Olympic-Level Midsummer U.S. Geography Quiz
I had some fun while endlessly waiting for the commercials to end during the Olympics recently, so I jotted down some questions to see how much Americans know about their own country. Think you know U.S. geography? Then you'll like the rest of this column. Hate geography and hate quizzes? Well, check back tomorrow for more of the usual sort of fare here.
There are no sneaky questions here (at least I think there aren't) -- this is basic U.S. geography and history. For contrast, here's an example of a sneaky geography question (this one, unlike our quiz, is not limited to the U.S., I should point out):
You are a brave explorer, and you wake up one morning to discover that you seem to be lost. You head out to reconnoiter from your campsite, walking one mile due south. You don't see anything, so you then walk one mile due west. Still seeing nothing, you turn and walk one mile due north. You are astonished at the end of this, because you find yourself right back at your campsite. While you are scratching your head and trying to figure this seeming impossibility out, a bear wanders by in the distance. What color is the bear?
That's not original, so some of you may already know the answer to it. I'll provide it, after our little quiz. There are a whole bunch of questions here, so I would strongly advise anyone attempting the quiz to number and write down your answers, as it'll be impossible to keep track otherwise. The answers will be provided via a link at the end of the column, so you don't have to worry about "spoilers" as you scroll down.
Looking at any map, globe, or any other reference (electronic or not) is verboten. You've got to keep the spirit of the quiz by seeing how many of these you know off the top of your head. All of these questions are about the entire United States of America (territories and possessions excluded), unless otherwise specified.
Ready? Here we go...
Qualifying heat (1 point for each correct answer)
1. Name one of the two U.S. states which shares a border with the greatest number of other states.
2. How many other states does your previous answer touch?
3. Which U.S. state is easternmost?
4. Westernmost?
5. Northernmost?
6. Southernmost?
7. Which of the Great Lakes is wholly within the United States (i.e., doesn't touch Canada)?
8. Which was the last of the 48 contiguous states to join the Union?
9. What state is the Golden Spike in?
10. What state is Mount Rushmore in?
11. What state is Gettysburg in?
12. Which is the only state with laws based on the Napoleonic Code?
13. Name one state which, at one point in its history, was wholly a part of another state (hint: being part of one of the 13 pre-1776 colonies or any "territory" doesn't count)?
14. Allowing for the curvature of the Earth, only two states are perfect rectangles. Name both of them.
15. Not counting the answers to the previous question, only one other state is comprised solely of straight lines. Name it.
Bonus question (one point for each right answer)
What state are the following in: Kalamazoo, Kitty Hawk, Walla Walla, and Sing Sing?
Semi-finals (getting tougher -- 2 points each)
16. Which was the fourteenth state (the first to join after the original colonies)?
17. Which two states bordering the Atlantic Ocean were not original colonies?
18. Which has the westernmost point on its coastline -- California, Oregon, or Washington?
19. Which is furthest south -- Florida (Keys) or Texas?
20. Which of the 48 contiguous states is furthest north?
21. What state was created by the split of the Civil War?
22. Which two states contain the land gained from the Gadsden Purchase?
23. What state contains the headwaters of the Mississippi River?
24. In what state is the geographic center of the 48 contiguous states?
25. Which three states have land in Yellowstone National Park?
26. What state has the most National Parks?
27. What is the most-visited National Park (hint: the answer might surprise you)?
28. Mt. McKinley (or Denali) is the highest point in North America, as well as the highest point in Alaska. Which state has the second-highest "high point"?
29. Rhode Island is the smallest state. Which is second-smallest?
30. What is the only state capital (that is not on an island) that you cannot drive to?
Bonus (2 points each)
What state contains the following: Grand Coulee Dam, Meteor Crater, Crater Lake?
The medal round (4 points each)
31. What is the only state which uses part of the Continental Divide as part of its border?
32. Not counting Alaska or Hawai'i, there are at least three states in the following category: part of the state's territory is a part of a peninsula -- but this segment of the state is separated from the main part of the state by water, and to travel by land between the two would take you out of the state. Name two of these states (one should be fairly easy).
33. What state has, as part of its border, the only manmade (not part of a river or other geographical feature, in other words) segment of a circle?
34. Five states were fully within the Northwest Territory. Name at least four of them.
35. Eight states border the Great Lakes. Name at least seven of them.
36. What state has the lowest "high point" of all 50 states?
37. In what state is the only place in America where diamonds have been mined?
38. What state has the biggest cave (greatest total length of surveyed passages) in the world?
39. What state has one of the world's biggest springs, which feeds the shortest river on Earth?
40. What was the first state to allow women the right to vote?
41. What state also entered the Union as part of the Missouri Compromise?
42. In what state did a war almost break out between the US and Britain over the shooting of a pig?
43. In what state is Antietam?
44. In what state is the Cadillac Ranch?
45. In what state is Carhenge?
Final bonus question (4 points):
If you start in the center of Detroit and head due south, what is the first foreign country you will hit?
OK, pencils down. Check your answers by clicking over to the answers page.
Oh, and the bear? It was white.
The only place on Earth where you could exactly keep to the language of this tricky story is if your campsite was directly on the North Pole. The only bear up there which could walk by is a polar bear.
But enough of this nonsense, let's move on to scoring your answers (return here after checking your answers).
