The Great Canadian Geography Challenge
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The Great Canadian Geography Challenge is a project of the Canadian Council for Geographic Education This booklet provides questions for the Level 2 Challenge. Level 2 is designed for students in grades 7 and above who will NOT have reached their 16th birthday by August 31, 2010. Competitors in Level 2 will compete not only at the school level, but may also have the opportunity to compete at the provincial/territorial and national levels. To advance from the School Challenge to the Provincial/Territorial Championships, the winning student must take an online multiple-choice Qualifying Test, which will be marked by the GCGC National Coordinating Committee. Only ONE student who has competed in and won your Level 2 Challenge may take the qualifying test. The test is to be completed independently in the school building and monitored by a teacher. The student may have 60 minutes to complete the 50 multiple-choice questions. Teachers will receive notification if their student is eligible to participate in the Provincial/Territorial Championships. Up to fifty school winners from each province or territory will qualify to compete at the location chosen for their Provincial/Territorial Championships. Individual scores will not be provided for any reason. Key Dates: February 12, 2010 The online school Qualifying Test must be completed by this date. April 10, 2010 Provincial/Territorial Championships will be held. Eligible school winners will be advised of the location for their Challenge in advance of this date. May 20, 2010 The National Final will be held online for provincial/territorial winners. 1 INSTRUCTIONS TO COMPETITORS Note to teacher: The following description may have to be modified to correspond with the procedures adopted by the teacher, for example, if the first three (or fewer) rounds are to be used for instruction purposes. Teacher says: “Your first instructions are to relax and to enjoy the Challenge. These questions are designed to test your knowledge of geography, not to confuse you with tricks. “The Challenge consists of nine rounds of questions, which will follow the three warm- up questions. Today we will do _____ questions. You will all have the opportunity to answer each question. You will have 20 seconds to write your answer. If you want me to repeat a question or to spell a word in a question, you must ask me immediately. You will only be allowed to do this ONCE during the competition. After I finish repeating the question or spelling the word you will have the rest of the 20 seconds to answer. “Do not start to write until I have finished reading the question. If you cannot answer within 20 seconds, leave the space on your answer sheet blank beside that number. At the end of the nine preliminary rounds, your points will be totaled.” Note to teacher: The method your school will use to choose as many as 10 students to participate in the final competition should be explained here. “Remember to listen carefully to each question and try to use the correct terms in your answers. You will not be penalized for incorrect spellings so long as it can be determined that you know the correct answer. The competition will follow a policy of recognizing Europe and Asia as two continents. “Place names are based on events at the time that the questions went to press in August 2009. “Good luck in the preliminary competition.” 2 CLASSROOM PRELIMINARY COMPETITION Note to teacher: All rounds comprise ten questions. Answers are included with each round. Other acceptable answers may be shown. Although an effort has been made to list all acceptable answers, you may allow other answers that you consider acceptable. You may ask the warm-up questions in any way that you wish. Warm-up Questions Teacher says: “First, we will have three warm-up questions to help you to relax and to get used to the format of the Challenge. Your answers to these questions will not be counted in your scores. For the warm-up questions, you will raise your hands and I will ask one of you to respond.” 1. Name one of the three major fruit-growing regions of Canada. Annapolis Valley, Niagara Peninsula or Okanagan Valley 2. What was the common name given to the plague that devastated Europe in the 14th Century? The Black Death 3. This tectonic plate off the coast of British Columbia is sliding under the mainland and could cause a major earthquake. It shares its name with islands located above it. Name this tectonic plate. Juan de Fuca Plate “We will now begin with round 1 of the Challenge. You should have your answer sheet in front of you and be prepared to write in the spaces under Round 1.” Note to teacher: Inform students whether their answers in round 1 will count for the purposes of the Challenge. 