Lençóis Maranhenses is famous for what?

White dunes with rainwater lagoons

Why does NASA test Mars rovers in the Atacama?

Its soil and dryness resemble Mars

South American Deserts Quiz With Answers: Test Your Knowledge

This South American deserts quiz covers the Atacama, the Salar de Uyuni, the Patagonian Desert, the Sechura and Brazil's Lençóis Maranhenses. Test your knowledge with 10 questions about the continent's surprising drylands.

Start South American Deserts Quiz With Answers Quiz

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

Question 1 / 10 Time: 150s

Chile
Which desert is the driest non-polar place on Earth?
Bolivia
What is the largest salt flat in the world?
Argentina
What is the largest desert in South America?
Brazil
Lençóis Maranhenses is famous for what?
Science
Why do astronomers build observatories in the Atacama?
Space
Why does NASA test Mars rovers in the Atacama?
Peru
Which desert lies along Peru's northern coast?
Peru
Which huge drawings in Peru's desert can best be seen from the air?
Flowers
What happens in the Atacama after rare heavy rains?
Mirror
When Salar de Uyuni is covered with a thin layer of water, it becomes what?

Explanations: answer key for all 10 questions

Q1: Which desert is the driest non-polar place on Earth?
Answer: Atacama Desert
Some Atacama weather stations have recorded almost no rain for years.
Q2: What is the largest salt flat in the world?
Answer: Salar de Uyuni
Uyuni covers about 10,500 square kilometers and holds large lithium reserves.
Q3: What is the largest desert in South America?
Answer: Patagonian Desert
The Patagonian Desert is a cold desert caused by the Andes blocking rain from the Pacific.
Q4: Lençóis Maranhenses is famous for what?
Answer: White dunes with rainwater lagoons
Rain fills blue and green lagoons between the dunes for part of the year.
Q5: Why do astronomers build observatories in the Atacama?
Answer: Very dry, clear skies
The ALMA and Very Large Telescope observatories take advantage of the clear, high, dry air.
Q6: Why does NASA test Mars rovers in the Atacama?
Answer: Its soil and dryness resemble Mars
Scientists study microbes that survive extreme dryness there.
Q7: Which desert lies along Peru's northern coast?
Answer: Sechura Desert
The Sechura is cooled by the Humboldt Current, which brings fog but little rain.
Q8: Which huge drawings in Peru's desert can best be seen from the air?
Answer: Nazca Lines
The Nazca people made the lines about 2,000 years ago by moving dark stones to reveal lighter ground.
Q9: What happens in the Atacama after rare heavy rains?
Answer: A flowering desert
The desierto florido covers the dunes with pink, purple and yellow flowers.
Q10: When Salar de Uyuni is covered with a thin layer of water, it becomes what?
Answer: A giant mirror
The reflection makes the sky appear to stretch below your feet.

South American Deserts Quiz – Dry Lands of a Wet Continent

South America is known for rainforests, yet it also has some of the driest places on Earth. The Atacama stays dry because of the cold Humboldt Current, high pressure and the Andes blocking moisture from the east.

Deserts hold wonders. The Salar de Uyuni becomes a sky-reflecting mirror after rain, Lençóis Maranhenses fills with lagoons between white dunes and the Atacama blooms with flowers after rare storms.

People have adapted to these lands for thousands of years. The Nazca drew giant lines, Andean communities farmed oases and today the Atacama hosts observatories and lithium mines that supply the modern world.

What This Quiz Teaches

This quiz is for travelers and science fans curious about South America's deserts.

Why the Atacama is so dry
Where the biggest salt flat is
Which desert is largest
Why rovers are tested there
What the Nazca Lines are

Did You Know?

The Atacama has geysers at El Tatio.
Uyuni has a hotel made of salt.
The Monte Desert lies in western Argentina.
Nazca drawings include a hummingbird and a monkey.
The Atacama is a top place for stargazing.