Khongoryn Els in the Mongolian Gobi is famous for what?

Singing dunes that hum in the wind

Red dunes that glow faintly at night

Dunes made almost entirely of salt crystals

The Gobi bear, or mazaalai, holds which sad record?

One of the rarest bears in the world

The largest bear species on Earth

The only bear that lives in sand dunes

What is unusual about Yolyn Am, a narrow gorge in the Gobi's mountains?

It can hold ice well into summer

It has a waterfall made of falling sand

Its rocks glow green on moonless nights

Gobi Desert Quiz: Dunes, Dinosaurs and Camels of Mongolia

This Gobi Desert quiz explores the great cold desert of Mongolia and northern China, with questions on why it is so dry, how little of it is sand, the singing dunes of Khongoryn Els, the Flaming Cliffs and Roy Chapman Andrews, the Fighting Dinosaurs fossil, the Gobi bear, wild Bactrian camels, the ice gorge of Yolyn Am and dust storms. Ten questions.

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🎯 Daily Trivia Challenge • 🧠 10 Questions • ⏱️ 90 Seconds

Question 1 / 10 Time: 90s

Climate
The Gobi is a rain shadow desert. Which mountains and plateau block moist air from reaching it?
Sand
Roughly how much of the Gobi Desert is covered by sand dunes?
Dunes
Khongoryn Els in the Mongolian Gobi is famous for what?
Fossils
At the Flaming Cliffs in 1923, Roy Chapman Andrews's expedition found the first scientifically recognized what?
Fossils
The famous Fighting Dinosaurs fossil from the Gobi shows a Velociraptor locked in combat with which dinosaur?
Bears
The Gobi bear, or mazaalai, holds which sad record?
Camels
Which critically endangered animal of the Gobi can drink salty water that other camels cannot?
Gorges
What is unusual about Yolyn Am, a narrow gorge in the Gobi's mountains?
Weather
How cold can winter nights get in the Gobi Desert?
Dust
Dust storms from the Gobi often blow as far as which cities?

Explanations: answer key for all 10 questions

Q1: The Gobi is a rain shadow desert. Which mountains and plateau block moist air from reaching it?
Answer: The Himalayas and the Tibetan Plateau
Clouds from the Indian Ocean drop their rain before they reach the Gobi. Some parts receive less than 50 millimeters of rain a year.
Q2: Roughly how much of the Gobi Desert is covered by sand dunes?
Answer: About 5 percent
Most of the Gobi is bare rock and gravel plains. The word gobi is used in Mongolian for dry, gravelly land with little water.
Q3: Khongoryn Els in the Mongolian Gobi is famous for what?
Answer: Singing dunes that hum in the wind
Sliding sand makes a deep rumbling sound. The dunes stretch for about 100 kilometers and rise up to about 300 meters.
Q4: At the Flaming Cliffs in 1923, Roy Chapman Andrews's expedition found the first scientifically recognized what?
Answer: Dinosaur eggs
The red sandstone cliffs at Bayanzag glow orange at sunset. Andrews's adventures are often said to have inspired the character Indiana Jones.
Q5: The famous Fighting Dinosaurs fossil from the Gobi shows a Velociraptor locked in combat with which dinosaur?
Answer: A Protoceratops
The two animals were probably buried by a collapsing sand dune about 75 million years ago. The fossil is a national treasure of Mongolia.
Q6: The Gobi bear, or mazaalai, holds which sad record?
Answer: One of the rarest bears in the world
Only a few dozen Gobi bears are thought to survive. They live in the remote Great Gobi Strictly Protected Area and depend on scarce oases.
Q7: Which critically endangered animal of the Gobi can drink salty water that other camels cannot?
Answer: The wild Bactrian camel
Wild Bactrian camels are a separate species from domestic ones. Fewer than about 1,000 survive in Mongolia and China.
Q8: What is unusual about Yolyn Am, a narrow gorge in the Gobi's mountains?
Answer: It can hold ice well into summer
Shade from the steep walls keeps a thick ice field frozen long after spring. The gorge's name means Valley of the Vultures.
Q9: How cold can winter nights get in the Gobi Desert?
Answer: Around minus 40°C
The Gobi is a cold desert, with scorching summers and freezing winters. Temperatures can change by more than 30 degrees in a single day.
Q10: Dust storms from the Gobi often blow as far as which cities?
Answer: Beijing and Seoul
Spring winds carry fine yellow dust across China, Korea and Japan. Desertification has made the storms more frequent in some years.

Gobi Desert Quiz – The Great Cold Desert of Asia

The Gobi Desert covers about 1.3 million square kilometers of southern Mongolia and northern China, making it one of the largest deserts in the world. Unlike the Sahara, it is a cold desert, with hot summers and bitterly cold winters. It lies in a rain shadow, cut off from moist air by the Himalayas and the Tibetan Plateau.

Most of the Gobi is not sand at all. Bare rock, gravel plains, mountains and dry grasslands cover most of its area, with sand dunes making up only a small part. The most famous dunes are Khongoryn Els, the singing dunes, which hum as sand slides down their slopes. In the Gurvan Saikhan mountains, the gorge of Yolyn Am keeps ice into summer.

The Gobi is one of the world's richest fossil sites. In the 1920s, Roy Chapman Andrews's expeditions found the first scientifically recognized dinosaur eggs at the Flaming Cliffs. Later scientists discovered the Fighting Dinosaurs fossil of a Velociraptor and a Protoceratops.

Despite the harsh climate, wildlife survives here, including the rare Gobi bear, wild Bactrian camels, snow leopards, wild asses and gazelles. Nomadic herders raise camels, goats and horses and live in gers, moving with the seasons.

Travelers visit by jeep, sleep in ger camps and ride Bactrian camels across the dunes. The Gobi once lay along routes of the Silk Road.

Today, the Gobi faces challenges from mining, overgrazing and climate change. Large copper and gold mines such as Oyu Tolgoi bring jobs and income, while conservation groups work to protect water sources and rare animals.

This quiz covers the geography, fossils, wildlife and climate of the Gobi Desert.

What This Quiz Teaches

This quiz is perfect for geography fans, dinosaur lovers and adventurers.

Why the Gobi is so dry
How much of the Gobi is sand
The singing dunes and Yolyn Am
The Flaming Cliffs and dinosaur fossils
Gobi bears and wild Bactrian camels
Cold winters and dust storms

Quick Facts About the Gobi Desert

The Gobi is the largest desert in Asia.
Bactrian camels have two humps.
Saxaul shrubs are among the few plants that grow in the Gobi.
The desert is slowly expanding into grasslands.
Ger camps welcome tourists in the summer months.
Snow sometimes falls on the Gobi's dunes.