Bing Deserts Quiz – Sand, Ice and Surprising Geography
The Bing Deserts Quiz asks you to identify the world's dry regions and the geography that makes them so unusual, from Antarctica and the Sahara to the Atacama, the Gobi, the Namib, Death Valley and the Arabian Desert. Not every desert is hot or covered in sand.
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🎯 Daily Trivia Challenge • 🧠 10 Questions • ⏱️ 150 Seconds
Definition
What makes a place a desert?
Size
Which is the largest desert on Earth?
Dry
Which South American desert is one of the driest non-polar places on Earth?
Asia
The Gobi Desert lies mainly in Mongolia and which other country?
Sand
Roughly how much of the Sahara is covered by sand dunes?
Africa
Which coastal desert in southern Africa is thought to be the oldest desert in the world?
USA
Death Valley in California holds the record for what?
Wildlife
How do camels survive long periods without drinking?
Causes
Why are many deserts found on the far side of mountain ranges?
Middle East
The Rub' al Khali, or Empty Quarter, is part of which desert?
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Scroll down to see the explanation for each question.
Explanations: answer key for all 10 questions
- Q1: What makes a place a desert?
Answer: Very low precipitation
Scientists usually call a region a desert when it gets less than about 250 millimeters of rain or snow a year. Heat and sand are not required.
- Q2: Which is the largest desert on Earth?
Answer: Antarctica
Antarctica is a cold polar desert of about 14 million square kilometers. The Sahara is the largest hot desert.
- Q3: Which South American desert is one of the driest non-polar places on Earth?
Answer: The Atacama Desert
Some weather stations in the Atacama in Chile have recorded almost no rain for years. NASA tests Mars rovers there.
- Q4: The Gobi Desert lies mainly in Mongolia and which other country?
Answer: China
The Gobi is a cold desert with harsh winters and frost. Many dinosaur fossils and the first known dinosaur egg nests were found there.
- Q5: Roughly how much of the Sahara is covered by sand dunes?
Answer: About a quarter
Most of the Sahara is rocky plateaus and gravel plains. Large sand seas, called ergs, cover only part of it.
- Q6: Which coastal desert in southern Africa is thought to be the oldest desert in the world?
Answer: The Namib
The Namib has been dry for tens of millions of years. Its tall red dunes at Sossusvlei are some of the highest on Earth.
- Q7: Death Valley in California holds the record for what?
Answer: The highest official air temperature on Earth
A temperature of 56.7 degrees Celsius was recorded at Furnace Creek in 1913. Death Valley also has the lowest point in North America.
- Q8: How do camels survive long periods without drinking?
Answer: Their bodies lose very little water and they can drink huge amounts at once
A camel's hump stores fat, not water. Camels can drink more than 100 liters in a few minutes.
- Q9: Why are many deserts found on the far side of mountain ranges?
Answer: The mountains create a rain shadow
Moist air rises over the mountains and drops its rain on one side. Dry air descends on the other side.
- Q10: The Rub' al Khali, or Empty Quarter, is part of which desert?
Answer: The Arabian Desert
The Empty Quarter is the largest continuous sand desert in the world. It covers much of southern Saudi Arabia.
Bing Deserts Quiz – Hot, Cold and Surprising Dry Lands
Deserts cover about a third of Earth's land, but they are not all hot seas of sand. A desert is defined by how little precipitation it gets, so Antarctica, a frozen continent, is actually the largest desert in the world. Cold deserts like the Gobi have freezing winters.
Hot deserts have their own surprises. Most of the Sahara is rock and gravel rather than dunes, while the Rub' al Khali in the Arabian Desert is the largest continuous sand area on Earth. Death Valley in California holds the record for the highest officially recorded air temperature.
Geography explains why deserts form. Mountains can create rain shadows, cold ocean currents keep coastal deserts like the Atacama and the Namib dry, and some regions simply sit under belts of sinking, dry air. The Namib may be the oldest desert of all.
Life adapts in clever ways. Camels lose very little water and can drink huge amounts quickly, and many desert plants store water or have deep roots. Scientists even test Mars equipment in the Atacama because it is so dry.
You have 150 seconds to answer ten questions in the Bing Deserts Quiz. Every answer comes with a quick explanation, which makes the quiz a good way to learn as well as to test yourself. It works well on a phone, and it is also fun to play aloud with friends or family, taking turns to answer. There is no sign-up and nothing to download, so you can start right away. When you are done, the related quizzes below are a good next step on the same topic.
Play the quiz and see how much you know about the world's driest places.
What This Quiz Teaches
- What defines a desert
- Hot and cold deserts
- The world's driest places
- Rain shadows and ocean currents
- Desert wildlife
- Record temperatures
Quick Facts
- Snow sometimes falls in the Sahara.
- The Sahara was green about 6,000 years ago.
- Sand dunes can move several meters a year.
- Cacti are native to the Americas.
- Desert nights can be very cold.
- Oases form where groundwater reaches the surface.
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