow effect, making northern India very wet and the Tibetan Plateau very dry. The Gobi desert is even drier -- after the wind has passed over Tibet, there is practically no moisture left at all.

Source: Author opalescent

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor minch before going online.
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