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