Natural Wonders: See Them Before They Are Gone Quiz

Answer: glacial ice

Mt. Kilimanjaro is a dormant volcanic mountain in Tanzania near the border with Kenya. It is the highest mountain in Africa and the highest free-standing mountain in the world at 5,895 meters (19,341 feet) above sea level. Kilimanjaro is in fact three separate volcanic cones that are independently named and measured. The tallest of the three is Kibo's Uhuru Peak at 5,895m (19,341'). On its highest elevations, snow may fall on parts of Kilimanjaro but the "snow" visible from the mountain is really glacial ice. While estimates vary as to how long Kilimanjaro has had "snow" from 10,000 to 30,000 years, a definitive article by geological researchers from around the world date the glaciers as 11,700 years old. Further evidence suggests that the ice cap may have covered as much as 400 square kilometers during its deepest period and that survived drought conditions that last as long as three centuries.

However, the glaciers and thus the snow on top of Kilimanjaro may survive no more than a few more years. During the 20th century, it is believed that over eighty percent of the glacier has disappeared. Numerous geologic surveys of the ice field have confirmed its shrinkage and estimate that from 1912 to 1953 there was a one percent annual loss; but from 1989-2007 the rate increased to two percent a year. The thinning of Kilimanjaro's ice fields does not repeat earlier patterns observed in the ice core but is consistent with other glaciers across the globe. Though of course the subject of intense debate, at the current rate, some scientists conclude there may be no "snow" on Kilimanjaro by 2033.

Answer: St. Andrews Golf Club

The world famous golf course is one of many coastal areas under threat from erosion and climate change. Reports by Scottish scientists suggest the "birthplace of golf" could be submerged by water by 2050 due to coastal erosion. St. Andrews, like many other of the great old UK golf courses, is a "links" course. Links courses are so named because they are set on land, often only sand dunes reclaimed from the ocean, that "link" the water to the land. Whether caused by global warming due to human activity or a result of natural cycles, the sea levels have been rising creating higher tides and heavier winds that are eroding the dunes along the estuaries that border the course. According to greenskeepers at the course, in a single day in 1997, 10 feet of land washed into the water. St. Andrews has installed gabions on the dunes and has dumped tens of thousands of cubic feet of sand on the beach to further buffer the land.

Royal County Down is a links course in Newcastle, England that is at a higher elevation and suffering less erosion. Ballybunion is in the northwest of Ireland and is also a links course. Carnoustie is a wonderful links course in a small town north of St Andrews. On a bright beautiful day in 1986 I played this course and at least for a day the only thing eroding was my handicap.

Answer: Venice

Venice (Venetia in Italian) is generally considered to be one of the world's most beautiful cities. Having spent time in the city I heartily concur that you need to visit. However you may need to visit soon before it sinks completely into the waters of the Adriatic Sea. The earliest part of the city was built originally as a refuge from Attila the Hun and other eastern invaders by sinking wooden stilts into the marshlands and sedimentary islands within a lagoon off the coast of Italy. Over time the stilts have slipped further into the marshland; but Venice is also at risk with rising sea levels.

Venice does not have roads but small narrow waterways called "canals" that serve as transport routes. Narrow canals are passable only by human powered boats (gondolas); while larger canals can allow water taxis to transport people to and from destinations. Venice has always been slowly sinking. Over the last 1,000 years, scientists agree the city has sunk by around 2.75 inches (7 cm) for every century, but recent reports have stated that in the last century alone, the city of Venice is sinking up to five times as fast as thought and could sink as much as 7-8 inches in the next century. This is believed to be the effect of global warming and rising sea levels as opposed to Venice sinking into its own foundations.

Answer: The Great Barrier Reef

The Great Barrier Reef is the world's largest reef system and considered by biologists to be the "world's largest organism". The Great Barrier Reef is not really a single reef but about 2,900 individual reefs in and among 900 islands across over 2,500 kilometers of water. Tourism from cruise ships and pleasure boats, along with the snorkeling and diving industry within the reef, generates an estimated $5 billion per year for the Queensland economy. The reef system is home to hundreds of unique examples of sea mammals (whales, dolphins, and porpoises); numerous sea turtles for breeding; and is home to over 1,500 fish species.

Man's aggressive intrusion onto the reef, combined with various cyclical and natural factors have created cause for concern amongst both biologists and conservationist groups who believe the unique reef life is being killed. The interactive organisms of the reef create a symbiotic effect whereby when one element of the environment is changed, it can have a huge ripple effect both down and up through the Great Barrier Reef's ecosystem. The millions of visitors that the Great Barrier Reef draws every year are a significant contributor to the general decline of the reef. Cruise ships and local boaters cause direct damage to the fragile coral, as does the dumping of industrial and chemical wastes. Other harmful factors include tourists inadvertently damaging the water quality with the chemicals in sunscreen and bug repellents. Intentional and negligent destruction such as littering and various other forms of man-made pollution also contribute the volume of the problems. As an example of man-made damage since 1987 over 280 oil related spills have affected the reef system.

Answer: The Dead Sea

The Dead Sea is really a lake bordering Jordan to the east and Israel and the West Bank to the west. Its surface and shores are 423m (1,388') below sea level and it is considered the Earth's lowest elevation on land. The Dead Sea is 377m (1,237') deep and thus is also the deepest hypersaline lake in the world. With a salinity around 33%, the Dead Sea is 8-9 times saltier than the average ocean water. The sea is "dead" because the high content of salt makes for an environment in which virtually no animals can survive.

