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170 Deserts Trivia Questions, Answers, and Fun Facts

How much do you know about Deserts? This category is for trivia questions and answers related to Deserts (Geography). Each one is filled with fun facts and interesting information.
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1 The term "Kalahari" is derived from the Southern African language of Tswana. What does this term roughly translate into in English?
Answer: The Great Thirst

As the Kalahari Desert is classified as a "semi desert", it receives small amounts of rainfall throughout the year. Regardless, parts of this desert are some of the driest in the African region. In the driest parts of the desert there is as little as 110 millimeters of rain per year.
  From Quiz: The Atmosphere of the Kalahari Desert
2 The Namib Desert is located on the southwest coast of Africa. What does the name "Namib" mean?
Answer: Vast Place

The name "Namib" comes from the Nama, or Khoekhoe, language, which is a non-Bantu language that is spoken by the Nama, Damara, and Haiǁom peoples who have been living in the area for thousands of years. Indeed, the Namib Desert is a "vast place"; covering an area of 31,274 square miles, the desert receives, depending on the region, 0.079-7.9 inches of rainfall a year. In spite of its dryness, the Namib Desert is home to many different types of animals, and, in some locations, plant life.
  From Quiz: Drifting Through the Namib Desert
3 The Atacama is considered by many to be the world's driest desert, getting very little rainfall. In what continent is this desert located?
Answer: South America

The Atacama desert is located by the coast of Chile. Even though it is near the sea, the Andes mountain range causes a rainshadow effect. Most of the rain happens on the mountains. Ironically, these mountains are also responsible for the wettest place on Earth -- the Amazon rainforest.
  From Quiz: Just Deserts
4 A valley cut out by flash flooding?
Answer: Gully

The Capital Reef in Utah is a great example of numerous gullies.
  From Quiz: Terms of Deserts
5 Which desert can be found across the north of Africa?
Answer: Sahara

The Sahara desert is the largest hot desert in the world.
    Your options: [ Kalahari ] [ Kara Kum ] [ Gobi ] [ Sahara ]
  From Quiz: Some Deserts Of The World
6 Of course, one would expect to find the Namib Desert in Namibia. In which other two countries is the desert also located?
Answer: Angola and South Africa

A desert located on the Atlantic coast of Africa, the Namib stretches for approximately 1200 miles through Angola, Namibia, and South Africa. Much of the area has been designated as national parks. Iona National Park, the largest national park in Angola, is located near its border with Namibia. It is part of a region that the Portuguese called "The Gates of Hell", however, today it is one of the most-visited attractions in the country. In Namibia visitors can find the Namib-Naukluft National Park, which is considered to be the oldest national park in the world. Sossusvlei, which is a clay and salt dry lake or pan, is one of the most-visited sites in the park. Found on the border of Namibia and South Africa is the ǀAi-ǀAis/Richtersveld Transfrontier Park, that was founded in 2003 and is now a protected boundary between the two countries. The park not only promotes tourism, but also protects the migration paths of many of the animals.
    Your options: [ Angola and Botswana ] [ Angola and Zambia ] [ Angola and South Africa ] [ South Africa and Lesotho ]
  From Quiz: Drifting Through the Namib Desert
7 The African landscape has a large proportion attributed as desert. While the Sahara covers much of north and west Africa, only one of the listed countries contains a portion of the Sahara. Which one?
Answer: Sudan

Africa contains three main deserts (though there are smaller deserts within each one of these): Sahara, Kalahari (Angola, Botswana, Namibia and South Africa) and the Namib (Angola and Namibia). The latter two are south of the equator (in what is termed Sub-Saharan Africa). The Kalahari is less than a tenth the size of the Sahara and the Namib is less than 1% of the area of Sahara.

    Your options: [ Botswana ] [ Angola ] [ Namibia ] [ Sudan ]
  From Quiz: The Geographical Splendour Of The Sahara
8 The names of deserts are usually related to their geographic location. Sometimes, however, the name is even simpler. What is the meaning of both Gobi and Sahara?
Answer: Desert

So, in effect, we are saying "desert desert" when we say Gobi Desert, or Sahara Desert. Local people know which desert they are referring to when they use the word; it's only when outsiders arrive that they mistake the geographical term for a name.

