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.   Atacama Desert, Chile
C.   Great Sandy Desert, Australia
D.   Death Valley, California
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 meter per year
C.   It has never rained here
D.   A little less than 1 millimeter per year
E.   2-3 meters per year
Question #3
Where do most deserts occur?
A.   Tropic of Capricorn
B.   The equator
C.   Tropic of Cancer
D.   Both A and B
E.   The Furious Forties
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 the presence of an ancient ocean
C.   It shows that the land is subsiding
D.   It shows that magma has upwelled here in the recent past
Question #5
What provides the age of the gypsum beds?
A.   Thermo luminescence
B.   Fossils
C.   Radiometric decay rates
D.   Greenschist
Question #6
What is the age of the Atacama Desert?
A.   1 million years
B.   15 million years
C.   225 million years
D.   242-250 million years
E.   50 million years
F.   150 million years
Question #7
How old are the extinct coastal zone volcanoes?
A.   195 million years
B.   19 million years
C.   50 million years
D.   405 million years
E.   225 million years
Question #8
When did the Andes first form?
A.   150 million years ago
B.   316 million years ago
C.   350 million years ago
D.   5 million years ago
E.   10 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.   Copper accumulates as a salt deposit in hot dry locations.
C.   The Atacama formed from a massive volcanic eruption and the volcano left the copper in its wake.
D.   It actually does not relate it is just a coincidence
Question #10
What is the temperature difference between Atacama and Death Valley?
A.   40 degrees
B.   35 degrees
C.   25 degrees
D.   30 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.   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.
C.   The current blocks any storms from moving in off the ocean into the landmass.
D.   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.
Question #12
What happens in the Mojave Desert when it rains?
A.   Flash floods
B.   It is so hot all the water evaporates before it hits the ground
C.   Nothing there is so little rain to begin with
D.   Volcanic eruption
E.   The sudden impact causes earthquakes
Question #13
How does Evenstar determine the age of the rocks in the Atacama Desert?
A.   How much Potassium 40 is inside orthoclase feldspar
B.   How much Helium 3 is inside pyroxenes
C.   How much Argon and Neon is present in the granites
D.   Radiometric Carbon 14
Question #14
How long have the oldest boulders been at their current position?
A.   117 million years
B.   2 million years
C.   167 million years
D.   23 million years
E.   3,000 years
F.   57 million years
Question #15
What is the same age as these boulders?
A.   The Torval Mountains
B.   The Humboldt Current
C.   The Philippines
D.   The Andes Mountains
E.   The California Current
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.   over 11,000 years old
B.   19 million years old
C.   over 119,000 years old
D.   over 16,000 years old
E.   100 years old
Question #18
What did NASA scientists find in 2005?
A.   An unknown species of kangaroo rat
B.   A source of uranium
C.   A meteorite impact
D.   A green micro-organisms living in a rock
Question #19
What is the only source of water?
A.   Salt
B.   Waste from airplanes
C.   Fog
D.   Animal urine
Question #20
What can salt due to this water source?
A.   It limits the flow of surface water
B.   It extracts water vapor from the atmosphere and sucks it into the rock
C.   It blocks water from entering the desert

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