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Geography Quiz - Case Study Italy (Physical Geography) 01 (Questions)

This KS3 quiz looks at the physical geography of Italy. The shape of Italy is often described as being like a boot. During the winter, it has relatively warm and wet weather but in the summer, most of the 'boot' is subjected to hot and dry weather. This climate makes farming very difficult, particularly in the southern half of the country where the soils are thin, not very fertile and usually on steep slopes. Italy has two important and well known volcanoes. Vesuvius is the one that destroyed the city of Pompeii in AD79 whilst Etna is active on Sicily.

The 'boot' joins onto Europe at the southern edge of the Alps. Here, several large lakes have formed - Garda, Como and Maggiore are three well known ones as they are popular holiday destinations. The Alps are not the only mountains of Italy, the Apennines run the entire length of the country from the Alps in the north west and right the way down to Sicily. They are lower than the Alps, the highest mountain is just under 3,000 metres in height.

1. Which mountain range runs down the centre of Italy?
[ ] Alps
[ ] Apennines
[ ] Carpathians
[ ] Sierra Nevada
2. Due to its shape, Italy is said to have what?
[ ] A head and foot
[ ] A heel and toe
[ ] A knee and elbow
[ ] An ear and nose
3. Which island does not belong to Italy?
[ ] Capri
[ ] Corsica
[ ] Sardinia
[ ] Sicily
4. The active volcano on Sicily has what name?
[ ] Etna
[ ] Pinatubo
[ ] Santorini
[ ] Vesuvius
5. How can Italy's climate generally be described?
[ ] Arid
[ ] Mediterranean
[ ] Temperate
[ ] Tropical
6. What is Italy's longest river?
[ ] Adige
[ ] Arno
[ ] Po
[ ] Tiber
7. Italy's east coast is bordered by which sea?
[ ] Adriatic
[ ] Black
[ ] Mediterranean
[ ] Tyrrhenian
8. Which is not an Italian lake?
[ ] Lake Como
[ ] Lake Constance
[ ] Lake Garda
[ ] Lake Maggiore
9. Vesuvius is an active volcano close to which city?
[ ] Milan
[ ] Naples
[ ] Rome
[ ] Turin
10. The large northern lowland area is the North Italian what?
[ ] Basin
[ ] Plain
[ ] Strip
[ ] Terrace
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Geography Quiz - Case Study Italy (Physical Geography) 01 (Answers)
1. Which mountain range runs down the centre of Italy?
[ ] Alps
[x] Apennines
[ ] Carpathians
[ ] Sierra Nevada
They started to be formed about 20 million years ago and that process is still continuing today. That is why there are many strong earthquakes in Italy
2. Due to its shape, Italy is said to have what?
[ ] A head and foot
[x] A heel and toe
[ ] A knee and elbow
[ ] An ear and nose
The country is shaped like a boot
3. Which island does not belong to Italy?
[ ] Capri
[x] Corsica
[ ] Sardinia
[ ] Sicily
Corsica is part of France
4. The active volcano on Sicily has what name?
[x] Etna
[ ] Pinatubo
[ ] Santorini
[ ] Vesuvius
Possibly the biggest eruption of Etna in historic times was in 1669 when about 3,000 people were killed
5. How can Italy's climate generally be described?
[ ] Arid
[x] Mediterranean
[ ] Temperate
[ ] Tropical
Hot, dry summers and warm, wet winters
6. What is Italy's longest river?
[ ] Adige
[ ] Arno
[x] Po
[ ] Tiber
The Po flows right across the north of the country
7. Italy's east coast is bordered by which sea?
[x] Adriatic
[ ] Black
[ ] Mediterranean
[ ] Tyrrhenian
It separates Italy from the Balkan states
8. Which is not an Italian lake?
[ ] Lake Como
[x] Lake Constance
[ ] Lake Garda
[ ] Lake Maggiore
The 'Italian Lakes' region lies just south of the Alps
9. Vesuvius is an active volcano close to which city?
[ ] Milan
[x] Naples
[ ] Rome
[ ] Turin
Despite the dangers, Vesuvius is a major tourist attraction
10. The large northern lowland area is the North Italian what?
[ ] Basin
[x] Plain
[ ] Strip
[ ] Terrace
It contains rich and fertile soils