Starter quiz
- Less than how many millimetres of annual rainfall characterises a hot desert?
- '250' ✓
In a climate graph as shown, what type of graph displays rainfall?- line graph
- bar graph ✓
- scattergraph
- pictogram
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- Looking at the climate graph of the desert in Las Vegas, identify the month which has the lowest rainfall.
- February
- March
- June ✓
- December
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- Which industry would be involved in organising tours of hot deserts for people to photograph desert features and wildlife?
- Large-scale agriculture
- Tourism ✓
- Manufacturing
- Logging
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- Which of these are positives of tourism in hot desert locations?
- Creates jobs ✓
- Creates additional water stress
- Brings investment and income ✓
- Spreads understanding of the value of vulnerable desert landscapes ✓
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- Which of these is a major challenge for human settlement in hot deserts?
- Easy access to clean water
- High population density
- High temperatures and scarce water ✓
- Abundant fertile land
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Exit quiz
- Name the countries that the Kalahari desert is spread across.
- Namibia ✓
- Zimbabwe
- Botswana ✓
- Kenya
- South Africa ✓
-
- Which of the following is a significant economic opportunity in the Kalahari Desert?
- Logging of forests
- Mineral extraction ✓
- Urban development
- Growing water-intensive crops
-
- Which word means the people or animals that originally lived and may continue to live in a particular country or region?
- Nomadic
- Indigeneous ✓
- Immigrant
- Settler
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- Match each challenge in the Kalahari Desert with its impact on development.
- Extreme temperatures⇔Heat makes it difficult for people to work outside ✓
- Water scarcity⇔Limits agriculture and tourism ✓
- Inaccessibility⇔Requires costly infrastructure for access ✓
- Indigenous displacement⇔Causes social tensions and cultural loss ✓
- Why does the Kalahari have such great potential for creating renewable energy such as solar power?
- Equatorial location means it receives long hours of sunshine through the year ✓
- Frequent rainfall provides a clean water source to cool solar panels
- High air pressure zone location means clear skies and uninterrupted sunshine ✓
- The desert’s high winds help generate consistent solar energy
- Open desert landscapes provide ample space for large solar farms ✓
-
- Which of the following is a key environmental challenge for development in the Kalahari Desert?
- High number of sunshine hours annually
- High population density
- Frequent floods
- Water scarcity ✓
- Mineral deposits
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Worksheet
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Lesson Details
Key learning points
- The Kalahari Desert is an example of a hot desert.
- There are opportunities for development in the Kalahari Desert (mineral extraction, energy, farming, tourism).
- There are challenges for developing hot desert environments in the Kalahari (extreme temperatures, water supply).
Common misconception
Hot deserts are barren, lifeless areas with no real economic potential.
Deserts can have significant opportunities for economic development, for example mineral extraction, solar energy, tourism and irrigated farming.
Keywords
Arid - a climate with little to no rainfall
Indigenous - the people or animals that originally lived and may continue to live in a particular country or region
Mineral extraction - the process of removing valuable minerals from the earth
Tourism - the business of attracting and taking care of visitors to a place
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