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