Question by MargW
  From Quiz: Chilling In Deserts
9 This desert in Africa is about 350,000 square miles, and is not completely arid. It has red sand and large amounts of game and minerals (uranium is one). What is this desert, inhabited by a tribe that speaks a language with clicks?
Answer: Kalahari

Occupying much of Botswana and Namibia, the Kalahari is Africa's premier southern desert, and is occupied by the San Bushmen, who speak with clicks.
  From Quiz: Assorted Deserts
10 What are the main types of deserts?
Answer: Hot deserts, cold deserts

A desert is an area that has very little rainfall and where very little grows. There are both hot and cold deserts
  From Quiz: The Deserts of the World
11 The Atacama Desert is classified as which type of desert?
Answer: Cool coastal

A cool coastal desert is one in which the temperature is lower than that of a subtropical desert due to the cold offshore ocean currents. The Atacama Desert in Chile is South America's largest desert and also the world's driest.
    Your options: [ Cool coastal ] [ Cold winter ] [ Subtropical ] [ Polar ]
  From Quiz: Deserts of the World
12 The lake where water runs off from the mountains into the centre of the desert?
Answer: Playa Lake

Australia is a great place to find a number of playa lakes!
  From Quiz: Terms of Deserts
13 This desert can be found in northern China and Mongolia?
Answer: Gobi
  From Quiz: Some Deserts Of The World
14 Sometimes used to describe the entire coastal area of the Namib Desert, what name is used to describe the region there that is known to be dangerous for ships?
Answer: Skeleton Coast

Okay! This is the area that the Portuguese called "The Gates of Hell" and the Bushmen called "The Land God Made in Anger". In the past, the name came from all of the skeletons of whales and seals that were found there; whalers would process their catch - both whales and seals - on the coast, and, even today, an enormous seal population, which some estimate to be around 100,000, live there. As far as sailors are concerned, however, the area is called the Skeleton Coast because of the blinding fog, strong winds, and rocky cliffs that are found in the region. Sources state that "thousands" of wrecked ships are still visible along the coast. Tourists today pay as much as $6,000 a person for a four day guided trip through the area, which is called the Skeleton Coast National Park.
  From Quiz: Drifting Through the Namib Desert
15 What oceanfront desert is famous for its Skeleton Coast?
Answer: Namib

The Skeleton Coast originally got its name from the bones of beached whales and seals. The term was later updated to include the "skeletons" of wrecked ships. If a ship did land there, the sandy coast and fog conditions made it almost impossible for it to set sail again.

Question by SimonTheodore
  From Quiz: Chilling In Deserts
16 A lot of people know that the Sahara is the world's largest hot desert. But not everyone knows the origins of the name of its desert. It comes from the word "sahra", a word from what language?
Answer: Arabic

"Sahra" means "desert" in Arabic. The desert takes up a whopping 9 million square kilometers. The countries that the Sahara touches are Algeria, Chad, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, Mauritania, Mali, Niger, Sudan, Tunisia and Western Sahara.
  From Quiz: Assorted Deserts
17 In what country is the Chihuahuan desert located?
Answer: Mexico

The Chihuahuan desert, located in Mexico, has an area of 362 000 square km.
  From Quiz: The Deserts of the World
18 Which desert contains the world's longest expanse of unbroken sand?
Answer: Arabian

One-fourth of the Arabian Desert is made up of this section, which is called Rub al-Khali ('empty quarter').
    Your options: [ Arabian ] [ Mojave ] [ Gobi ] [ Kalahari ]
  From Quiz: Deserts of the World
19 When a very small portion of the plateau or cap rock is isolated because of erosion from water?
Answer: Butte

Many arid and dry places in Utah and Arizona show awesome examples of Buttes.
  From Quiz: Terms of Deserts
20 What city that is the capital of Namibia is the largest located in the Kalahari Desert?
Answer: Windhoek

With a population of over 325 000 people, Windhoek (while smaller in size than Gaborone, Botswana) is the only one located within the Kalahari Desert. Gabarone, with a population of over 400 000, lies on the edge of the Kalahari but is not found directly within the region. Windhoek is unique due to the amount of sunlight it receives each year, averaging just over 3600 hours per year. In a study completed in 1993, it was estimated that Windhoek provides over 50% of the non-agricultural employment found in the country. This employment includes transportation, communication and finance.
  From Quiz: The Atmosphere of the Kalahari Desert
21 The Namib Desert is so vast that it actually runs into two other deserts. To the north it runs into a desert called the Moçâmedes Desert; which, perhaps better known, desert does it border to the south?
Answer: Kalahari Desert

