45 geography trivia questions and answers
The bank balances capitals and countries with oceans, rivers, deserts, mountains, islands, borders, map lines, landforms, and geographic edge cases.
Updated
Questions 1–20
What is the largest ocean on Earth?
easy
The Pacific Ocean
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pacific_Ocean?oldid=1365892953
Which continent contains the Sahara Desert?
easy
Africa
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sahara?oldid=1362700122
Which South American river’s status as the world’s longest river system is disputed with the Nile?
easy
The Amazon River
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amazon_River?oldid=1365841520
How many regions constitute Italy?
hard
20 regions
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italy?oldid=1365858575#Administrative_divisions
What imaginary line divides Earth into Northern and Southern Hemispheres?
easy
The Equator
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equator?oldid=1364542125
Which continent is also a country?
easy
Australia
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australia?oldid=1365983641
How is the Indian Ocean bounded to the north, west, and east?
medium
Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_Ocean?oldid=1366030736
Which mountain is the highest above sea level?
easy
Mount Everest
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Everest?oldid=1365907460
True or false: the Nile flows generally north.
medium
The Nile flows north
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nile?oldid=1366006663
Which country contains the city of Barcelona?
easy
Spain
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barcelona?oldid=1364706680
Which city had about 200,000 inhabitants in 1328 and was already France's capital?
hard
Paris
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paris?oldid=1365435157#High_and_Late_Middle_Ages_to_Louis_XIV
Which European country contains the city of Rome?
easy
Italy
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rome?oldid=1365079961
Which Japanese city is officially called the Tokyo Metropolis?
medium
Tokyo
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tokyo?oldid=1365982412
Which nation has a maple leaf on its flag?
easy
Canada
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_Canada?oldid=1360679590
Which Australian capital city was formally named in 1913?
medium
Canberra
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canberra?oldid=1365086707
Which UK meridian served as a country-specific prime meridian in the 18th century?
medium
The Greenwich meridian
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prime_meridian?oldid=1361215580#History
Which city is both Egypt's largest city and the capital of Cairo Governorate?
easy
Cairo
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cairo?oldid=1364866999
Which river runs through London?
easy
The River Thames
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/River_Thames?oldid=1365965350
What is the capital of Brazil?
medium
Brasília
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bras%C3%ADlia?oldid=1365616413
How does the length of a degree of longitude change toward the poles?
hard
The length of a degree of longitude decreases
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Longitude?oldid=1365130151#Length_of_a_degree_of_longitude
Questions 21–40
Which country has coastlines on the Atlantic, Pacific, and Arctic oceans?
medium
Canada
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geography_of_Canada?oldid=1365163186
Which Pacific quadrant lies off South America?
medium
The Southeast Pacific
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pacific_Ocean?oldid=1365892953
What is the capital of Kenya?
medium
Nairobi
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nairobi?oldid=1365483999
How many countries does the Danube flow through or border?
hard
Ten
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danube?oldid=1364618141
Which sea has no land coastline and is bounded by ocean currents?
hard
The Sargasso Sea
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sargasso_Sea?oldid=1357999290
What is the capital of Thailand?
medium
Bangkok
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bangkok?oldid=1366053999#Government
Which two countries have traditionally used the 1,668 mm Iberian railway gauge?
hard
Spain and Portugal
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iberian_Peninsula?oldid=1364035765#Transportation
What is the capital of Canada?
medium
Ottawa
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ottawa?oldid=1366046499#Selection_as_capital
Which country is home to the ancient city of Petra?
medium
Jordan
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petra?oldid=1365738883
Why does the International Date Line zigzag?
medium
To pass around some territories and island groups
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Date_Line?oldid=1365900798
Which strait separates Asia from North America?
medium
The Bering Strait
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bering_Strait?oldid=1365907769#Geography_and_science
What is the capital of Argentina?
medium
Buenos Aires
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buenos_Aires?oldid=1365309606
What geographic point does Antarctica contain?
easy
The geographic South Pole
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antarctica?oldid=1365279816
Which African lake is the source region of the White Nile?
hard
Lake Victoria
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_Nile?oldid=1360314011#In_Uganda
What is the capital of New Zealand?
medium
Wellington
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wellington?oldid=1362596677
How does a fjord form?
medium
A glacier cuts a U-shaped valley
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fjord?oldid=1364094600#Formation
Which country completely surrounds Lesotho?
hard
South Africa
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lesotho?oldid=1362575173
What is the largest island that is not considered a continent?
easy
Greenland
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greenland?oldid=1364838849#Geography
Which river passes through Vienna, Bratislava, Budapest, and Belgrade?
medium
The Danube
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danube?oldid=1364618141#Geography
What is an exclave?
hard
A portion of a state or district geographically separated from the main part
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enclave_and_exclave?oldid=1361617927
Questions 41–45
Which point on Earth is farthest from its center because of the equatorial bulge?
hard
The summit of Chimborazo
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chimborazo?oldid=1363739878#Farthest_point_from_Earth's_center
How many countries are landlocked by a single country?
hard
Three countries
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landlocked_country?oldid=1365690789#Landlocked_by_a_single_country
Which desert is the driest non-polar desert on Earth?
medium
The Atacama
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atacama_Desert?oldid=1366052548
How is an atoll typically formed?
hard
The sinking of a volcanic island around which a coral fringing reef has formed
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atoll?oldid=1359424551
Together, how do the Bosporus, Sea of Marmara, and Dardanelles function?
hard
International passages that connect the Aegean and Mediterranean seas to the Black Sea
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turkish_Straits?oldid=1364644043
How to play
State clearly whether the answer must be a city, country, continent, river, sea, or landform. For disputed records and multi-country questions, keep the qualifying wording and requested number of answers.
Plan the round and team scores
8 turns × 60 seconds = 8 minutes of play, plus instructions and breaks.
60
These are adjustable house rules. Pause whenever the group needs more time.
Team 1: 0
Team 2: 0