Giant dust plume sweeps in from Sahara Desert

Q: Winds have swept an unusually thick, nearly 5,000-mile-long plume of dust from the Sahara Desert to the blanket the Caribbean and the states along the Gulf of Mexico. Where is the Sahara Desert?

Circle the area on this map


Q: The Sahara is the world’s ..

A. Largest desert

B. Largest hot desert

C. Driest desert

D. All of the above

Q: It took about a week for the gigantic dust plume to reach the U.S. mainland. How many states border the Gulf of Mexico?

A. Three

B. Four

C. Five

D. Six

Q: The dust cloud can be an allergen and a hazard to people with asthma or other breathing problems. What is a positive impact of the cloud?

A. Limits hurricanes

B. Limits global warming

C. Brings more rain

D. Brings cool breezes

Q: Many of the Atlantic storms that become hurricanes follow same path as the dust cloud. How fast must the wind be blowing before a tropical storm is considered a hurricane?

A. 39 mph

B. 74 mph

C. 96 mph

D. 111 mph


Answers for this quiz: Click here