Great Victoria Desert - Quiz
Great Victoria Desert
  • 1. What type of region is the Great Victoria Desert classified as?
A) Sparsely populated desert ecoregion and interim Australian bioregion
B) Cold tundra and polar ice cap
C) Mountainous alpine zone
D) Densely populated tropical rainforest
  • 2. In which Australian states is the Great Victoria Desert located?
A) Northern Territory and Queensland
B) Western Australia and South Australia
C) Queensland and New South Wales
D) Victoria and Tasmania
  • 3. Who was the first European to cross the Great Victoria Desert?
A) Frank Hann
B) Ernest Giles
C) David Lindsey
D) Len Beadell
  • 4. In what year did Ernest Giles cross the desert?
A) 1960
B) 1891
C) 1903
D) 1875
  • 5. After whom did Ernest Giles name the desert?
A) Princess Mary
B) Queen Elizabeth
C) King George
D) Queen Victoria
  • 6. Who led an expedition that travelled across the area from north to south in 1891?
A) Ernest Giles
B) Len Beadell
C) Frank Hann
D) David Lindsey
  • 7. What was Frank Hann looking for in the area between 1903 and 1908?
A) Gold
B) Water
C) Oil
D) Diamonds
  • 8. When did Len Beadell explore the area?
A) 1940s
B) 1890s
C) 1960s
D) 1870s
  • 9. What is the largest desert in Australia?
A) Great Sandy Desert
B) Little Sandy Desert
C) Great Victoria Desert
D) Gibson Desert
  • 10. What are areas with a closely packed surface of pebbles also called?
A) Salt lakes and playas
B) Grassland plains
C) Sandhills and dunes
D) Desert pavement or gibber plains
  • 11. Approximately how wide is the Great Victoria Desert from west to east?
A) Over 2000 km
B) Over 1200 km
C) Over 700 km
D) Over 300 km
  • 12. What is the total area covered by the Great Victoria Desert?
A) 150,000 km2
B) 348,750 km2
C) 500,000 km2
D) 750,000 km2
  • 13. Which region lies to the west of the Great Victoria Desert?
A) Western Australian mulga shrublands ecoregion
B) Gibson Desert
C) Gawler Ranges
D) Nullarbor Plain
  • 14. Which desert lies to the northwest of the Great Victoria Desert?
A) Tirari-Sturt stony desert
B) Great Sandy Desert
C) Gibson Desert
D) Little Sandy Desert
  • 15. Which plains separate the Great Victoria Desert from the Southern Ocean to the south?
A) Eastern Goldfields
B) Nullarbor Plain
C) Gawler Ranges
D) Mulga shrublands
  • 16. What is the average annual rainfall in the Great Victoria Desert?
A) 600 to 700 mm
B) 50 to 100 mm
C) 400 to 500 mm
D) 200 to 250 mm
  • 17. How many thunderstorms occur yearly on average in the Great Victoria Desert?
A) 1 to 5
B) 80 to 100
C) 15 to 20
D) 40 to 50
  • 18. What is the range of summer daytime temperatures in the desert?
A) 20 to 28 °C
B) 32 to 40 °C
C) 18 to 23 °C
D) 45 to 55 °C
  • 19. What is the range of winter temperatures in the desert?
A) 25 to 30 °C
B) 32 to 40 °C
C) 18 to 23 °C
D) 5 to 10 °C
  • 20. Which organization classifies the desert as an ecoregion of the same name?
A) Greenpeace
B) United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
C) World Health Organization
D) World Wildlife Fund
  • 21. Who make up the majority of people living in the region?
A) Asian immigrants
B) European settlers
C) Indigenous Australians
D) North American miners
  • 22. Which of the following is an Indigenous group living in the region?
A) Arrernte
B) Yolngu
C) Pitjantjatjara
D) Warlpiri
  • 23. What is happening to Aboriginal populations in the Great Victoria Desert region?
A) They have remained strictly constant
B) They have been increasing
C) They have been declining rapidly
D) They have completely vanished
  • 24. What program do young Indigenous adults work in to maintain and develop their culture?
A) Wilurarra Creative programs
B) Outback Youth alliance
C) Desert Heritage initiative
D) Aboriginal Arts council
  • 25. Which rough tracks bisect the Great Victoria Desert?
A) Connie Sue Highway and Anne Beadell Highway
B) Barkly Highway and Victoria Highway
C) Canning Stock Route and Oodnadatta Track
D) Stuart Highway and Eyre Highway
  • 26. What type of human activity has taken place in the desert besides tracks?
A) Commercial fishing and whaling
B) Heavy manufacturing and ship building
C) Commercial farming and logging
D) Mining and nuclear weapons testing
  • 27. What kind of plants can survive in much of the environment?
A) Lush tropical ferns
B) Only the hardiest of plants
C) Water-loving aquatic plants
D) Tall deciduous oak trees
  • 28. Which eucalyptus species are found in the wooded steppe between sand ridges?
A) Eucalyptus viminalis and Eucalyptus diversicolor
B) Eucalyptus gongylocarpa and Eucalyptus youngiana
C) Eucalyptus regnans and Eucalyptus marginata
D) Eucalyptus globulus and Eucalyptus obliqua
  • 29. What is another name for Acacia aneura shrubs found in the desert?
A) Steppe
B) Gibber
C) Mulga
D) Spinifex
  • 30. Which resilient grass is particularly common in the wooded steppe areas?
A) Themeda triandra
B) Spinifex pungens
C) Triodia basedowii
D) Poa labillardierei
  • 31. What conservation status does the great desert skink have?
A) Extinct
B) Protected
C) Vulnerable
D) Endangered
  • 32. In what year was the Central Ranges taipan discovered?
A) 2007
B) 2010
C) 1995
D) 2001
  • 33. What conservation status does the sandhill dunnart have?
A) Critically endangered
B) Endangered
C) Least concern
D) Vulnerable
  • 34. How do animals like the southern marsupial mole and water-holding frog survive the harsh desert conditions?
A) By hunting at night only
B) By storing water in their humps
C) By migrating during summer
D) By burrowing into the sands
  • 35. In which park is the malleefowl found?
A) Nullarbor Regional Reserve
B) Gawler Ranges National Park
C) Mamungari Conservation Park
D) Lake Gairdner National Park
  • 36. Why have many habitats in the Great Victoria Desert remained largely undisturbed?
A) High rainfall and dense forests
B) Too many poisonous snakes
C) Strict military control
D) Very limited use for agriculture
  • 37. What percentage of the desert is in protected areas?
A) 50%
B) 15%
C) 75%
D) 31%
  • 38. What was Mamungari Conservation Park formerly known as?
A) Great Victoria Reserve
B) Unnamed Conservation Park
C) South Australian Wilderness
D) Maralinga Conservation Area
  • 39. Mamungari Conservation Park is one of how many World Biosphere Reserves in Australia?
A) 10
B) 20
C) 5
D) 14
  • 40. Which country carried out nuclear weapons trials at Maralinga and Emu Field?
A) United Kingdom
B) France
C) United States
D) Australia
  • 41. What radioactive material has contaminated areas due to nuclear weapons trials?
A) Cesium-137
B) Radium-226
C) Plutonium-239
D) Uranium-235
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