You Gotta Know These NAQT Topics: Wonders, Volcanoes, Rivers, Deserts, and Mountains

Vocabulary flashcards covering the key people, places, and concepts from the lecture notes (Seven Wonders, volcanoes, rivers and lakes, deserts, and mountains.

Great Pyramid of Giza (2550 BC)

Built for Khufu (Cheops); designed by Hemiunu; world's tallest building until 1301 (Lincoln Cathedral).

Hanging Gardens of Babylon (600 BC)

Built by Nebuchadnezzar II for his homesick wife Amyitis; also known as the Hanging Gardens of Semiramis.

Statue of Zeus at Olympia (435 BC)

Ivory-coated in gold; sculpted by Phidias; sat on a cedar base; rumored to have been stolen to Constantinople and destroyed by fire.

Temple of Artemis at Ephesus (550 BC)

Located in present-day Turkey; designed by Chersiphron and Metagenes; commissioned by Croesus of Lydia; destroyed by Herostratus on the night Alexander the Great was born; later rebuilt and destroyed by Goths in 262 AD.

Mausoleum of Maussollos at Halicarnassus (351 BC)

Designed by Satyrus and Pythius; commissioned by Maussollos to hold his remains and Artemisia, his wife/sister.

Colossus of Rhodes (292 BC)

Designed by Chares of Lindos; statue of Helios; toppled by an earthquake in 226 BC; ruins sold to a Syrian merchant.

Lighthouse (Pharos) of Alexandria (3rd century BC)

Designed by Sostratus of Cnidus; commissioned by Ptolemy I; destroyed by earthquakes in 1303 and 1323.

Mount Erebus

A stratovolcano on Ross Island, Antarctica; second-highest volcano there and the southernmost active volcano; features Erebus crystals; 1979 Air New Zealand crash killed 257.

Mount Etna

A stratovolcano in eastern Sicily; linked with Typhon and Hephaestus's forges; overlooks Catania; Valle del Bove; last erupted in 2015 (notable eruptions include 1669).

Mount Fuji (Japan)

Stratovolcano on Honshu; tallest mountain in Japan; one of the Three Holy Mountains; last erupted in 1707 (Hoei eruption); near the Su icide Forest (Aokigahara); depicted in Hokusai’s Thirty-Six Views; lakes Yamanaka and Kawaguchi along its slopes.

Kilauea

Shield volcano on the Big Island of Hawaii; most active of Hawaii’s five volcanoes; home of the fire goddess Pele; craters Halemaumau, Puʻu ʻOʻo, and Puʻu ʻOʻo Crater; part of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.

Krakatoa

Stratovolcanic island in the Sunda Strait; 1883 eruption killed 35,000+ people; produced the loudest sound ever recorded; Anak Krakatau formed in 1927.

Mauna Loa

Shield volcano on the Big Island of Hawaii; largest above-sea volcano on Earth; part of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park with Kilauea; 1942 eruption coincided with Pearl Harbor; press gag order at the time.

Mount Pinatubo

Stratovolcano in the Zambales Mountains, Philippines; 1991 eruption caused global temp drop from aerosols; far more powerful than Mount Saint Helens (1980); killed ~800; Lake Pinatubo formed in crater; Aeta people were later granted domain over the volcano in 2010.

Mount Rainier

Stratovolcano; highest peak in the Cascade Range and Washington; near Seattle; peaks: Columbia Crest, Point Success, Liberty Cap; Little Tahoma; Nisqually, Emmons, and Carbon Glaciers; within Mount Rainier National Park; last erupted in the 19th century.

Mount Saint Helens

Stratovolcano in the Cascades; last eruption May 1980; killed 57; large debris avalanche and lahars; lost about 1300 feet in height; surrounded by Gifford Pinchot National Forest.

Mount Vesuvius

Stratovolcano on the Gulf of Naples; last eruption in 1944; only active volcano on mainland Europe; AD 79 eruption buried Pompeii, Herculaneum, and Stabiae; Pliny the Younger's letters document the eruption; 1908 Olympics moved due to eruption.

Nile River

Africa’s Nile; commonly cited as the longest river; ~4,132 miles; Blue Nile (from Ethiopia) and White Nile (from Lake Victoria) join at Khartoum; Aswan High Dam creates Lake Nasser and reduces floods.

Congo River

Africa’s second-longest river; ~2,900 miles; sources include Lualaba and Chambeshi; Boyoma Falls marks start of the Congo proper; Malebo Pool near Kinshasa and Brazzaville.

Zambezi River

Rivers across southern Africa; Victoria Falls (Mosi-oa-Tunya); Caprivi Strip access to the Zambezi; Cabora Bassa and Kariba Dams create large lakes.

Niger River

Africa’s third-longest; flows through Guinea, Mali, Niger, Nigeria to the Gulf of Guinea; source of the Niger Delta; mapped by Mungo Park.

