Midsummer U.S. Geography Trivia Game
This didn't get much response when I ran it last week, so I am rebranding it as a "trivia game" rather than the "Q-word" in the hopes a few other people will respond. Also, I am lazy. Well, actually, I'm busy today and had no time to write or edit a new column.
Anyway, the bar to try for is currently a score of 35. This is both the high-water mark and the low-water mark, since we've only had one reported score so far. Surely you can do better than that! Since I wrote this last week, it has an "Olympic" sort of feel to it, so if you're sick of that sort of thing, just concentrate on the questions themselves.
There are a whole bunch of questions here, so I would strongly advise everyone 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 game 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.
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
-- Chris Weigant
Cross-posted at Business Insider
Cross-posted at The Huffington Post
Follow Chris on Twitter: @ChrisWeigant
Nobody?
Where's HawkOwl... I have a suspicion he would do well on this... where's Stan, for that matter?
-CW
42 points...a bronze for me.
45...
Plus I think I deserve Extra Credit for #24...
Lebanon, Kansas...
You can thank Disney's THE COMPUTER WORE TENNIS SHOES for that little gem.. :D
Michale.....
Hawkowl: Score was 84, which is a little unfair as I'm old enough to have driven in all of the Lower 48 States . . . and had a fine time doing so. Best Q (i.e., biggest surprise for me) was the one about the spring feeding the shortest river. Never heard of that one. Great fun! Thanks, Chris.
Well, since we're picking Best Question... :D
42. In what state did a war almost break out between the US and Britain over the shooting of a pig?
You will likely not find more beautiful country in the United States than ..... the location that is the answer to that question... (Whew!! Almost gave the answer away!! :D) ..
Some of THE best SCUBA diving I have ever seen and I have dove Okinawa to Bahamas...
Michale
Last place, after just 3 more entries...sniff...:(
Glad to see you're alive and kicking, Michale,
I'd wondered where you'd been on the previous thread of this contest.
Thanx, Kevin..
Had some family matters that took me away from things for a bit...
Michale
Now that's a little more like it!
Heh.
Maybe I should "handicap" the scores. How about: take your final score, and then subtract how many US states you have ever visited.
I forget what my exact score was, it was close to HawkOwl's (but then again, I created the quiz). Subtracting 48 would give me a score very close to Kevin's.
Michale -
OK, here's a bonus-bonus: what state is the geographical center of the ENTIRE United States (AK and HI included). The answer might surprise you, since it isn't a whole lot further west than the Kansas one. Hint: it's not in Kansas. I've been there, or as close as you can get on a main road (about 10 miles from the actual spot).
HawkOwl -
I learned the shortest river one while being part of a "Pub Quiz" team. Each week, a different state would be part of the quiz.
Michale -
I'm impressed -- I didn't expect ANYone to get that one right! I had to look up exactly where "the Pig War" took place (I knew the state, but not the place name), myself.
Kevin -
Well, at least we got some more folks to finish it!
:-)
-CW
How did people do on the other ones I thought were the trickiest:
32) the "separate peninsula" one.
33) the "circle part of the border" one -- I kind of knew this one, but never really knew it was the only instance until recently, while researching something completely separate.
37) the diamond mine
???
Do tell!
-CW
One more comment:
I have to admit, the last bonus (the Detroit one) was taken from one of the first versions of Trivial Pursuit. I still remember that question, because I didn't believe the answer and went and looked it up on a map.
-CW
OK, here's a bonus-bonus: what state is the geographical center of the ENTIRE United States (AK and HI included). The answer might surprise you, since it isn't a whole lot further west than the Kansas one. Hint: it's not in Kansas. I've been there, or as close as you can get on a main road (about 10 miles from the actual spot).
Ya got me... It wasn't in COMPUTER WORE TENNIS SHOES :D
I'm impressed -- I didn't expect ANYone to get that one right! I had to look up exactly where "the Pig War" took place (I knew the state, but not the place name), myself.
It's only because I have been there MANY times. The exact spot where the war almost happened, as a matter of fact... "British Camp" still flies the Union Jack to this day... :D
Michale.....
Obviously not being from the US and being awful at Geography I didn't attempt this. But I did look at the bonus question and got that one correct (I have friends from just across the border :))! So 4 pts for me!
