The record-holders are rarely where people expect, and the reasons are usually more interesting than the records.
Extremes on Earth are produced by a small number of mechanisms repeating: mountains that block moisture, cold air that cannot hold water, distance from any ocean, and altitude. Once those are understood, the surprising entries stop being surprising — Antarctica is the largest desert on the planet because a desert is defined by precipitation rather than heat. These questions cover the places that hold the records and the geography that produces them, including several where the popular answer is wrong.
Every question in this quiz is listed below with its correct answer and the reasoning behind it. Play first if you would rather not see the answers — or read through as a study sheet.
Play it insteadAnswer: B. Antarctica
Why: A desert is defined by how little precipitation it receives, not by temperature. Antarctica qualifies comfortably and is roughly twice the size of the Sahara.
Answer: A. The Atacama
Why: It lies between the Andes and a cold coastal current, so moisture is blocked from both directions. Its skies also make it a prime site for observatories.
Answer: D. Point Nemo
Why: It sits in the South Pacific, roughly 2,700 km from the nearest land. The closest humans are often those aboard the space station passing overhead.
Answer: C. Antarctica
Why: Water there is locked as ice. Australia has permanent rivers, though many of its inland watercourses run only intermittently.
Answer: B. Mountains forcing air upward, so it loses moisture before crossing
Why: Air cools and drops its rain climbing the windward side, then descends dry. It explains deserts sitting immediately behind mountain ranges worldwide.
Answer: A. The Dead Sea
Why: It sits over 400 metres below sea level and continues to drop as water is diverted from the Jordan River.
Answer: D. Brazil
Why: The Amazon basin extends into several countries, but the greatest share lies in Brazil. The Congo basin is the second largest.
Answer: C. Ground that stays frozen for at least two consecutive years
Why: It underlies large parts of Siberia, Alaska and northern Canada, and thawing releases greenhouse gases stored in it.
Answer: B. Lake Baikal
Why: It is the deepest lake in the world and holds roughly a fifth of the planet's unfrozen surface fresh water. The Caspian is salty.
Answer: A. Conditions above it are too harsh for trees to grow
Why: Cold, short growing seasons and wind exposure are the main limits, so the treeline sits lower nearer the poles and higher near the equator.
Deserts, Ice and Other Extremes has 10 questions and takes about 7 minutes to finish. It is rated Medium and sits in our Geography category.
Each of the 10 correct answers adds 10 XP, up to 100 XP for a clean run. Wrong answers cost you nothing, and your full question-by-question review is shown at the end.
Yes. All 10 questions carry a written explanation of why the correct answer is right, so the quiz works as a study sheet as well as a test.
Yes, as often as you like. The questions and the answer options are reshuffled on each run, and you can use Practice Mistakes afterwards to retry only the ones you missed. No account is needed to play.
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