Limpopo River

Rises as the Crocodile River in South Africa; forms part of the Transvaal border with Botswana/Zimbabwe; flood events and Kipling’s reference highlight its notoriety.

Okavango River

Rises in central Angola; flows through Namibia’s Caprivi Strip into the Kalahari Desert, terminating in the Okavango Delta.

Lake Victoria

Africa’s largest lake by area and world’s second-largest freshwater lake; located on the Equator; outlet is the Victoria Nile; introduced Nile perch impacted ecosystems.

Lake Tanganyika

Africa’s second-largest lake by area and second-deepest; depth > 4,700 ft; shared by Tanzania, DRC, Burundi, Zambia; source region for the Lualaba; near Ujiji where Livingstone was found by Stanley.

Lake Malawi (Nyasa)

Africa’s third-largest lake; between Malawi, Tanzania, Mozambique; fed by Ruhuhu River; outlet via Shire River to Zambezi; rich in endemic fish (cichlids).

Lake Volta

Largest man-made lake by area in the world; created by Ghana’s Akosombo Dam on the Volta River in the 1960s; provides power for aluminum smelters and national needs.

Lake Chad

Once Africa’s fourth-largest lake; area reduced by >90% since the 1960s due to drought and water diversions; intersects Chad, Cameroon, Niger, Nigeria; largely dwindled water remains in Chad and Cameroon.

Antarctica Desert

Antarctica is a desert by precipitation; includes Vinson Massif, Mount Erebus, surrounding seas (Ross and Weddell), and the Ross Ice Shelf; poles exploration history with Amundsen, Scott, Shackleton.

Sahara Desert

Largest hot desert; bounded by Atlas Mountains and Sahel; features hamada, ergs, shatt, wadis; native Berber and Tuareg peoples.

Atacama Desert

Driest hot desert in the world; rain shadow of the Andes; War of the Pacific context for nitrate resources.

Kalahari Desert

Region spanning Botswana, Namibia, South Africa; red sand, large game reserves; San Bushmen speak a click language.

Mojave Desert

Desert in California (and parts of AZ, UT, NV); contains Death Valley; bordered by San Gabriel/San Bernardino ranges and fault lines; associated with Joshua tree.

Gobi Desert

Desert in China and Mongolia; Silk Road site; home to dinosaur fossils and ancient artifacts.

Rub' al-Khali (Empty Quarter)

Desert in the Arabian Peninsula; extreme conditions; site of the world’s largest oil field (Ghawar).

Namib Desert

Coastal desert in Namibia and Angola; ancient and iconic for Welwitschia and Hoodia plants.

Painted Desert

Northern Arizona region known for colorful banded rock formations; part of Grand Canyon and Petrified Forest National Parks.

Negev Desert

Desert in southern Israel; covers substantial area.

Taklamakan Desert

Cold, sandy desert in China; Silk Road splits around it; bounded by Kunlun, Pamir, and Tian Shan.

Great Sandy Desert

Desert in Western Australia; part of the larger Western Desert; among the world’s larger deserts.

Mount Everest

Tallest mountain in the world (above 29,000 ft); border between China and Nepal; hazards include Khumbu Icefall and the Three Steps; first summit by Hillary and Norgay in 1953; Sherpa guides; 2014 avalanche fatalities.

K2 (Mount Godwin-Austen)

Second-tallest mountain in the world; located on the Pakistan-China border (Karakoram); also called Qogir; high fatality rate among climbers; notable features include The House’s Chimney and the Black Pyramid.

Denali

Highest mountain in North America; formerly Mount McKinley; located in Alaska’s Denali National Park; West Buttress route widely considered best ascent path.

Mount Mitchell

Tallest peak east of the Mississippi in the Black Mountain range, North Carolina; site of a historic altitude dispute with Elisha Mitchell’s rivals; Mitchell died during ascent attempts.

The Matterhorn

Iconic pyramidal peak on the border of Switzerland and Italy; first ascent in 1865 by Edward Whymper; several climbers died during the climb.

Mount Kilimanjaro

Tallest mountain in Africa; three summits: Kibo, Mawenzi, Shira; a tall, freestanding volcano; feature in Hemingway’s The Snows of Kilimanjaro.

Mount Kenya

Second-tallest mountain in Africa; formed by a dormant volcano; associated with Facing Mount Kenya and Jomo Kenyatta’s book on the Kikuyu.

Mount Kosciuszko

Highest peak in Australia; named after Polish military leader Kosciuszko; European discovery led to naming; Aboriginal names Jagungal/Tackingal reflect a “table-top” form.

Mount Fuji (Japan)

Tallest mountain in Japan; sacred to Shinto; one of the Three Holy Mountains; lakes Yamanaka and Kawaguchi on its slopes; depicted in Hokusai’s Thirty-Six Views.

Mount Aconcagua

Highest point in the Southern Hemisphere; formed by subduction of the Nazca Plate; near Mendoza, Argentina; near the Polish Glacier.