Why are they called the Flaming Cliffs?

Red-orange sandstone glows at sunset

Flaming Cliffs Quiz: Bayanzag Dinosaur Eggs in Mongolia's Gobi

This Flaming Cliffs quiz heads to Bayanzag, the glowing red sandstone bluffs in Mongolia's Gobi Desert. Play 10 interactive questions on Roy Chapman Andrews and the 1920s expeditions, the first recognized dinosaur egg nests, Oviraptor's unfair egg thief name, Velociraptor and Protoceratops, Late Cretaceous rocks, saxaul trees and why the cliffs seem to burn at sunset.

Start Flaming Cliffs Quiz

🎯 Daily Trivia Challenge • 🧠 10 Questions • ⏱️ 150 Seconds

Question 1 / 10 Time: 150s

Country
Which country are the Flaming Cliffs in?
Local
What is the local name of the site?
Explorer
Which American explorer named the Flaming Cliffs?
Museum
Which museum sponsored his expeditions?
Eggs
What famous find was made there in 1923?
Thief
Which dinosaur was named egg thief?
Raptor
Which small predator was first found there?
Age
Roughly how old are the fossil-bearing rocks?
Color
Why are they called the Flaming Cliffs?
Plant
Which tough desert shrub grows nearby?

Explanations: answer key for all 10 questions

Q1: Which country are the Flaming Cliffs in?
Answer: Mongolia
They lie in the Gobi Desert.
Q2: What is the local name of the site?
Answer: Bayanzag
It refers to saxaul shrubs.
Q3: Which American explorer named the Flaming Cliffs?
Answer: Roy Chapman Andrews
He led expeditions in the 1920s.
Q4: Which museum sponsored his expeditions?
Answer: American Museum of Natural History
They were the Central Asiatic Expeditions.
Q5: What famous find was made there in 1923?
Answer: Nests of dinosaur eggs
They were the first widely recognized dinosaur eggs.
Q6: Which dinosaur was named egg thief?
Answer: Oviraptor
Later finds showed it was guarding its own eggs.
Q7: Which small predator was first found there?
Answer: Velociraptor
It was named in 1924.
Q8: Roughly how old are the fossil-bearing rocks?
Answer: About 75 million years
They are Late Cretaceous.
Q9: Why are they called the Flaming Cliffs?
Answer: Red-orange sandstone glows at sunset
The color deepens in evening light.
Q10: Which tough desert shrub grows nearby?
Answer: Saxaul
It stores water in its wood.

Dinosaur Eggs Under Red Sandstone

Bayanzag, known in English as the Flaming Cliffs, is a line of red-orange sandstone bluffs in Mongolia's Gobi Desert. The name came from American explorer Roy Chapman Andrews, who saw the rock glow at sunset during the 1920s Central Asiatic Expeditions of the American Museum of Natural History.

In 1923 his team found nests of fossil eggs, among the first widely recognized dinosaur eggs. A skeleton found on one nest was named Oviraptor, egg thief, because scientists thought it was raiding Protoceratops eggs. Discoveries in the 1990s showed such eggs belonged to oviraptorids, which were brooding them, not stealing.

The rocks of the Djadokhta Formation are about 75 million years old and also yielded the first Velociraptor, named in 1924, and many Protoceratops. Wind-blown sand dunes buried animals quickly, preserving fine detail. Today saxaul shrubs grow nearby and the site is protected.

What This Quiz Teaches

Dinosaur and desert fans will enjoy these questions.

Where the cliffs are
Who explored them
What was found in 1923
Why Oviraptor's name is wrong
How fossils were preserved

Did You Know?

Taking fossils from the site is illegal.
Bactrian camels roam the region.
Andrews is often linked to Indiana Jones.
Sunset is the best time to visit.
Ger camps host visitors nearby.