Do you know Your Yukon? Test your environmental knowledge with our third annual Christmas quiz. Winners will receive a lovely and informative northern natural history book.

Send your answers, along with a return address, to Your Yukon Quiz Central, Environment Canada, 91782 Alaska Hwy., Whitehorse, Y1A 5B7. or fax them to (867) 667-7962. All correct answers arriving by January 15 will be placed in a large, woolly, Yukon-style hat, and three lucky winners will be drawn.

1999 XMAS QUIZ

1. What is the meaning of "autogenous?"
    
   
   1. someone who is a wizard at car design
   2. biting insects that do not feed on blood
   3. a species that feeds only on its own kind
   4. a method for automatically changing gene pools
   
   
2. What factor contributes to crashes of hare populations every ten years or so?
    
   
   1. too many bad hare days
   2. too many lynx and coyotes
   3. too much eating
   4. uncoordinated hopping
   
   
3. Why are there so many kettles around Long and Chadburn Lakes?
    
   
   1. lots of tea drinkers live in the area
   2. someone tried to turn a pot hole lake into a hot tub
   3. many large chunks of glacial ice melted in place there
   4. they were left behind by Klondikers who switched to coffee after surviving the Whitehorse Rapids
   
   
4. What is a halophile?
    
   
   1. a sacred document
   2. a lover of halos
   3. a salt-loving plant
   4. a breath mint
   
   
5. What is bander's grip?
    
   
   1. an affliction suffered by rock musicians
   2. a special way of holding birds while they are being banded
   3. a secret handshake used by ornithologists
   4. a stagehand at a musical concert
   
   
6. What does ECM stand for?
    
   
   1. Everyone Clap Madly
   2. Environment Canada Mentality
   3. Ecto-mycorrhizal
   4. Environment-Crazed Maniac
   
   
7. Why do so many bird watchers go into the woods on Boxing Day?
    
   
   1. to see which birds sing the best Christmas Carols
   2. to help with the Christmas Bird Count
   3. to secretly exchange presents they don't like
   4. they're not allowed to go on Christmas Day
   
   
8. Which claim to fame do some people in Mayo think they should hold?
    
   
   1. closest town to Elsa
   2. record for the coldest temperature ever recorded in North America
   3. most central Yukon community
   4. midpoint on a great circle route from Beijing to Paris
   
   
9. Where are you most likely to find Trumpeter Swans on New Year's Day?
    
   
   1. sunning on a beach in Mexico
   2. eating potatoes in a field in southern B.C.
   3. playing in a brass band in Las Vegas
   4. partying with Whooping Cranes
   
   
10. Why did the Yukon River change direction three million years ago?
     
    
    1. it was tired of the same old scenery
    2. the Cordilleran ice sheet blocked its way
    3. a huge earthquake reversed the river's flow
    4. Quidlquatl, an ancient Yukon River monster, swallowed the river and spat it out in the opposite direction
    
    
11. What is a feeding buzz?
     
    
    1. excitement over a new restaurant
    2. the opposite of an ice cream head ache
    3. a gathering of excited bees or wasps converging on a new food source
    4. high rate of echolocation signals sent out by bats when they find insects
    
    
12. Why is red belt bad for trees?
     
    
    1. it clashes with the boreal colour scheme
    2. if applied too roughly, it can strip the bark
    3. it is a sign that the trees' needles have dried out
    4. it fits too tight and keeps the sap from flowing
    
    
13. Why is lead 210 used for radio dating?
     
    
    1. it has a short half life
    2. it does not mind going Dutch Treat
    3. it is more popular than zinc
    4. other forms of lead are too difficult to broadcast using conventional radio waves
    
    

MERRY CHRISTMAS!