Western Desert case study

Question 1

Location of Western Desert

Answer 1

North America, Western USA , covers 200,000 sq km. California Nevada Arizona and New Mexico.

Question 2

Sparse Vegetation

Answer 2

Vegetation is spread out due to limited rainfall

Question 3

Environmental Challenges for plants

Answer 3

High Temp- plants transpire a lot more
Low Rainfall- all rain very usefull for them
thick waxy cuticle and shedding of leaves to reduce transpiration
Bulk of biomass underground which is cooler

Question 4

Saguaro Cactus

Answer 4

Can hold upto 8000 litres of water
Arms grow after 75 years
Spikes instead of leaves reduce moisture loss and stop animals from eating plant
thick waxy skin reflects suns heat

Question 5

Prickly Pear Cactus

Answer 5

Yellow Flowers
Fleshy Stems Store water
Thick waxy skin reflects some of suns heat

Question 6

Joshua Tree

Answer 6

Rigid leaves covered by waxy surface
hoarding water for long periods
produce seeds quickly during rainfall periods
fire resistant

Question 7

Lizard

Answer 7

Lies facing towards the sun to warm up and looks away form the suns to cool down
shift their colour to regulate body temperature
Looks for food in morning and evening as these times are coolest
Burrows or underground hole to keep cool

Question 8

Red Tail Hawks

Answer 8

wing span of 4 feet gives them strength
learnt to build nests high in the air
great eyesight, spot prey from great distances

Question 8

Kangaroo Rat

Answer 8

Large back feet to leep 9 feet
Small front feet to handle food
Long tail for balance
Big claws to dig holes
Fur great for maintaining heat
Concentrated urine to maintain water

Question 9

WD Tourism

Answer 9

Las Vegas - 30 m tourists
20% of GDP
Hoover Dam -7m tourists
Native indian huts
Joshua Tree national park
Hollywood movies film here

Question 10

Energy

Answer 10

Solar Panals - Sonoran solar project 100,000 homes
Wind - San Gorginio Wind Farm
Hydroelectric - Lake Mead Hoover Dam 1.3 M People
Oil - 25 oil farms In WD 50M dollars per year

Question 11

Agriculture

Answer 11

Lots of sun minerals warmth space
40% of the economy
98% of dates in USA made here

Question 12

Minerals

Answer 12

Gold,Galluium, Manganese
Builds economy with very expensive minerals like gold

Question 13

Carrying Capacity

Answer 13

the maximum population of a species that can be sustained. Low in deserts, becuase low rain and less rivers.

Question 14

population increase

Answer 14

population rapidly increasing, three states in top ten annual population increase.
So many people living of the water of one river
need a great increase in rivers

Question 15

accessability

Answer 15

western desert only has two interstate roads compare
in a space where the uk has 40 airports the wester desert has 7

Question 16

positives of development

Answer 16

lake mead and lake powell give electricity to 2M homes
1.4 M acres of irrigated land
Lakes used for flood control

Question 17

Negatives of Development

Answer 17

the hoover dam was built at the cost of 112 lives and 50 million dollards.
Glen Canyon close to historic sites
Colorado River ecosystem has changed in last 50 years