Which desert is widely described as the driest non-polar desert in the world?
Answer
Atacama Desert
78 Deserts Trivia Questions with Answers
78 public questions with answers, drawn from the well. How many can you answer?
Test your knowledge of deserts with 78 trivia questions covering famous landscapes, geography, wildlife, history and culture. You might identify the Atacama as the world's driest non-polar desert, locate Wadi Rum in Jordan or recognize the Negev as the desert covering much of southern Israel.
This quiz also explores less familiar places, including northern Kenya's Chalbi Desert, Spain's Tabernas Desert and the Gobi, home to the endangered Gobi bear. It suits geography students, family game nights, pub quizzes and anyone curious about how deserts form, where they are found and what survives in extreme environments.
Which desert of northern Kenya lies east of Lake Turkana?
Answer
Chalbi Desert
Which desert in Almeria, Spain, is often described as mainland Europe's only desert?
Answer
Tabernas Desert
Which desert is home to the endangered Gobi bear?
Answer
Gobi Desert
Which desert contains the Qattara Depression?
Answer
Western Desert
Which desert is crossed by Morocco's Marathon des Sables footrace?
Answer
Sahara Desert
The Siwa Oasis lies in which Egyptian desert?
Answer
Western Desert
Which desert contains California's Kelso Dunes?
Answer
Mojave Desert
Saguaro National Park protects giant cacti in which desert?
Answer
Sonoran Desert
Which desert region formed on the former seabed after the Aral Sea shrank?
Answer
Aralkum Desert
Which desert is also known as the Badiyat al-Sham?
Answer
Syrian Desert
Which dry Antarctic region includes Taylor Valley, Wright Valley, and Victoria Valley?
Answer
McMurdo Dry Valleys
Which volcanic desert lies on New Zealand's North Island near Mount Ruapehu?
Answer
Rangipo Desert
The Simpson Desert is famous for its long parallel what?
Answer
Sand dunes
Which Australian desert is named after explorer Paweł Strzelecki?
Answer
Strzelecki Desert
Which sandy desert lies mainly in southern Afghanistan's Helmand and Kandahar provinces?
Answer
Registan Desert
Which Afghan desert's name is commonly translated as Desert of Death?
Answer
Dasht-e Margo
Namibia's Skeleton Coast is part of which coastal desert?
Answer
Namib Desert
The Bonneville Salt Flats lie in which U.S. desert?
Answer
Great Salt Lake Desert
Which Iranian desert is known in English as the Great Salt Desert?
Answer
Dasht-e Kavir
The Błędów Desert is in which European country?
Answer
Poland
Burning Man's Black Rock City is built in which Nevada desert?
Answer
Black Rock Desert
The Painted Desert is primarily in which U.S. state?
Answer
Arizona
Which desert in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan lies southeast of the Aral Sea?
Answer
Kyzylkum Desert
Which desert of northern Chile contains the Chuquicamata copper mine?
Answer
Atacama Desert
Which desert contains China's Crescent Lake oasis near Dunhuang?
Answer
Gobi Desert
Which desert surrounds the ancient city of Merv in present-day Turkmenistan?
Answer
Karakum Desert
Which desert in northern Mexico contains the Pinacate volcanic field?
Answer
Sonoran Desert
Which desert in South Africa includes the Richtersveld region?
Answer
Namaqualand
The Danakil Depression lies within which desert of northeast Africa?
Answer
Danakil Desert
Which desert occupies the rain shadow east of California's Sierra Nevada?
Answer
Great Basin Desert
Which desert is crossed by Egypt's Nile Valley and lies between the Nile and Red Sea?
Answer
Eastern Desert
Which desert gives Joshua Tree National Park its western desert section?
Answer
Mojave Desert
Which North African desert includes the Great Sand Sea?
Answer
Libyan Desert
Which desert is shared mainly by India and Pakistan?
Answer
Thar Desert
Which Australian desert was called the Arunta Desert on older maps?
Answer
Simpson Desert
Which Argentine cold desert is also called the Patagonian Steppe?
Answer
Patagonian Desert
Which desert in Oman is also known as Wahiba Sands?
Answer
Sharqiya Sands
Which Sahara region in southern Algeria is nicknamed the Land of Terror?
Answer
Tanezrouft
Which U.S. desert is named after a Mexican state and extends into Texas and New Mexico?
Answer
Chihuahuan Desert
The Nazca Lines are located in which Peruvian desert?
Answer
Nazca Desert
Which Iranian desert is also called the Lut Desert?
Answer
Dasht-e Lut
Deserts trivia — quick answers
What are good desert trivia questions?
Good desert trivia questions cover location, climate, landforms, wildlife and human history. Examples include identifying the Atacama as the driest non-polar desert, naming the country containing Wadi Rum, locating the Negev and recognizing the Gobi bear as a rare desert-dwelling mammal.
How hard is desert trivia?
Desert trivia ranges from easy questions about the Sahara and famous countries to challenging questions about regional deserts, protected areas, rare animals and geological features. This set mixes recognizable landmarks with lesser-known deserts such as Kenya's Chalbi and Spain's Tabernas.
Which desert is the driest non-polar desert in the world?
The Atacama Desert in northern Chile is widely described as the driest non-polar desert on Earth. It lies between the Pacific Ocean and the Andes and is exceptionally dry because of the cold Humboldt Current, subtropical high pressure and rain-shadow effects from surrounding mountains.
Where is Wadi Rum?
Wadi Rum is a protected desert valley in southern Jordan, near the border with Saudi Arabia. Known for sandstone mountains, narrow canyons and broad sandy plains, it is often called the Valley of the Moon. The area is also associated with Bedouin culture and tourism.
What is the Negev Desert?
The Negev is a large desert region in southern Israel, occupying more than half of the country's land area. Its landscape includes rocky plateaus, dry riverbeds and the dramatic Makhtesh Ramon erosion crater. Beer Sheva, one of the region's major cities, lies at its northern edge.