Sunday quiz Easy like Sunday morning
1 / 10 |
On March 7, 1912, explorer Roald Engelbregt Gravning Amundsen reached Australia and announced that the Norwegians had conquered the ends of the Earth. He had actually arrived almost three months earlier but couldn’t report the news. In doing so he also had defeated his greatest rival, the British explorer Robert Scott. What place is Amundsen the first recorded human being to reach?
2 / 10 |
Almost all great civilisations are built on the banks of permanent rivers, with multiple countries being built on one river as is the case in Europe. There are, however many countries in areas that do not have rivers at all. The largest country not to have a single river is officially a kingdom. Which country is this that has ‘wadis’ that are intermittently dry valleys?
3 / 10 |
The second largest country in the world has half of all of the natural lakes in the world (563). An impressive 14% of the country’s land area is covered by freshwater lakes. That’s roughly 25% of the world’s wetlands, making it the largest wetland area in the world. Most of these lakes were created by glacial erosion. Which country is this?
4 / 10 |
A large part of Jurassic Park was shot on this island, whose lush greenery and undisturbed natural environment was the perfect setting for the dinosaurs to come to life. It is also home to the largest volcano, and technically the tallest mountain in the world. Which island is this that is also the only State in its country without a single straight line in its borders?
5 / 10 |
This desert is currently going through a dry spell and is expected to be green again in about 15,000 years. The name of the desert means ‘Desert’ in a dialect of Arabic, so if you were to translate the name, it literally means ‘Desert desert’. It is technically the third largest desert in the world, although people usually think it’s number one. Which humongous desert is this?
6 / 10 |
Þingvellir National Park in Iceland is one of only two places in the entire world where you can see two certain geological features above the earth’s surface. (The other place is in Africa.) These two features have been moving apart over history at a rate of 2 cm a year. In the gap between them, there is a lake where you can go diving. The two features are known as ‘North American’ and ‘Eurasian’, and in other places when they move, they usually cause natural disasters. What are these two features that are responsible for the world looking how it is today?
7 / 10 |
Point Nemo is a place on Earth where if you were there, you would be the furthest from the closest land. The nearest person would be 2,688 km away from you. You can find it on Google Earth at 48°52.6′S 123°23.6′W. If you pass Point Nemo at the right time of day, you’ll be closer to the astronauts in the International Space Station, some 400 km up in space, than any other human on earth. Where in the world is Point Nemo?
8 / 10 |
The Dragon’s Triangle is a region south of Tokyo that is considered to have paranormal properties. According to researchers, many modern ships and several hundred crews were lost without a trace within this area due to sudden electrical and electronic failures and major disruptions in the compass. It has often been called the Asian twin of a more popular area found in the Atlantic Ocean. What is the name of the area in the Atlantic that has similar properties with more disastrous outcomes?
9 / 10 |
This football stadium in the city of Macapa (Brazil) is nicknamed ‘Zerão’ or ‘the Big Zero’ and is located in a neighbourhood called ‘Marco Zero’. It is the only football stadium in the world where the goalposts are supposedly located in two different hemispheres. What is said to be unique about the midfield line in this stadium, which also gives the neighbourhood its name?
Answer : The Equator passes through the field, right along the midfield line.
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10 / 10 |
The Republic of Kiribati is an archipelago in the Pacific Ocean that consists of 33 reef islands and one large island. The total Exclusive Economic Zone (the ocean area over which they have rights) covered by this country is about 3.5 million square kilometres. Kiribati is geographically special as the spread of the islands covers both sides of the Equator (latitude) and the 180th meridian (longitude). What unique status does this give Kiribati?
Answer : It is the only nation that occupies all four hemispheres — Northern, Southern, Eastern and Western
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