GeoDictation blitz contests culminates

Volcanoes of Kamchatka. Photo: Elena Vereshchaka, participant of the Russian Geographical Society contest "The Most Beautiful Country"

The final blitz contest of 2023 "GEOPHYSICS AND CLIMATE" will last one week (April 3-9)

The Russian Geographical Society invites you to take part in a series of short thematic competitions, thanks to which everyone can submit their ideas for the questions of the Geographical Dictation – 2023. Let's briefly repeat the general concept:

  • Seven blitz contests "Write your question for the Geographical Dictation" are dedicated to the Year of the Teacher and Mentor.
  • Two competitions are opened weekly on a specific theme, inspired by anniversaries and related to school courses.
  • Facts and questions sent to each of the blitz contests should be focused on the geography of Russia in conjunction with the proposed topic.
  • Students compete in most interesting facts that they learned thanks to their teachers; Mentors share the most unusual questions their students have asked.
  • From February 13 to May 17, 2023, the international competition "Write your question for Geographical Dictation – 2023" is held, for which no more than three original questions can be submitted. Participation in both the blitz series and the international competition is welcome, but the submission of the same question is not allowed.

The final theme of a series of short thematic competitions, formulated on the eve of the International Day of Mother Earth celebrated on April 22, is "Geophysics and Climate". We are waiting for the brightest and entertaining facts about the processes and phenomena observed in the natural shells of the planet, including meteorological phenomena in relation to Russia, that impressed the Students, and non-standard questions that the Mentors heard from their pupils and students.

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Snowstorm in the mountains. Photo: Tatyana Borisova, participant of the Russian Geographical Society contest "The Most Beautiful Country"

Ideas submitted a pair of blitz contests under this topic should be devoted to geophysical processes occurring in the lithosphere, hydrosphere and atmosphere. Questions and facts may regard:

  • currents of the World Ocean washing the territory of Russia; winds and atmospheric circulations observed in the atmosphere over the territory of the country, as well as the influence of these water and air currents on the climate in Russia;
  • geomagnetic processes and phenomena observed in the country;
  • the specifics of climate change occurring in the vastness of Russia and their impact on global climate processes;
  • distribution of permafrost on the territory of Russia and its impact on the historical, economic, transport development of the country;
  • seismic processes and phenomena taking place in Russia, seismically active regions of the country, as well as technological solutions aimed at ensuring comfortable living conditions for the population in these regions;
  • the most important geochronological events that took place on the territory of Russia.

Questions and facts covering the scientific achievements of Russian scientists in the field of climatology and meteorology, oceanology, cryology, volcanology are also welcome.

In order for your idea to be accepted for the competition and, in case of victory, to form the basis of one of the tasks of the main version of the Geographical Dictation 2023, the submitted fact or question must meet a number of criteria:

1. Question types. The competition accepts questions of an exclusively closed type, with multiple answers. Important: there can only be one correct answer per question and, similarly, only one unquestionable interpretation is possible for a fact. Requirements for questions and examples of their presentation are fixed in Appendix No. 1 to the Regulations on the competition (in Russian).

2. Originality. The competition accepts questions and facts that do not repeat the content of the tasks of the Geographical Dictation of previous years. You can see all the variants for past seasons of the Geographical Dictation here (and test your knowledge as well).

3. Amount of submitted questions. There is a strict limit here – one person can submit no more than three questions to the blitz contest.

Let us briefly recall the procedure for holding a series of short thematic competitions:

  • Questions and facts are checked by experts who determine the best ideas, on the basis of which the tasks of the main variant of the Geographical Dictation will be formulated.
  • Two Winners of each topic – the Mentor and the Student – will receive Contest certificates and a gift certificate that allows to pay for a tourist trip "with an open date" along one of the routes recommended by the Russian Geographical Society.
  • The list of Winners will appear on the website of the Russian Geographical Society no later than May 17, 2023.
  • By decision of the Competition Commission, a group of Finalists can also be determined, from which no more than four Prize-winners can be selected within each topic.

PARTICIPATE IN THE COMPETITION

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Dawn in the Pacific. Photo: Alexey Yablunovsky, participant of the Russian Geographical Society contest "The Most Beautiful Country"