According to scientists, from 1970-2010 the Dead Sea shrunk in total water volume by a third and is continuing to see water levels drop by estimates of up to 1.5m (4.9') per year. The Jordan River is the sea's sole water source. Population growth in Israel and Jordan causes more water to be drawn from the Jordan River, reducing the available inflow to the Dead Sea. Further damage to the water system involves the draining of portions of the Dead Sea by chemical companies mining the sea bottom for potash and other mineral deposits.

Answer: Madagascar

Madagascar is the world's fourth largest island after Greenland, New Guinea, and Borneo. The island broke away from the African continent 165 million years ago and thereby created a host of unique and diverse plant and animal species. Many of these species cannot be found anywhere else as they evolved after the island broke away from the African continent. Approximately ninety percent of all plant and animal species found in Madagascar are unique to the island and do not exist naturally anywhere else.

Human activity increasingly threatens Madagascar's fragile plant and animal populations. According to the World Wildlife Fund, Madagascar has lost more than ninety percent of its original forest. This forest loss is largely fueled by logging and traditional slash-and-burn agricultural practice imported to Madagascar by the earliest settlers. As human population density rose on the island, deforestation accelerated and a continued reliance on charcoal as a fuel for cooking, and the increased prominence of coffee as a cash crop exacerbate the situation. According to a conservative estimate, about forty percent of the island's original forest cover was lost from the 1950s to 2000. If nothing is done to stop the trend Madagascar's forests will be gone in a span of years and their unique inhabitants along with them.

Answer: Maldives

The Maldives, officially the Republic of the Maldives, is an island nation in the Indian Ocean consisting of twenty-six atolls. The Maldives lie about 700 kilometers (430 mi) south-west of Sri Lanka and 400 kilometers (250 mi) south-west of India. The nation is the world's lowest elevation with an average natural ground level of only 1.5 meters above sea level. More than eighty percent of the country's land is composed of coral islands that rise less than one meters above sea level.

Oceanographers and Maldivian government officials consistently warn that the rising ocean sea levels threaten to submerge the nation. In November 2008 the President of the Maldives, Mohammad Nasheed, announced a plan to buy land in other countries, such as India, for the almost inevitable exodus of people from the flooding nation. It is not known whether this plan was ever started. In 2012 President Nasheed was ousted from power in a coup.

Answer: Everglades

The Everglades is a two million acre wetland ecosystem that reaches from central Florida (Orlando) to Florida Bay in the south. Lake Okeechobee, which is Florida's largest lake, overflows when it rains allowing the water to move in a slow and shallow river dominated by sawgrass marsh (often called the "river of grass"). The water flows southward creating and sustaining cypress swamps and mangroves, until it reaches Everglades National Park and eventually Florida Bay. The Everglades protects hundreds of species of land and water animals, including over 14 threatened species, and 25 mammals, over 400 bird species, sixty known species of reptiles, amphibians and insects, including two threatened swallowtail butterfly species. Over twenty species of snake have been recorded, including the threatened indigo snake. More than 275 species of fish are known to spawn in the Everglades.

Florida's sustained population growth has caused considerable alteration to the Everglades. The water and drainage needs (including flood control canals that vivisect the wetlands) for the people of Tampa, Orlando and Miami interferes with the delicate balance of the watershed and shrinks the water table that sustains the Everglades wetlands. Combined with increased agricultural development, the Everglades are systematically shrinking. In addition, run off from homes and farms are increasing the heavy metal and salt content of the wetlands further impacting the plants and animals contained in the Everglades. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) placed the Everglades on the List of World Heritage Sites in Danger, because of the serious and ongoing degradation of its aquatic ecosystem. There is a small glimmer of hope. Florida and US federal environmental officials are working to ameliorate the effects of growth and only time will tell if their efforts can reduce the damage already done.

The Pantanal is the world's largest wetland system and is located in South America. Muscle Shoals is a city on the banks of the Tennessee River in northern Alabama.

Answer: The Congo Basin

The Congo Basin is the second largest rainforest in the world after the Amazon. Amongst the species that call the basin home is the magnificent western lowland mountain gorilla. The river basin spreads out over 1.3 million square mile and extends across six nations. According to the BBC (and as reported by other agencies), in spite of the sheer size of the basin less than one-third of the region may be left standing by the year 2040. War, mining, ranching, farming, poaching, and illegal logging have taken its toll on this rain-forest, animals like forest elephants, okapis and bonobos may soon join the already endangered gorillas on the list of endangered species.

Answer: The Great Wall of China

The Great Wall of China is a series of fortifications, built across the northern borders of China. The Wall is made of a number of materials including stone, brick, earth, human and animal remains and wood. The Wall was constructed along this border in a number of smaller walls and was developed in part to protect the Chinese Empire against invasion by nomadic groups such as the Mongols.

The first "walls" were being built as early as the 7th century BC, but the majority of the "modern" wall was built closer to 200 BC and over time joined together with other projects along the route to form a unified defense perimeter.

However, the once mighty barrier has been in disrepair and is decaying. According to the China Great Wall Academy (a private Wall preservation charity inside China), only a third of the 2000 year old structure is in good condition. Sections of the wall are merely rubble and other parts completely disappeared.

Much of the destruction has been put down to generations of farmers tearing out chunks of the wall and using it for local building projects.

The erosion is so far spread that the World Monuments Fund has put the Great Wall on a list of the 100 most endangered structures.