GEOGRAPHICAL GOOGLE EARTH QUIZ
No / Question / Answer1 / What do you think these are?
Clues
What size are they?
What shape are they?
What type of environment are they on the edge of? (Look at the colour of the soil.) / Automatic irrigation sprinklers for watering the desert. Many of the crops grown are for export to England (such as early potatoes). Different crops can be seen by the different colours.
They are each about the size of 80 football pitches.
They are on the edge of the Sahara Desert, where contrary to popular myth, the soil is not always infertile (as is illustrated by oases).
2 / What is the feature?
Why are there some unconnected islands?
Why are others connected? / It is the Thames Barrier designed to prevent Central London from tidal flooding.
The barriers are normally raised singly or in pairs as the operation is worked out well in advance.
In its’ first year of operation it closed just once, but by 2003 this had risen to 9 times, although closures have since fallen back to an average of just over 4 times in most years since.
In the year up to February 2014 it had closed 43 times. By 2050 it is expected that the barrier will no longer be able to protect Londoners.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uHefDLYnapc
3 / What do these quarter circles represent?
Look at the size and colour to give you some clues!
You would also be wise to look at the place and country where they are located. / They are in fact baseball pitch practice areas. This is one of the most common leisure activities in New York’s Central Park.
4 / What vehicle is shown here and at what location do you think it is?
The shadow towards the south west part of the system helps give you a clue, as does the texture of the circular building in the centre of the area. / The monorail at Walt Disney World where tourist from many parts of the world are attracted in their droves.
5 / How would you explain the occurrence of all these items at one site?
Hint - it is not a factory for making them? / This is the defunct aeroplane repository outside of Tuscon Arizona, the Davis Monthan Air Base a site chosen because the flat land and non corrosive environment is ideal for the disposal of no longer needed or obsolete aircraft. The dry atmosphere prevents deterioration and it is cheaper to mothball them than to dispose of them.
6 / What does the blue line represent?
Why do you think it was built here?
When was it built? / This is the route of the famous Cresta Bobsleigh run at St Moritz in Switzerland. It was built in 1884 as a winter sports pastime for the people staying at the local hotel.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RoPolRopnDU
7 / Although this appears to resemble snow it is not. Can you find out what it is made of?
Notice that it is a big local tourist attraction, but as it is a long way from the beaches, it can require an overnight stay or a very early start. / In order to find the answer to this it is probably necessary to research Pammukkale in Turkey, where travertine springs form, these naturally occurring waters stain the land white.
8 / What do you think attracts visitors from thousands of miles away to visit this place?
For which religion does it hold a special significance?
What is the special name given to the journey made to this place? / This is Mecca in Saudi Arabia, the site sacred Haj pilgrimage undertaken by many followers of Islam.
9 / This is the Olduvai Gorge.
Which country is it in?
Why is it being intensely studied by scientists? / It is the site of one of the discoveries by R Leakey of some of the oldest signs of human existence in the form of footprints. It is in the country of Tanzania and is being studied to give us clues about the lifestyle of our early ancestors.
10 / This place is called Coober Pedy in Australia.
Why can't you see most of the occupants houses on the map - the population is 3500?
Can you explain this fact?
The town has grown up in the middle of nowhere, what do most of the people do for a living?
Find out as much about the produce as you can! / Because of the extremely high temperatures in inland Australia, the houses are dug out from the soft rocks under the ground. Inhabitants climb down a vertical shaft to access rooms carved out of rock as much as fifteen feet underground.
Most of the inhabitants are involved in the opal trade. Opal is a precious stone whose rarity and unique properties make it a desired commodity.
11 / What is the English name of this remote island?
What famous connection does it have with English history? / Pitcairn island
It was where the mutineers from the Bounty were exiled. They mixed with local natives and their descendants form the majority of the local population.
12 / What are the names commonly given to these two sporting venues?
Do you know the name of the famous square almost exactly 10 km to the south of these venues? / Located in Beijing for the 2008 Olympic Games, the Oval venue was popularly referred to as the Bird’s Nest (hosting the main athletics events) while the rectangular arena hosted the swimming events and was called the Cube.
To the south is Tienanmen square, site of the 1989 protests.
13 / There are two names commonly used for the highest mountain in the USA.
What are they?
How high is this mountain?
How does it compare to the highest mountains on other continents? / Denali (native name for the high one) and Mount McKinley (named after 25th American president but before he actually became president).
At 20237 feet above sea level, only Asia and Latin America have higher peaks.
14 / What are these features? Why do are they here?
Where are they? How high are they above sea level?
