Which statement about the Gobi Desert is NOT correct?
20172017
Which statement about the Gobi Desert is NOT correct?
- A.
Gobi is a cold desert.
- B.
Gobi desert is the most expansive arid region in Asia.
- C.
Most of Gobi's rain is blocked by the Himalayas.
- D.
It never rains in the Gobi desert.
Attempted by 97 students.
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: D
Concept
A "NOT correct" question asks you to identify the single statement that is factually false; the other statements are all true. The key test for a candidate statement is whether it holds up against established physical-geography facts about the region. Beware absolute words like "never", "always", or "none": in geography an absolute claim is true only if literally no exception exists, so a single counter-example makes it false.
Applying it to the Gobi
Check each statement against the facts about the Gobi, a vast desert spread across northern China and southern Mongolia:
"Gobi is a cold desert." — TRUE. Its high latitude and high elevation give it freezing winters and a large temperature range, so it is classed as a cold (not hot) desert.
"The most expansive arid region in Asia." — Accepted as TRUE in the sense intended: the Gobi is conventionally cited as the largest desert region of East and Central Asia. (Some references rank the Arabian Desert larger overall, so this is a convention-dependent claim rather than an outright falsehood like the next option.)
"Most of its rain is blocked by the Himalayas." — TRUE. The Himalaya and Tibetan Plateau create a rain-shadow that intercepts the moisture-bearing monsoon winds, which is a major cause of the Gobi's dryness.
"It never rains in the Gobi desert." — FALSE. Although precipitation is very low, the Gobi does receive measurable rain and snow every year (roughly 50–200 mm annually depending on the sub-region). The absolute word "never" is contradicted by recorded climate data, so this is the incorrect statement the question is looking for.
Cross-check
Three of the four statements describe genuine features of the Gobi (cold climate, large extent in Asia, rain-shadow aridity). The extent claim is at most debatable by convention, but only the "never rains" statement asserts a total absence of precipitation, which measured annual rainfall and snowfall flatly disprove. So that absolute statement is the one that is NOT correct.