Located in southern Angola, the Moçâmedes Desert forms the northern tip of the Namib Desert. The area is virtually uninhabited with just small communities of fishermen living in settlements along the coast. The much larger Kalahari Desert covers parts of Namibia, South Africa, and Botswana. Meaning "a waterless place" in the Tswana language, the Kalahara is classified as a semi-desert because it has more rain (4.3-20 inches) than what typically falls in a desert. In fact, there are some areas that even have standing pools of water during the rainy season.
    Your options: [ Karoo Desert ] [ Libyan Desert ] [ Kalahari Desert ] [ Nubian Desert ]
  From Quiz: Drifting Through the Namib Desert
22 What desert, the driest on Earth, has such an absence of life that parts are similar to Mars?
Answer: Atacama

The Mars-like environment found in the South American Atacama is used by NASA for testing instruments for future missions to the Red Planet. It was also used as a fill-in for Mars in the BBC television series "Space Odyssey: Voyage To The Planets". While other deserts also have areas of no life, the Atacama is also the driest desert on Earth.

Question by SimonTheodore
  From Quiz: Chilling In Deserts
23 The only nesting colony of Socotra cormorants is in the Persian Gulf. Though cormorants are sea birds, they choose to nest on these Bahraini islands, which are over 90% desert.
Answer: Hawar Islands

Bahrain is a small island country in the southern Persian gulf. Due to overfarming, 92% of Bahrain is desert. Socotra cormorants are listed as vulnerable.
    Your options: [ Kish Islands ] [ Amwaj Islands ] [ Tunb Islands ] [ Hawar Islands ]
  From Quiz: Just Deserts
24 When a larger portion of the plateau or cap rock becomes isolated due to water erosion?
Answer: Mesa

Mesas are really neat looking because they almost look like islands in the sky from above.
  From Quiz: Terms of Deserts
25 Near the coastal area of the Namib Desert there are sand seas, ares where the terrain is relatively flat with very little vegetation. What is another name for this type of sand feature?
Answer: Erg

Called a sand sea, dune sea, or sand sheet if there are no dunes, an erg is an area of the desert where there is no vegetation cover and is mostly flat. From the Arabic for "dune field", an erg is a region of the desert that has at least 20% of the terrain covered with sand. In the Namib Desert the ergs exist near the coast and are considered by geologists to be active; that means they are located in an area that has less than 5.9 inches of rainfall a year. Traveling east from the coastal area of the Namib Desert there are also gravel plains and mountain ridges.
  From Quiz: Drifting Through the Namib Desert
26 In the far western reaches of the Sahara, there is something called the "Eye of the Sahara". What is this?
Answer: A 40 kilometre elliptical dome created by volcanic activity

The Eye of the Storm or the Richat Structure is an eroded, elliptical dome of sedimentary rock. This structure curves outward at 10-20 degrees. Erosion of resistant layers of quartzite has created high-relief circular cuestas (hills with a gentle slope and a sharp slope on the other side). The formation was thought to be caused by water 50 million years ago. Unlike the Great Wall of China, the Eye of the Sahara is actually visible from space which is how it was discovered.
  From Quiz: The Geographical Splendour Of The Sahara
27 Everything from "Lawrence of Arabia" to "Cleopatra" has been filmed at this desert. You've no doubt seen this Spanish desert, so which one is it?
Answer: Tabernas

The Tabernas Desert and surrounding Almeria have been a backdrop for everything from "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly" to "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade". Its location in Spain, varying features, and relative size all make it an attractive location to filmmakers.

Question by SimonTheodore
    Your options: [ Tabernas ] [ Negev ] [ Sahara ] [ Mojave ]
  From Quiz: Chilling In Deserts
28 This desert, west of the Andes mountains, receives pretty much no rain. This is due to a rain shadow caused by the Andes. Forty-eight times drier than Death Valley, what Chilean desert is the driest in the world?
Answer: Atacama

The Atacama is 20 million years old and it is said that the average precipitation is 1 mm rain per year.
  From Quiz: Assorted Deserts
29 What is an erg, in relation to deserts?
Answer: A big, flat area of wind-swept sand and dunes

In order for a dune field to be considered an erg, it must have at least about 50 square miles of wind-eroded sand, forming dunes, at least 20% of its surface must be sand. Ergs can be found on other planets, too, such as Venus and Mars.
  From Quiz: Just Deserts
30 How large is the Sahara Desert, located in North Africa?
Answer: 9,400,000 square km

