How Will You Do on This Tough, Irritating Geography Quiz?

John Miller

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About This Quiz

The Earth is a massive and wondrous place, full of wondrous landscapes, seemingly bottomless oceans and countless diverse ecosystems. And as such, its geography continually blows the minds of even experienced scientists. What do you really know about the geography of our home world?

You already knew that Australia is a really large place. But did you know that its land mass is actually wider than the moon? And did you know that the Dead Sea is more than 1,400 feet below sea level?

Our mountain ranges boggle the mind, too. Can you name the tallest peaks in North and South America? And did you know that those neck-tweaking peaks are actually pint-size compared to the monstrous cliffs in Asia?

You learned in grade school that water covers more than 70% of the planet’s surface. Do you know the names of the largest oceans and lakes? And do you really know where the biggest reserves of saltwater and fresh water rest?

In our amazing geography quiz, we’ll zoom from the bottom of the oceans to the top of Mount Everest and back again. Take our strange and difficult geography test now!

By area, what's the largest country on Earth?

Russia is a truly massive country, the biggest in the world. It borders 14 other countries and features everything from tundra to mountains to deserts and everything in between.

Where would you find a big volcano called Mauna Loa?

Mauna Loa is a an active volcano in Hawaii, and scientists call it the biggest on Earth. It has been erupting intermittently for around 700,000 years, most recently in 1984.

Which country has the most coastline?

Sure, Australia is surrounded by water, but Canada's immensity actually means it has more coastline -- roughly 150,000 miles worth, more than any other nation.

Most of Earth's population lives in which hemisphere?

Most of the world's land rests in the Northern Hemisphere, so it logically follows that this is where 90% of the human population resides. At least, that will be the case until humans grow gills and dorsal fins and repopulate the lost city of Atlantis.

Where is most of the fresh water on Earth?

Scientists say that about 90% of Earth's fresh water is frozen in Antartica in huge sheets of ice. The icy continent spans about 5.4 million square miles.

Which of Earth's oceans is the smallest?

The Pacific is the world's biggest ocean -- the Arctic is the smallest. It's deep, though. The Arctic averages about 12,000 feet in depth.

Where is the Nile located?

The Nile is, according to some sources, the longest river in the world, although it has serious competition from the Amazon in South America. It runs across the northeast side of Africa.

Which major world city is the only one to span two continents?

Istanbul, Turkey has the distinction of being the only city to rest between two continents. It straddles the bit of land that connects Asia and Europe.

Where would you find a famous feature named the San Andreas Fault?

The San Andreas Fault is a famous fault line (tectonic plate boundary) in California. It always has a starring role in Hollywood's earthquake disaster films.

Which continent is the only one to span all four hemispheres?

Africa is the hub of the world. Of Earth's seven continents, just one -- Africa -- spans all four hemispheres.

Greenland is the biggest ____ on Earth.

Hawaii can only dream of making it this big. Greenland is Earth's biggest island, with more than 830,000 square miles of land mass.

How many individual U.S. states are bigger than the entire United Kingdom?

The U.S. is a big country full of big states, particularly out West. Eleven states are larger than the entire United Kingdom, which is around 93,000 square miles

Which country is the largest in the western hemisphere?

Canada is an enormous nation, second only to Russia in terms of land mass. It sprawls for more than 3.8 million square miles yet has a population smaller than California.

At their closest point, how far apart are the United States and Russia?

The extreme size of Alaska and Russia finds these two places near one another in the Bering Strait. There, two islands bring the countries even closer together, at a distance of only about 2.5 miles.

Some geographers say that there are only six continents instead of seven, because they prefer to combine ______.

Europe and Asia are one large landmass, so many geographers tend to lump them together. So you can say there are six continents, or seven, depending on your preference.

Which continent is the most populous?

It's a good thing that Asia is a humongous place, because it's home to more than 4.5 billion people. That's about 60% of the planet's entire population.

Which of the following areas is the largest in terms of land mass?

Alaska is America's biggest state, much larger than California. But it has around 660,000 square miles, while Greenland has more than 830,000 square miles.

Which two countries share the longest border on Earth?

The border between Canada and the U.S. is the longest in the world. There are 13 states and eight provinces along the border, not to mention about 100,000 moose.

True or false, does Russia's Lake Baikal hold more water than all of the Great Lakes combined?

Lake Baikal, in Siberia, is the world's largest and deepest lake, and it stores more water than all of the Great Lakes combined. It actually contains about 20% of all of Earth's unfrozen fresh water.

What's special about Mt. Thor, in Canada?

On Baffin Island, Canada, you'll find an impressive sight: Mt. Thor. This mountain features a vertical drop of more than 4,100 feet, the highest sheer vertical drop in the world, so if you're scared of heights, this is probably not your ideal tourist location.

In terms of land area, which South American country is largest?

Brazil is a very big country, the fifth-largest in the world and the largest in South America. It makes up most of the east coast of the continent.

Where in the world would you find a famous mountain named Denali?

Denali, in Alaska, is the highest peak in all of North America. Denali is more than 20,000 feet tall … far short of Mount Everest, which measures more than 29,000 feet.

True or false, is Reno, Nevada actually farther west than Los Angeles, California?

We swear we aren't making this one up. In a weird twist of geography, the inland city of Reno really is located roughly 80 miles farther west than Los Angeles, which rests on the coast.

Mount Elbrus is the highest peak in _____.

In Russia, you'll spy Mount Elbrus, the tallest peak in all of Europe. It soars to about 18,510 feet, and for comparison's sake, that’s about 1,500 feet lower than Denali in Alaska.

Africa is the world's _____ continent.

Sure, there are plenty of lush forests in Africa, but it is the world's hottest continent. About 60% of its lands are desert or drylands.

What's the smallest country in the world?

In 1929, Vatican City became independent from Italy, making it the smallest individual country in the world. It spans (far) less than one square mile and has a population of about 1,000.

The Baltic Sea is part of which ocean?

The Baltic Sea stretches along a series of countries in northern Europe, such as Sweden, Finland, Poland and more. It is considered part of the Atlantic Ocean.

True or false, is the Sahara Desert bigger than the United States?

There's a reason the Sahara Desert is known as a harsh, unforgiving and deadly place. It is dry and is hot and it is enormous, larger even than the United States.

Which U.S. state is BOTH the westernmost and easternmost state in the country?

Alaska is obviously at the extreme western part of the U.S. But many people don't realize that parts of Alaska also extend into the eastern hemisphere, making it the easternmost and westernmost state in the Union.

Mongolia rests between which two nations?

Mongolia is a large sovereign nation between China and Russia. It has a population of just 3 million people, making it the most sparsely populated nation on Earth.

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