Which ocean's coast is a place where plates frequently push together, creating earthquakes?
What is the Pacific Ocean.
100
What is a plant that grows or an animal that lives in the West?
What is ponderosa pine; quaking aspen; frangipani; Rocky Mountain blue columbine; salmon; grizzly bear; polar bear; or golden eagle.
100
People caught "gold fever" in 1848 because gold was discovered in which state?
What is California.
100
The movie industry employs hundreds of people for each film made, including actors, directors, script writers, costume designers, makeup artists, etc. Which city is especially famous for its movie industry?
What is Hollywood, California.
100
What is the name of the large tower in Seattle, Washington that rises 43 stories high, with a restaurant at the top?
What is the Space Needle.
200
The Great Salt Lake is saltier than the ocean. What is an animal that thrives in this lake?
What is shrimp (which is eaten by pelicans and ibis).
200
Which area receives as much as 160 inches of rain every year and is considered the wettest place in the United States besides Hawaii?
What is the Olympic Peninsula.
200
Wyoming's most important industries are the production of oil and natural gas. What other resource is Wyoming the leading producer of in the entire United States?
What is uranium (used to create nuclear energy).
200
San Jose and Santa Clara, California are cities within "Silicon Valley," which is famous for manufacturing silicon. What is the purpose of silicon?
What is to produce computer and cell phone chips, as part of the large telecommunications industry of the West. ("tele-" means "distance," and "communications" means "exchanges of information" ----"telecommunications" means "technology that sends messages/images over long distances")
200
The Inuits of the Arctic used to survive by hunting and fishing. Today, what is the fun event called in Alaska involving dogsleds racing over thousands of miles of snow, over an average of 10 days?
What is the Iditarod.
300
What is the highest mountain standing within the largest mountain range in North America stretching 3,000 miles, the Rocky Mountains?
What is Colorado's Mount Elbert.
300
Explain how a geyser occurs.
What is... water under the ground is heated by magma, causing it sometimes to turn to steam. The steam builds up until a hot spring occasionally shoots hot water or steam into the air.
300
Growing potatoes in Idaho is an industry worth how much money each year?
What is $2.5 billion.
300
What kind of people worked to create national parks?
What is conservationists (people who want to protect wilderness and wildlife).
300
How many people in Hawaii are either members of the military or are family members of those who serve?
What is one in ten people (10%).
400
Some volcanoes form from a place in the middle of plates where magma reaches the surface. This place is called what?
What is a hot spot. (Yellowstone National Park is actually a giant collapsed volcano that formed from a hot spot. The magma below still causes enough heat to make the mud bubble!)
400
How would you realize you were approaching a timberline?
What is feel a change in temperature (very cold), see shorter trees, see fewer trees, then see zero trees once you came to the timberline. The elevation is too cold and windy for trees to grow.
400
What is the area of California called that runs down the middle of the state, which produces the most fruits, nuts, and vegetables than most any place in the world?
What is the Central Valley.
400
The federal government supports scientific research for monitoring earthquakes/volcanoes and for sending robot exploration devices into space. The federal government is also the top customer of companies in Utah that manufacture what product?
What is rocket engines.
400
What is set up along the Little Bighorn River in Crow Agency, Montana for the yearly Native American festival?
What is 1,500 teepees.
500
Mount St. Helens in Washington erupted violently with a huge explosion in 1980. What is an example of a volcano that flows with lava and gases slowly and quietly?
What is Kilauea, in Hawaii.
500
Identify the range of the summer and winter temperatures of Alaska.
What is 80 degrees Fahrenheit in the summer to 60 degrees below zero in the winter, or colder!
500
When oil was discovered in Alaska in 1968, an 800-mile-long pipeline was built to transport oil from the Arctic to which ice-free port?
What is Valdez.
500
Explain why the federal government owns two-thirds of land in Utah and three-quarters of land in Nevada. For what purpose is it using the land?
What is for housing military bases and training military pilots, as well as for testing fast cars, planes, and missiles on the flat deserts.
500
Name at least one reason that one particular group of people moved to the West.
What is settlers traveling by wagons to find rich farmlands in Oregon; Asian immigrants looking to mine gold; Midwestern migrants trying to escape the Dust Bowl; African American "Exodusters" who moved to the West to find freedom from unfair treatment; or immigrants from Asian countries looking for jobs, especially in the research industry.