National Council for Geographic Education
Curriculum & Instruction Committee
Geography Club
Submitted by: Steve Pierce
[email protected]
Second Year
Fourth Month Activities
Geography for Life: National Geography Standards
The World in Spatial Terms
Standard 1: How to use maps and other geographic representations, tools, and technologies to
acquire, process, and report information
Standard 3: Howt
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Places and Regions
Standard 4: The physical and human characteristics of places
Physical Systems
Standard 8: The characteristics and spatial di
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Human Systems
Standard 12: The process, patterns, and functions of human settlement
Environment and Society
Standard 15: How physical systems affect human systems
I. Warm-up Activity: Map Scraps
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ean atlas and
other reference materials to answer the questions.
Map Scrap 2-4-1
Map: National Geographic Society
Questions:
1. From which continent is this map scrap taken?
2. What strait separates this region from the mainland?
3. What two countries are shown on this map scrap?
4. This region lies at the end of a long mountain range. Name this mountain
range.
5. Name the two bodies of water that lie to the east and west of this continent.
National Council for Geographic Education
2006 Geography Club Activities - Second Year - Fourth Month
Page 1 of 6
Map Scrap 2-4-2
Questions
1. What U.S. state is shown on this map scrap?
2. What body of water is shown to the east?
3. Which Canadian province is shown to the north?
4. Name the national park found on this map scrap.
5. What mountain range extends from the southwest into
the state shown on the map scrap?
6. What national scenic trail, 2,175 miles long, has its
northern terminus in this state?
Map: National Geographic Society
II. Activity: World Deserts
Note to teachers/sponsors: The activities that follow are suggestions. You are
encouraged to adapt them as you need to, so they are useful to the ages and
abilities of your group. Feel free t
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use them as springboards to other activities that fit the interests of your students.
You may also want to incorporate a field study experience, if applicable.
Introduction
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25
centimeters) of precipitation a year. Evaporation rates are higher than precipitation
in deserts, leading to the arid conditions. Not all deserts are hot. Temperature is
generally not a factor in defining a desert. Some deserts are hot, with temperatures
exceeding 100 degrees F. Other deserts are have cold winters or are cool all year.
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Deserts are divided into five types:
 subtropical
 coastal
 rain shadow
 interior
 polar
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2006 Geography Club Activities - Second Year - Fourth Month
Page 2 of 6
Subtropical deserts lie along the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn
between 15 and 30 degrees north and south of the Equator. Hot moist air rises near
the Equator. As it rises, it cools and drops heavy rains in tropical areas. Now cooler
and drier, this air sinks and warms in the area of the Tropics of Cancer and
Capricorn. This creates the subtropical deserts of North Africa and Australia. The
Sahara Desert is a subtropical desert.
Coastal deserts are caused by cold ocean currents that lie just offshore the west
coasts of some continents, particularly in the Southern Hemisphere. These deserts
are often accompanied by fog, but receive very little rainfall. The Namib Desert in
Africa is a coastal desert.
Rain shadow deserts are found on the leeward sides of mountain ranges. Leeward
slopes are those that face away from the prevailing winds. Precipitation falls along
the windward side of the mountains. The air that descends the leeward side has little
moisture left, creating arid conditions. Patagonia, in Argentina is an example.
Interior deserts are located deep in the interiors of large continents, far from oceans
or seas. Air reaching these areas has long since dropped its moisture, creating dry
conditions. The Gobi Desert in Asia is an interior desert.
Polar deserts are located in polar regions. Antarctica and parts of the polar tundra
of North America and Asia are polar deserts. Although covered with compacted ice
and snow, these areas receive less than 10 inches of precipitation annually, and by
definition, are deserts.
Mapoft
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http://www.mapsofworld.com/images/world-desert-map.gif
This is a generalized map of the major desert regions of the world.
Desert Biome Internet Resources
University of California Museum of Paleontology webpage on the desert biome
http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/glossary/gloss5/biome/deserts.html
World Biomes.com webpage on desert biomes
http://www.worldbiomes.com/biomes_desert.htm
Activity: Locating Deserts
Students can use the accompanying activity sheet to locate major deserts of the
world using clues and latitude and longitude given. They can work in teams or
individually. The Student Activity Sheet can be found with the fourth month activity
on the NCGE Geography Club website.
Activity: Mapping Desert Regions
Have students use an outline map of the world to locate major deserts. Have them
label the map with the names of the deserts. If desired, the deserts can be classified
by their type.
