The Sands of Time Quiz | Physical Geography

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. The Karakum (or Kara-Kum) Desert is located in Turkmenistan. The desert's English name comes from its equivalent in the Turkmen language, Garagum, which translates as which of these?

Answer: Black sand

The desert covers a huge area of around 135,000 square miles, and is about 80% of the whole area of Turkmenistan. Although it has a low population, it is not completely arid as two rivers flow into it. In addition, the Soviet Union built the Karakum Canal, between 1954 and 1988 to provide irrigation for the cultivation of cotton. There is another desert, known as the Aral Karakum, located in Kazakhstan.

The photo is of black sand on a beach, and is not meant to represent the Karakum itself.

2. Although it is not its official name, having been created by the press, the Oltenian Sahara has been adopted as the name for an area of desert in which eastern European country?

Answer: Romania

This area is in the Oltenia province of Romania, and was created by deforestation in the 1960s. It is a sandy region of around 80,000 hectares. New trees and shrubs have been planted to prevent the desert area increasing, and there are reports of animals returning to the area, although it is mainly uninhabited.

The picture clue shows the Romanian flag.

3. One of the lesser known deserts of Australia is the Strzelecki Desert. It was named by Charles Sturt in honour of an explorer from which country?

Answer: Poland

The desert covers parts of northern South Australia, western areas of New South Wales and south western regions of Queensland. Pawel Strzelecki carried out several surveys of the Gippsland region in 1839 to 1840, and it is him we have to thank for naming the highest mountain in Australia after his fellow countryman, Tadeusz Kościuszko. The desert isn't the only place in Australia to bear Strzelecki's name, which has also been used for mountains, a road and a creek.

Your photo clue is of a (telegraph) pole.

4. Located on the Arabian peninsula, the Rub' al Khali is known in English as the 'Empty _____'. What fills in the blank?

Answer: Quarter

The desert is one of the largest sand deserts in the world, and covers parts of Yemen, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Oman. The desert's dunes of red coloured sand are probably what comes to most of our minds when we hear the word 'desert'. Although the area is barren, it does contain huge oil reserves, which create wealth for the countries of the region.

The picture is of a quarter, although non Americans might not have immediately recognised it as such.

5. The Antarctic is normally listed as the largest desert of the world, based on it being an area of little or no precipitation and population. Using the same criteria, which is the second largest desert in the early twenty-first century?

Answer: Arctic

Both of the Polar regions are desert areas, although the Arctic is sometimes described as a frozen sea. The Sahara is next in size, being the largest hot desert as well as the world's hottest. The Gobi, Kalahari and Patagonian are fifth, sixth and seventh respectively, with the Arabian desert (not offered as an option) at number four.

The photo shows an Arctic fox to help, if you needed it.

6. The Karoo desert is located in which of these countries?

Answer: South Africa

The Karoo is classed as a semi-desert, and falls into two regions - the Great Karoo and the Little Karoo. The heat, aridity and extremes of temperature are what place the area into the category of a desert. It is not an uninhabited area, though, and supports many towns and farms as well as the Karoo National Park.

The photo shows the general area of the desert area, with the Great Karoo outlined in yellow and the Little Karoo in green. You can enlarge the photo by clicking on it if you can't see these lines clearly.

7. Which of these deserts is the odd one out, being located in a different continent from the others?

Answer: Thar

The Chalbi, Kalahari and Namib deserts are all in Africa, while the Thar is located on the border between India and Pakistan. The majority of the desert is in India, with around 15% of it in Pakistan. The desert is sandy, with very little rainfall, and is prone to severe sandstorms. Despite its bleakness, there is a relatively large population living in the desert, and the city of Jodhpur, which gave its name to the riding breeches, is located here.

No fancy photo clue this time - the picture is of one of the villages located in the desert.

8. The Sahara desert covers many of the countries of the northern part of Africa. Which of these is NOT one of them, at least not in the early twenty-first century?

Answer: Burundi

Burundi is much further south than the other countries listed, situated south of Rwanda. Its south western region borders Lake Tanganyika. The Sahara is the largest hot desert and is named from the Arabic word for desert. As well as the options listed, the Sahara covers parts of Algeria, Chad, Egypt, Mauritania, Morocco, Tunisia, Western Sahara and Niger.

The photo shows the coat of arms of Burundi.

9. A desert and the dog pictured are both named for a region in which of these countries?

Answer: Mexico

The delightful pup is a Chihuahua, and the Chihuahuan desert covers a large area of the state of Chihuahua in Mexico. It also extends into the USA, mainly Texas as well as parts of New Mexico and Arizona. Rainfall to the area is restricted by two mountain ranges - the Sierra Madre Occidental and the Sierra Madre Oriental - to the west and east respectively. Despite the lack of rain, plants such as Yucca, the Creosote Bush and Cactuses grow in the region.

I hope you recognised the Chihuahua pup. The other countries were chosen for the canine associations - the Dalmatian is named for Dalmatia in Croatia and there is an Afghan hound. Egypt was picked for the Pharaoh hound, even though the dog does not come from there.

10. Located in New Zealand, the Rangipo Desert is a barren region of the North Island. What is the cause of the poor soil quality in the area?

Answer: Volcanic activity

The Rangipo Desert is normally described as 'desert-like' due to the effects of historic eruptions of the volcanoes in the region. The area is at a higher altitude than much of the country and consequently has many frosts each year and regular snowfalls. With the wind chill factor included, temperatures can be around freezing point in the winter months (and you thought New Zealand was warm).

The photo shows Mount Tongariro, one of three volcanoes in the region. The others are Mounts Ngauruhoe and Ruapehu.

Source: Author rossian

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor spanishliz before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.

The Sands of Time Trivia Quiz

Many deserts are sandy, so that explains the title, but not all the ones in this quiz fall into that category. See how you get on with this selection of deserts from around the world.

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