Geology 101 - Physical Geology » Fall 2020 » Deserts

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Question #1
What is the driest place on Earth?
A.   Sahara Desert, North Africa
B.   Death Valley, California
C.   Atacama Desert, Chile
D.   Great Sandy Desert, Australia
Question #2
How much does it rain here on average per year?
A.   A little less than 1 centimeter per year
B.   A little less than 1 millimeter per year
C.   It has never rained here
D.   2-3 meters per year
E.   A little less than 1 meter per year
Question #3
Where do most deserts occur?
A.   The Furious Forties
B.   The equator
C.   Both A and B
D.   Tropic of Cancer
E.   Tropic of Capricorn
Question #4
What is the significance of the gypsum bed of boulders?
A.   It shows there hasn’t been any heavy rain since it formed
B.   It shows that the land is subsiding
C.   It shows the presence of an ancient ocean
D.   It shows that magma has upwelled here in the recent past
Question #5
What provides the age of the gypsum beds?
A.   Greenschist
B.   Radiometric decay rates
C.   Fossils
D.   Thermo luminescence
Question #6
What is the age of the Atacama Desert?
A.   225 million years
B.   1 million years
C.   50 million years
D.   242-250 million years
E.   150 million years
F.   15 million years
Question #7
How old are the extinct coastal zone volcanoes?
A.   50 million years
B.   225 million years
C.   195 million years
D.   405 million years
E.   19 million years
Question #8
When did the Andes first form?
A.   10 million years ago
B.   350 million years ago
C.   150 million years ago
D.   5 million years ago
E.   316 million years ago
F.   50 million years ago
Question #9
How does the copper deposits relate back to the Atacama Desert?
A.   Because of the lack of rain fall, there is no way means to rust or erode the copper.
B.   The Atacama formed from a massive volcanic eruption and the volcano left the copper in its wake.
C.   It actually does not relate it is just a coincidence
D.   Copper accumulates as a salt deposit in hot dry locations.
Question #10
What is the temperature difference between Atacama and Death Valley?
A.   40 degrees
B.   30 degrees
C.   25 degrees
D.   35 degrees
E.   15 degrees
F.   20 degrees
Question #11
How does the Humboldt Current make the Atacama Desert so dry?
A.   The current comes from Antarctica, bringing warm water that dries out preventing rain
B.   The current blocks any storms from moving in off the ocean into the landmass.
C.   The current comes from the equator, bringing cold water that creates a cold fog, then hot air moves above it, and this prevents air flow making it near impossible to rain in Atacama Desert.
D.   It brings cold water from Antarctica that creates a cold fog, then hot air moves above it, and this prevents air flow making it near impossible to rain in Atacama Desert.
Question #12
What happens in the Mojave Desert when it rains?
A.   Nothing there is so little rain to begin with
B.   The sudden impact causes earthquakes
C.   It is so hot all the water evaporates before it hits the ground
D.   Flash floods
E.   Volcanic eruption
Question #13
How does Evenstar determine the age of the rocks in the Atacama Desert?
A.   How much Argon and Neon is present in the granites
B.   Radiometric Carbon 14
C.   How much Potassium 40 is inside orthoclase feldspar
D.   How much Helium 3 is inside pyroxenes
Question #14
How long have the oldest boulders been at their current position?
A.   23 million years
B.   2 million years
C.   3,000 years
D.   57 million years
E.   167 million years
F.   117 million years
Question #15
What is the same age as these boulders?
A.   The Philippines
B.   The Humboldt Current
C.   The Torval Mountains
D.   The California Current
E.   The Andes Mountains
Question #16
The rain shadow effect relates back to?
A.   Lakes
B.   Oceans
C.   Mountains
D.   Rivers
Question #17
How old is the grass in the nest?
A.   19 million years old
B.   over 119,000 years old
C.   over 11,000 years old
D.   100 years old
E.   over 16,000 years old
Question #18
What did NASA scientists find in 2005?
A.   A meteorite impact
B.   An unknown species of kangaroo rat
C.   A source of uranium
D.   A green micro-organisms living in a rock
Question #19
What is the only source of water?
A.   Salt
B.   Animal urine
C.   Waste from airplanes
D.   Fog
Question #20
What can salt due to this water source?
A.   It extracts water vapor from the atmosphere and sucks it into the rock
B.   It blocks water from entering the desert
C.   It limits the flow of surface water

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