Geography Quiz - Naman Gandhi

Quizmaster – Naman Gandhi

LET’S START WITH THE BASIC

1. Name a country whose name starts with the letter A but does

not finish with an A?

A. Azerbaijan, Afghanistan

2. What is the Capital of San Marino?

A. San Marino

3. The Panama Canal links which two bodies of water?

A. Pacific and Atlantic Ocean

4. How many times zones are in existence?

A. 24

5. What is the imaginary line connecting the North and South

Pole ?

A. Meridian, Longitude, Prime Meridian

LANDMARKS OF THE WORLD

6. Hint-Greek Orthodox Christian patriarchal

basilica, later an imperial mosque, and now a museum

A. Hagia Sophia

7. A building originally constructed for Expo 58, the 1958 World's Fair

in Europe

A. Atomium

8. Church in the Red Square. The building, now a museum, is

officially known as the Cathedral of the Intercession of the Most Holy

Theotokos on the Moat or Pokrovsky Cathedral. It was built

from 1555–61 and commemorates the capture of Kazan and

Astrakhan.

A. St. Basil’s Cathedral

9. The principal public square where it is generally known just as

la Piazza ("the Square").

A. San Marco, Doge’s Palace

10. Was named in 1870 during the Washburn-Langford-Doane Expedition and was the first

geyser in the park to receive a name. The park is a nearly 3,500-sq.-mile wilderness recreation

area atop a volcanic hot spot. Mostly in Wyoming, the park spreads into parts of

Montana and Idaho too. It features dramatic canyons, alpine rivers, lush forests, hot springs

and gushing geysers.

A. Old Faithful Geyser, Yellowstone National Park

NAME THE TERM

11. Stratus, cumulus, cirrus and nimbus are types of _________

A. Clouds

12. Give the another name for the Low Countries (Belgium, the

Netherlands and Luxembourg)

A. Benelux

13. What name is given to the scientific observation and study of

weather?

A. Meteorology

14. What term is used describe the height of a place above sea level?

A. Altitude

15. What is the study of Earthquakes called?

A. Seismology

EXPLORERS OF THE WORLD

16. Which tiny island country did Columbus discover on a Sunday?

A. Dominica (Italian for Sunday)

17. Map maker Martin Waldseemuller was the first person to use this Italian

explorer’s name as a place name discovered by another Italian explorer on mandate from the Spanish Royal Court?

A. Amerigo Vespucci

18. In 1513, Spanish explorer Ponce de León, seeking the mythical

"Fountain of Youth," discovered and named _______________________

A. Florida

19. The body was found on Mount Everest in May 1999 at 27,000 feet on the North side of the mountain and is subject of a book “Paths of

Glory” by Jeffrey Archer.

A. George Mallory

20. His fame as an explorer and his obsession with discovering the

sources of the River Nile was founded on the belief that if he could solve

that age-old mystery, his fame would give him the influence to end the

East African Arab-Swahili slave trade.

A. Sir David Livingstone

NAME THE COUNTRY

21. What country is the Hellenic Republic?

A. The Greeks call the country Hellas and its official name is the Hellenic Republic. In English, however, the country is usually called Greece, which comes from Latin Graecia (as used by the Romans) and

literally means 'the land of the Greeks'.

22. What is the only country in the world to be ruled by an Emperor

today?

A. Japan

23. Of the ten largest islands in the world, three are in which country?

A. Canada ( Baffin, Victoria, Ellesmere)

24. What is the largest country in the world without permanent

rivers?

A. Saudi Arabia

25. Which country occupies the Horn of Africa?

A. Somalia

WATERWORKS

26. Greek word, "Chief Sea", a cluster of islands. The first part of

which is also the name of a famous comic cartoon character.

A. Archipelago

27. What is the largest sea body in the world, excluding the oceans? A flashpoint in recent times between

countries surrounding it.