Scoring
Add up all right answers (including bonus question answers) in first section. Add up all right answers in second section, multiply these by two. Add up all right answers in third section, multiply these by four. Add these three numbers together, and you have your total.
Ranking
0 to 15 points -- No medal for you. Are you sure you can find your way home?
15 to 45 points -- Bronze medal. Better luck next time...
45 to 75 points -- Silver medal. Excellent performance, but not quite good enough.
75 to 120 points -- Gold medal! Woo hoo! You are a U.S. Geography Wizard!
There are actually more than 120 points possible, since that doesn't count the bonus questions. But I'd be surprised if anyone gets over 100, since -- counting the ones I had to look up on a map as "wrong" -- I scored under 90 myself, and I created this quiz.
Follow Chris on Twitter: @ChrisWeigant
Geography is not our strong suit, I take it. :)
LizM -
Jeez, EVERYONE's too chicken to try it?
Give it a shot! It's fun!
:-)
-CW
Okay, I'll try ... :)
Damn. I've been boycotting the comments for about a week since the crazies took over; but thanks to Elizabeth I'll confess I scored 35 on the night this challenge was posted. I don't feel TOO bad; being Canadian and having only been to 5 states in my lifetime. So there's your first admitted score. And Elizabeth, I expect you to do us proud since I'm positive your states visited and overall brilliance blow me away :)
Kevin -
Hey, 35 is pretty good! When I was adding up the point scale at the end, I was wondering if anyone would get over 15 points. Especially from a Canuck, I think that's a pretty impressive score, personally...
I doubt I could name 5 provinces of Canada. I kind of lost interest when they were trying to rename one of them "Bob" but the politicians overruled the attempt, I have to admit.
:-)
Anyway, so far the gold medal mark stands at 35. Anyone else willing to post your results? As I said, if I didn't count the ones I had to look up, I would have gotten somewhere in the 75-85 range myself, and I WROTE the quiz.
My secret: I used to participate in a pub quiz group a while back, and there were all sorts of persnickety questions about state geography. I remembered some of the more notable questions from back then, that's all.
So, who can beat Kevin? Anybody?
-CW
Kevin -
OK, I have to ask: did you get the final bonus question, about Detroit?
(don't include the answer as part of your comment, for those who haven't clicked to the answer sheet yet)
-CW
Chris,
I'm embarrassed, but no. Even though I've driven within a few hundred miles of Detroit 3 different times, so I should know :(
The truth is, I was on a national TV quiz show back when I was in high school (Reach for the Top, Elizabeth might be old enough to remember it), and scored most of my points on the trickier questions and bonus ones...we had to know that sort of stuff if my team was going to get anywhere.
I've only been to Washington, Oregon, California, Nevada and New York (!) near Niagara Falls; so a LOT of your questions I had a rough idea but no personal experience anywhere near. Good quiz, though. If I realize my Bucket List and get to drive through most of my unseen states, I'd like to think I'd approach your score :)
Chris,
Now you've got me thinking...I spent more time in France with my girlfriend (who I met through the quiz show) than I have in the U.S....and I lived in Vancouver for over 30 years. A retroactive pat on my back, if I'd spent more than a few seconds on each question; I think I'd have eked out maybe 10 more points...I was ashamed about the 35 I originally scored :(
Kevin -
Seem to have scared everyone else off... guess it's just me and you...
Acutally, Canada's best quizmaster is the US' gain, every night on "Jeopardy!" here...
:-)
Maybe I like geography because I've been to a lot of these places and learned the quirky facts first-hand. I've been to 48 states, so far...
-CW
Chris,
Which 2 are you missing? I know I'm going to be amazed..
C'mon already...North Dakota and Mississippi? A pathetic mind is dying to know :)
Maine and Alaska? Wake up and answer already!!!
Kevin -
Your last guess almost got it. This is going to shock Michale, but I've actually never been to Alaska and Florida.
:-)
-CW
Chris,
I'm quite surprised about Florida. To me, most states are relatively "small" compared to the western provinces; I'm loopy enough that if I'd been close to Florida I would have just crossed its border so I could say I'd been there :) Going to Niagara Falls, N.Y. was strictly so I could add New York to my sad little list of states visited.
Still waiting for Elizabeth's quiz score...
While we're waiting for Elizabeth, I'm mildly surprised none of your native commenters have checked in with their scores. David, Matt, Joshua and LewDan among others have impressed me with their intelligence, and I gather Michale has lived in a number of areas of the country. I really expected at least one of them to have approached your level of expertise; maybe the myth about Americans being geographically clueless has some truth in it :)
"Winning" a contest where I'm the only entrant won't do my ego any good :(
I'm still working on it! Should be done by the weekend. :)
I'm hoping that Hawai'i is the answer to more than one of them. Heh.
Seriously, Kevin, if you've not been to New York City or Washington D.C. yet, then you really must add them to your list!
By the way, after I post my result and it's just you and me, you'll be the sure winner. And, we can safely assume that the rest of the gang wouldn't do any better either or they would have posted their personal bests by now. :)
Elizabeth,
Sheesh, times up already :) Seriously, since it just seems to be you, me and CW on this comment thread; I'll dare to whisper the question, "where's Michale been and is he OK?" At least his absence has resulted in MUCH shorter comment numbers lately :)