3 Round 1: Firing Up In this round, the ten questions are related to fire and heat. 1. This word is used for bright, high voltage electrical discharges in the atmosphere, responsible for starting most natural forest fires. 2. Volcanic eruptions produce this hot, molten rock. 3. Yellow Grass, the location with the highest temperature ever recorded in Canada, is located in the same province as Grasslands National Park. Name this province. 4. Forest fires in the summer of 2009 burned areas near Kelowna in this province. 5. Summer temperatures can exceed 40°C in this city, the largest in India. 6. Death Valley, the lowest and one of the hottest places in North America, is located on the border of two USA states. Name one of the two states. 7. The “Great Miramichi Fire” of 1825 burned a large part of this Canadian maritime province. 8. This city, the largest in Arizona USA, is named for a mythical bird that is reborn from fire. 9. The Celebration of Light fireworks festival is held every summer in this city, the largest in British Columbia. 10. Throughout Canada, are more forest fires started by humans or by lightning? Answers 1. lightning 2. Lava (accept basalt) 3. Saskatchewan 4. British Columbia 5. Mumbai 6. California or Nevada 7. New Brunswick 8. Phoenix 9. Vancouver 10. humans 4 Round 2: We’re Number 2 The questions in this round look at geographical “2s”. 1. This province has the second largest population in Canada. 2. Lac des Deux Montagnes (Lake of Two Mountains) is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and this river. 3. Alberta’s Highway #2 connects Edmonton with this city, the largest in the province. 4. After Asia, this is the second largest continent in area. 5. Name one of the two countries which share the island of Tierra del Fuego. 6. Which province has two breeds of dogs named after it? 7. Named after a British Queen, this is the second largest island in the Canadian Arctic. 8. Name one of two countries which share the island of Hispaniola in the Caribbean. 9. Twin Falls is located in Yoho National Park, in this western province. 10. This large island in the Northern Hemisphere is the site of the world’s second largest continental glacier. Answers 1. Québec 2. St. Lawrence 3. Calgary 4. Africa 5. Argentina or Chile 6. Newfoundland & Labrador 7. Victoria Island (or Kitlineq) 8. Dominican Republic or Haiti 9. British Columbia 10. Greenland (or Kalaallit Nunaat) 5 Round 3 Wind in your Sails! In this round, the ten questions are related to wind. 1. In the Northern Hemisphere, which way do winds blow around a low pressure system: clockwise or counter-clockwise? 2. This high level air flow, meandering from west to east above Canada, is a major factor influencing weather. 3. Which instrument is used for measuring wind speed? 4. This USA city was badly damaged by Hurricane Katrina in 2005. 5. In the Southern Hemisphere, the Trade Winds blow from this direction. 6. The annual Windscape Kite Festival is held in Swift Current, in the southwest part of this province. 7. An experimental site for testing wind turbine designs has been established at North Cape in this eastern Canadian province. 8. The windmill tower formed part of the defenses at 17th century Fort Senneville, in New France, in the western part of this modern city in Quebec. 9. What name is given to a warm, dry wind that causes snow to melt rapidly along the foothills of the Rocky Mountains of Alberta? 10. The rotation of Earth causes moving air to be diverted. In the Northern Hemisphere, is air diverted to the right or to the left? Answers 1. counter-clockwise 2. Jet Stream 3. anemometer 4. New Orleans 5. Southeast 6. Saskatchewan 7. Prince Edward Island 8. Montréal 9. Chinook 10. Right 6 MAP OF Eastern Asia & Oceania 7 Round 4: Map of Eastern Asia & Oceania In this round of ten questions, students must name the country and then locate it by letter on the map provided. Each question in this round is worth two points. 1. Name and locate the country which has Tokyo as its capital. 2. Name and locate the country which is closest to the International Date Line. 3. Name and locate the country which has Pyongyang as its capital. 4. Name and locate the country where the duck-billed platypus and dingo live. 5. Name and locate the country where Siamese cats originated. 6. Name and locate the country famous as the homeland of Genghis Khan. 7. Name and locate the country that formerly was a colony of Spain. 8. Name and locate the country where the Mekong River Delta is located.