A. Philippines Sea

28. Which river divides the USA & Mexico?

A. Rio Grande

29. The border of Zambia and Zimbabwe is demarcated by this famous waterfall ___________

A. Victoria Falls

30. Which headland, south of Cape Town is a famous landmark for

maritime navigators?

A. Cape of Good Hope

NAME THE CITIES

31. The English took over the colony in 1664 during the second Anglo-Dutch War. They changed the name honour

the Duke, who later became King James II of England. The Dutch surrendered Nieuw Amsterdam without fighting.

A. New York

32. Founded by Arabs around AD 625 which, with a population of

over 6 million, is the largest city on the African continent. The citadel

containing the Muhammad Ali mosque was constructed in the

12th century by the Sultan Saladin?

A. Cairo

33. Where would you find the Mathematical Bridge so named

because it is allegedly constructed without using nails, based solely on

geometrical principals?

A. Cambridge

34. The name of which north African city literally means “White

House”?

A. Casablanca

35. Which city is nicknamed the “City of Light”?

A. Paris has many nicknames, but its most famous is "La Ville-Lumière"

(literally, "The Light City"; although most often translated as "The City of

Lights" or as "The City of Light"), a name it owes both to its fame as a

centre of education and ideas and its early adoption of street lighting.

NAME DERIVATIONS

36. This desert’s name means “desert” in Arabic

A. Sahara

37. Its name comes form the Latin phrase for “unknown southern

land.”

A. The name Australia derives from Latin australis meaning southern, and dates back to 2nd century legends of an "unknown southern land" (that is

terra australis incognita). The explorer Matthew Flinders named the land Terra Australis, which was

later abbreviated to the current form.

38. Which South American country's name is literally 'Land of

Silver'

A. The first use of the name Argentina can be traced back to the first voyages made by the Spanish and Portuguese conquerors to the Río de la Plata (meaning "River of

Silver")

39. Rapa Nui is the native word for which 'holiday' island?

A. Easter Island

40. What kind of creatures are the Canary Islands named after?

A. The name Islas Canarias is likely derived from the Latin name Canariae

Insulae, meaning "Islands of the Dogs"

FUN WITH FLAGS

41. Name the two countries in the world beginning with the letter 'S'

that have a sword or a saber on the national flag.

Sri Lanka

Saudi Arabia

42. Which two Asian countries have a red circle as the center

point of their flag?

A. Japan and Bangladesh

43. These 2 countries have the same flag which is a red and white horizontal bicolour flag. Name the

countries.

A. Poland, Monaco and Indonesia

44. Which countries’ flag has more than 4 sides?

A. Nepal

45. Which U.S. state flag contains a British Union Jack?

A. The Hawaiian flag was first created by King Kamehameha, who, after receiving both British and American flags as gifts

during the War of 1812, decided to show his neutrality by borrowing aspects of both for his national flag. This flag was eventually adopted as the state flag, when Hawaii became a state in 1959.

ROADS AND STREETS

46. A war between the English and Dutch threatened to spill over onto the

island's American colonies. So the Dutch, located at the southernmost part of the island, decided to erect a

barrier. Although this barrier was never used for its intended purpose, years

after its removal it left a legacy behind. Name this thoroughfare.

A. Wall Street

47. With the exception of a small incomplete section known as the

Darien Gap, which road that extends more than 15,000 miles is

the longest in the world?

A. Pan American Highway

48. It means “Federal Motorway” and has an almost mystical reputation among speeding

enthusiasts with no mandated speed limits.

A. Autobahn

49. Travelling over the Karakoram Highway will take you through the

world's highest border crossing station. Parts of this road traverse

which ancient travel route?

A. Silk Route

50. The road was built in the 1930s during the Chaco War by Paraguayan

prisoners. The North Yungas Road (also known as Grove's Road, Coroico

Road,Camino de las Yungas, Death Road, Road of death or Road of fate.) In 1995 the Inter-American Development Bank

christened it as the "world's most dangerous road". Name the Country.