With the exception of the Antarctic Desert and the Arctic Desert the Sahara is the largest in the world.
  From Quiz: The Deserts of the World
31 In which state is most of the Mojave Desert?
Answer: California

It ventures across Arizona, California, Nevada, and Utah.
  From Quiz: Deserts of the World
32 When two or more alluvial fans are joined together?
Answer: Bajada

Bajadas aren't the best place to build roads near.
  From Quiz: Terms of Deserts
33 There are different kinds of deserts. Which type is the Atacama considered to be?
Answer: coastal desert

In a coastal desert, fog will blow in from the ocean, but rainfall is rare.
    Your options: [ cold desert ] [ semi arid desert ] [ hot and dry desert ] [ coastal desert ]
  From Quiz: Some Deserts Of The World
34 Although the term "desert" may signify to some an area that is barren and nonproductive, the Namib Desert contains some of the area's most important natural resources. What is NOT mined there?
Answer: Coal

A large uranium deposit - the third largest of uranium only - was found in the Namib Desert in 2008. Since then, the Husab Uranium Project, an open pit operation, has received a license from the Namibia Ministry of Mines and Energy to mine in the area. It has been estimated that the mine contains approximately 280 metric tons of uranium and will be in operation about 20 years. Namibia has been the site of diamond mining since the turn of the 20th century; today much of the diamond mining is done using marine mining offshore. The Rosh Pinah mine, located in southwest Namibia, is the source of much of the country's lead and zinc. A 2012 report listed diamond, silver, tungsten, lead, zinc, tin, uranium, and copper mining forming 8% of Namibia gross domestic product and 50% of its foreign exchange revenue.
  From Quiz: Drifting Through the Namib Desert
35 There are a few cities in the Sahara: Timbuktu, Tamanrasset, Ouargla, Béchar, Hassi Messaoud, Ghardaïa, El Oued, Agadez, Nouakchott, Ghat and Faya-Largeau. One is a capital city of which country?
Answer: Mauritania

Nouakchott (Berber - "place of the winds") is the capital of Mauritania. Until 1958 it was a small fishing village when it was chosen as the country's capital. Plans were drawn to enlarge the "city" to 150000 people but drought and increasing desertification since the 1970s in the rest of the country, has pushed the population above a million people in 2016. The city is situated along the Atlantic coast. Ironically, there is no cityscape on the waterfront as it is a seasonal flood plain. Additionally there is no natural harbour so a massive artificial port was created, which, while it adds much needed infra-structure, it also contributed to the massive overgrowth. It is by far the biggest city in the Sahara. Other cities in the region include Timbuktu in Mali; Agadez in Niger, Faya-Largeau in Chad, Ghat in Libya and the Algerian cities of Tamanrasset, Ouargla, Béchar, Hassi Messaoud, Ghardaïa, and El Oued.
    Your options: [ Mauritius ] [ Madagascar ] [ Malawi ] [ Mauritania ]
  From Quiz: The Geographical Splendour Of The Sahara
36 What desert is home to the infamous Death Valley?
Answer: Mojave Desert

No other place in North America has a more fitting name than this place. In July of 1913, the air temperature reached as high as 134 degrees. In July of 1972, the ground temperature exceeded 200 degrees.

Question by AntonLaVey
  From Quiz: Chilling In Deserts
37 Besides China, what other country hosts the Gobi Desert?
Answer: Mongolia

Mongolia is the least densely populated country in the world with 4/100 square miles.
  From Quiz: Assorted Deserts
38 Which desert is home to the Saguaro cactus?
Answer: Sonoran

The Sonoran Desert expands for 120,000 square miles across Arizona, California, and Mexico.
    Your options: [ Sonoran ] [ Gobi ] [ Mojave ] [ Thar ]
  From Quiz: Deserts of the World
39 A crescent-shaped sand dune?
Answer: Barchan

In a Barchan, the wind carries the dust around and over top of the dune giving its two horns on either side and having a gentle sloping top.
  From Quiz: Terms of Deserts
40 Australia is the driest continent in the world. What percentage of the land surface is desert or near-desert?
Answer: 35

Yes, that's right. Over one third of the land is arid, with about 18% being named deserts. Is it wonder why the vast majority of people in Australia live on the coast?
  From Quiz: Some Deserts Of The World
The rest of the questions and answers can be found in our quizzes here:
Deserts Quizzes