Zoom out (to about25 km above the earth) and describe the land nearby, can you explain the landforms? / The man-made structures are observatories for studying space. The high altitude means the air is thin and because of the clean atmosphere in the middle of the Pacific, visibility is excellent.
There are volcanic craters surrounding the area but within the rim of Mauna Kea generally regarded as the earth’s largest and most active volcano. Although a long way from the plate boundaries it is sited over a major hot spot which explains its activity.
15 / What are these features?
How large are they?
Can you find out how old they are? / The Pyramids of Giza. 3 of them, the largest originally 481 feet.
They date from 2560 BC
16 / Where is this?
What do you think is its purpose? / Millbrook testing track for car manufacturers a perfectly circular banked track and an off road course to test even the toughest of 4 wheeled drive vehicles under all conditions.
17 / What does this line represent?
What is it called?
Why does it feature in the Guinness book of records? / It is the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway; it is a bridge and is listed in the Guinness book of records as the longest bridge over water in the world.
18 / What famous sporting venue is located here?
Research to discover its history and important events and statistical facts.
How does it compare with the sites for the other 3 majors? / Wimbledon, the home of tennis.
Compare with Melbourne Park, Melbourne, Roland Garros in Paris and the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center at New York.
19 / This island has one unusual characteristic which means that you could buy a house very cheaply here (you might even get it free). See if you can find out what is so special about this island that makes it dangerous/unpopular!
How have the authorities responded? / It is mainly the result of young people leaving and the population becoming older. Main reasons for population leaving are remoteness, threats from typhoons and earthquake threat.
The economy is turning to tourism rather than the traditional agriculture.
http://www.iussp.org/sites/default/files/event_call_for_papers/Paper-IUSSP-The%20Problem%20of%20Depopulation.pdf
20 / Which country are these features found in?
Which people were responsible for these features?
What do you think might have been the justification for creating these features? / They are referred to as The Nazca lines and are located in the dry coastal zone of southern Peru. It is thought the Inca people were responsible for creating them, but their full function is not properly understood. They have been preserved because of the extremely dry climate.
21 / Why is this building no longer used?
Why are people excluded from living within a 19 mile zone around this place?
What happened here and when and how did it happen? / It is the remains of the Chernobyl nuclear power station damaged by a catastrophic failure in 1986. The plant was immediately shut down after a fire damaged a large part of the structure and released nuclear radiation into the atmosphere. People have not been permitted to go back to the immediate area and even in this country sales of sheep in Wales and the Lake District were restricted because of contamination by radioactive caesium
22 / What is this feature used for?
Give as many pieces of evidence to support your answer as you can!
What is unusual about this feature? Can you explain it?
Do you know any other places in the world where the same thing has been done?
Can you think of any disadvantages, especially considering which country it is located in and the particular problems they face? / It is the Kobe international airport, completed in 2006.
Runways, hangars terminal buildings and aeroplanes are all visible.
As with other airports, particularly Hong Kong building offshore is an attractive option, especially in areas where plentiful flat land is available.
Noise pollution and environmental pollution is less of a hazard over sea and the approach and take off lines are over water rather than land.
Japan is one of the world’s most crowded countries and they need as much land as possible for living on and for transport etc..
23 / What country and city are you in here?
What is happening all along this coast and particularly to the South east? / These are the ship-breaking yards of Chittagong in Bangladesh. The ships to be scrapped are simply run into the shallows and broken up using cheap labour. Casualty rates may be high and the money is made from salvaging anything of value, even if it is the value of the scrap metal.
24 / What do you notice about this site?
Can you explain what is found here?
Why are they here?
Where do they come from?
What are RORO vessels? / These are imported cars at Portishead near Bristol. The cars are stored on flat land and protected from the elements with a wax coating.
They are here because Portbury is the most centrally located deep water port in the country, served by the M4 and M5 motorways and with 45 m people in a 300 km. Radius.
RORO vessels are Roll on roll off ships where the cargo is driven on and off the vessel.
25 / Can you name the main feature in the image running left to right across this photograph?
Why is this necessary and what are the associated rectangular features for?
When was first constructed?
Why did it feature for a brief period in the Second World War?
When was it restored? / The main feature of the image is the Avon and Kennet canal linking the rivers Thames and Avon. At the highest point of the canal, lock gates are required to enable barges to navigate the hills but here each lock needs to be fed by a reservoir of water.
First constructed in 1810
During the war it was selected as the first line of defence in the event of a German invasion.
It was restored back to full working condition in 1990.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fiMsYzL1ziU