National Council for Geographic Education
2006 Geography Club Activities - Second Year - Fourth Month
Page 3 of 6
Link to world outline map:
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/xpeditions/atlas/
Investigate: Water sources in deserts
Although deserts receive little rainfall, there is water present. Rivers, oases, and
groundwater are water sources in some deserts. Rivers that flow from areas with
adequate precipitation to desert regions are called exotic rivers. Exotic rivers
provide water for plants and wildlife in deserts. They support human populations
dating back to early civilizations.
Have students identify major rivers that flow through deserts. Some suggested rivers
are: Colorado River and its tributaries, Nile River, Tigris River, Euphrates River,
Jordan River, and the Indus River.
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in the development of desert regions?
Investigate: Desert Cities
Deserts tend to be sparsely populated regions. There are, however, areas of large
concentrated populations in desert regions. Students can identify, locate, and learn
about some major desert cities. Some cities to investigate are:
 Phoenix, Arizona, Las Vegas, Nevada, and cities of the U.S. Southwest
 Riyadh, Saudi Arabia and other cities of the Middle East
 Cairo, Egypt
 Timbuktu, Mali and other cities of the Sahara
1. What are the sources of water for these cities?
2. How do the large cities of the U.S. Southwest have adequate water supplies to
meet the demands of the large and growing populations?
3. What are some environmental issues related to water use in the U.S.
Southwest?
Investigate: Desert Words
Can you identify these terms? What words related to deserts can you add to the
list?
arid
erg
rain shadow
arroyo
exotic river
reg
badlands
hoodoos
sand dunes
canyon
Joshua tree
saguaro
desertification
oasis
wadi
eolian erosion
playas
xerophitic
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2006 Geography Club Activities - Second Year - Fourth Month
Page 4 of 6
III. Geo-Questions
The Middle East is largely a desert domain. Test your geographic knowledge of the
Middle East by answering these questions.
1. Which country, famous for its cedar trees, has one on its flag?
2. Mesopotamia, one of the world's cradles of civilization, lies between which two rivers?
3. At 1,312 feet below sea level, the surface of the Dead Sea is the lowest point on the
Earth's surface. What countries border the Dead Sea?
4. Three religions claim Jerusalem as a holy city. Name them.
5. If, on a visit to an Arab country, you see a dhow, what are you looking at?
6. This animal is used for the sport of racing in the Middle East. I
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”Name this animal.
7. One of the oldest continuously occupied cities in the world is the capital of Syria. What is
the name of this city?
8. The Red Sea is about 1,400 miles long. Name the two gulfs at its northern end and the
strait that lies at the southern end of the Red Sea.
9. Since ancient times Yemen has been famous for its trade in two resins known for their
fragrance. Name these two resins.
10. Iran was once the center of a vast ancient empire. By what name was this empire
known?
National Council for Geographic Education
2006 Geography Club Activities - Second Year - Fourth Month
Page 5 of 6
ANSWERS
I. Map Scraps
Map 2-4-1
1. South America
2. Strait of Magellan
3. Argentina and Chile
4. Andes Mountains
5. Atlantic Ocean (east) and Pacific
Ocean (west)
Map 2-4-2
1. Maine
2. Atlantic Ocean (accept Gulf of
Maine)
3. New Brunswick
4. Acadia National Park
5. Appalachian Mountains
6. Appalachian Trail
III. Geo-Questions
1. Lebanon
2. Tigris River and Euphrates River
3. Jordan and Israel
4. Judaism, Christianity, and Islam
5. a sailing ship
6. camel
7. Damascus
8. north - Gulf of Suez and Gulf of
Aqaba; south - Bab al Mandab
9. frankincense and myrrh
10. Persia
II. Name That Desert
1. Gobi Desert
Marco Polo
2. Sonoran Desert
Phoenix
3. Atacama Desert
copper
4. Kalahari Desert
Okavango River
5. Great Victoria Desert
Great Australian Bight
6. Rub al Khali (Empty Quarter)
petroleum (oil)
7. Patagonia
Tierra del Fuego
8. Sahara Desert
Nile River
9. Kara Kum
Aral Sea
10. Mojave Desert
Joshua tree
11. Thar Desert (Great Indian Desert)
Jammu and Kashmir
12. Great Basin
Great Salt Lake
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2006 Geography Club Activities - Second Year - Fourth Month
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