Spell Geo, Spell Trivia Quiz

Answer: altitude

Mount Everest is the highest mountain on earth. Its official altitude is 8848 metres. The word altitude derives from the Latin 'altus', which means high or deep.

Answer: peninsula

The word peninsula has its origin in the Latin word 'paeninsula', which is literally translated as 'almost an island'. The Horn of Africa is a peninsula that is comprised of countries such as Somalia, Eritrea, Ethiopia and Djibouti. Other peninsulas include the Arabian Peninsula, the Iberian Peninsula and Jutland.

Answer: desert

Deserts are areas that receive very little rainfall. As a result the land is mostly barren and hostile to both plant and animal life. The Sahara desert in Northern Africa is the world's largest non polar desert. It is considered that Antarctica is the world's largest desert.

Answer: plateau

A plateau is an area of fairly high ground which is level. It is a little higher than a plain and a little lower than a mountain. Three famous plateaus are the Tibetan Plateau, the Columbia Plateau and the Antarctic Plateau. The word plateau derives from Old French 'plat', which means level.

Answer: archipelago

The word archipelago originated in the early 16th century from the Italian word 'arcipelago' which derived from two Greek words: 'arkhi' (chief) and 'pelagos' (sea). The word archipelago was originally used as a proper noun: the Archipelago referred to the Aegean Sea. Archipelagos are usually formed from volcanic eruptions from the ocean floor.

They are called island groups or island chains.

Answer: strait

The word strait originated from the Latin word 'strictus', which means drawn tight. A narrow, confined place is known as a strait. It was not until the late 14th century that the word was used in reference to bodies of water. The Arctic Ocean is linked with the Bering Sea by the Bering Strait. North America and Asia are separated by this strait at their nearest point.

Answer: seismograph

A seismograph is the instrument used to detect and measure seismic waves, which are produced by earthquakes. The word seismograph originated in 1858 from the words 'seismo-' and '-graph'. According to the 'Online Etymological Dictionary', it is based on the Italian 'sismographo', which was coined and invented by Luigi Palmieri, who was director of meteorological observation on Mount Vesuvius.

Answer: doldrums

The origin of the word doldrums is not certain. However, it is believed that there is a relationship between doldrums and the Old English word 'dol' which means foolish. Originally, the word doldrums was used to describe a feeling of despondency or listlessness.

It was in the mid 19th century that the word doldrums was used to refer to areas of the Atlantic and Pacific Ocean that are affected by the Intertropical Convergence Zone and thus characterized by the absence of strong winds.

Answer: tsunami

Tsunamis can be caused by underwater earthquakes or volcanic eruptions. Although it appears that there is some controversy surrounding the origin of the word tsunami, it is believed that the word is Japanese in origin. 'Tsu' means harbour and 'nami' means wave. It seems to have first been used in reference to a tsunami which struck Japan on June 15, 1896.

Answer: estuary

The word estuary has its origin in the Latin word 'aestus', which means tide. In the mid 16th century the word estuary was used to refer to a tidal inlet of any size. The water of an estuary is brackish because the fresh water mixes with that which is salty. Estuaries may be located along coasts.