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