A. Bolivia

MOUNTAINS AND VALLEYS

51. What is the Arab word for a dry desert valley or gully that

sometimes floods in a storm?

A. Wadi

52. What is the world’s highest mountain that isn’t part of a

range?

A. Mount Kilimanjaro

53. Which mountain stands at the entrance of the harbour at Rio de

Janeiro?

A. Sugar Loaf

54. Which Greek mountain was considered to be the home of the

gods in ancient times?

A. Mount Olympus

55. This mountain is the mythical home of Lord Shiva. It has also

never been climbed in recorded history. Name this peak.

A. Mount Kailash

Walls, Barries and Borders of The World

56. Modern history’s most infamous wall was erected in 1961. More than

100 people were eventually killed while trying to escape through the

maze of 12-foot walls, guard towers and electrified fences. Westerners dubbed it the “Wall of Shame”—it

stood for more than 28 years before finally it opened on November 9, 1989.

A. Berlin Wall

57. It is actually a collection of stone, wood and earthen barricades that

meander for thousands of miles The completed wall was once the largest manmade object in the world, but

despite its grandeur, it often proved ineffective as a defensive barrier.

A. The Great Wall of China

58. Which Mediterranean island is divided in 2 by the Atilla Line?

A. The frontier line dividing Greek from Turkish Cyprus following the

Turkish invasion of 1974. The invasion, which was likened to the action of Attila the Hun, put into

effect Turkey's scheme for the partition of Cyprus

59. The statue, known as “Christ the Redeemer of the Andes” was put

up in 1904 to signify peace between the two South American countries. A statue of Jesus, weighing in at 4 tons, separates the border here

between ________ and ________.

A. Argentina and Chile

60. The Diomedes are a pair of islands in the Bering Strait. Little Diomede

hosts the American city of Diomede, with a population of 146. Big Diomede belongs to Russia and is uninhabited.

The two islands are only about 2.5 miles (four kilometers) apart. The

_______________passes between the Diomedes and serves also as the border between the United States and Russia.

A. International Date Line

CURRIENCIES

61. Egyptian ____________62. Argentinean _________63. Nigerian ____________64. Venezuelan __________

65. The 4 currencies given above have something in common wrt to the British pound over the course

of 2016. What is it?

A. In fact, the pound lost more value than any of the world's major currencies from January to mid-July, and plunged to 30-year lows in the process. It isn't the only

currency that struggled, however, and some have been far worse. Minor currencies such as the Argentine peso (ARS),

Nigerian naira (NGN), Egyptian pound (EGP) and Venezuelan bolivar (VEF) have each fallen significantly

against the U.S. dollar (USD).

CAPITALS OF THE WORLD

66. Kosovo _________67. South Sudan ________68. Serbia / Montenegro

_________69. East Timor _________

70. What links these 4 nations together?

A. Pristina A. Juba

A. Belgrade / Podgorica A. Dilli

A. Last 4 nations to achieve Independence

Airlines of the World

75. What connects these 4 airlines?

A. Qatar Airways A. Aer Lingus

A. British Airways A. Iberia

A. All are connected to the International Airlines Group

GEOPOLITICS

76 – 80 . “A” is an island disputed between 2 friendly nations “B” and “C”. The island “A” is located in an overseas sovereign country of “C”

called “D”. Soldiers of both countries periodically place their flags there

and a case of “E” when their opposing soldiers come to replace

the flag.

A. Hans Island A. Canada

A. Denmark A. Greenland

A. Whiskey or Alcohol

81 – 85. “A” recently elected a new president who called the president

of their colonial occupiers “B” a ‘son of a whore’. He also pivoted

away from “B” to neighboring super power “C” recently on an overseas journey with whom it

recently won a tribunal case over “D” islands in “E” sea.

A. Philippines A. USA

A. China A. Spartly Islands

A. South China Sea

The End !!