Michale -
It's on the western edge of North Dakota.
:-)
-CW
Kevin -
Well, there you go. You're still ahead of michty6!
michty6 -
I'm impressed, that one is a tough one unless you know the area personally.
:-)
-CW
OK, I went back and took stabs at the 20 questions I didn't bother answering the first time...I was crushed, only managed to eke out 3 points to get me up to 38 :(
I do have a quibble with question 32; I was SURE I was right about Washington. There's a little finger pointing south from B.C. called Point Roberts, legendary from years of Vancouver beer runs. There's a customs stop and everything. To get from Point Roberts to the rest of Washington, you have to drive out and through about 30 miles of B.C. to get into Washington proper. I'll understand if Point Roberts was too small to qualify as a peninsula.
P.S. - If the judges (you) rule in my favor, add another 4 points to my sad total :)
Kevin, you are dead on balls accurate..
I know Point Bob well.. :D
And you do indeed have to enter Canada from WA state before you can get to Point Roberts...
#32 didn't make any specifications about the size of the peninsula, so WA State would indeed be a correct answer...
Michale...
Thanks, Michale :)
I'd say I'm gaining on you; but now that I've answered all the questions, even if CW awards me the extra four points you still beat me. I expected nothing less :) Glad (!!!) you're back.
P.S. Michale -
Did you ever go to the Breakers?
Kevin -
I have officially updated the answer sheet. Point Roberts does indeed count.
[I'm just assuming anyone who reads this far in the comments has already taken the quiz, so there is officially no need from this point on to worry about "spoilers".]
Michigan was the one I thought would be easy (it's essentially just two peninsulas). Not many know about VA (unless you're in the Navy, in which case you probably know the area quite well). The one in MN is tiny, too -- that little bump at the top of the map that makes MN the northernmost state of the 48.
Anyway, thanks for the update -- WA's "Point Bob" does indeed count!
-CW
Speaking of Washington,
Has anyone been to the northwesternmost point of land in the 48? Forget what it's called, Point Something-or-another. Spectacular!
For geography buffs, I've been to two of the extreme points in the 48 (Northeasternmost in Maine, Northwesternmost in WA), and also two of the ordinal ones for the entire country (Easternmost, at least on land -- there's an island even further east I didn't get to -- is the same spot in Maine as the Northeasternmost previously mentioned) and Southernmost, South Point on the big island of Hawai'i.
:-)
I love geographic oddities... what can I say?
-CW
I knew those 50+ beer runs and trips to the Breakers would payoff :) At least now I'm no longer alone in last, sorry michty; knowing your background barred me from counting your 4 points as CW so politely suggested :) Keep your wit and thoughts coming, you're a WELCOME recent arrival on this site :)
Kevin,
Unfortunately, I never got to experience the Point Bob night life.. I think by the time I was up there, Breakers had closed down..
Point Bob epitomized the saying, "A quaint little drinking town with a fishing problem"... :D
Late in the 90s, drinking wasn't condoned as much around Point Bob as in the early years.. Canadian and US Border cops had a field day with drunk drivers.
Speaking of Washington,
I love geographic oddities... what can I say?
Here's another for you...
Up until 1991, Long Island NY was the largest Island in the Continental United States..
In 1991, Congress declared that Long Island was not an island, but was a peninsula..
At that point, the largest island in the Continental United States became....
{{{drum rollll}}}
Whidbey Island, WA
:D
As a historical/personal footnote, the P3 that was captured by China in April of 1991 over Hainan Island was based out of Whidbey Island and it's crew was from Kadena AB..
I lived on Whidbey for several years and was stationed on Kadena where I met the lovely future Mrs. Worley... I busted her and her friends at a barracks party on the night of 4 Sep 1981 at 2330 hrs.. :D
Anyways, there's your geographical oddity with a little personal history thrown in for good measure...
Michale.....
As a historical/personal footnote, the P3 that was captured by China in April of 1991 over Hainan Island was based out of Whidbey Island and it's crew was from Kadena AB..
That would have been April of 2001.. My bust....
Michale.....
I'm sad to hear that, Michale. Sunday nights with a full house and a good band bring back tons of good memories for me. REALLY, I think you would have enjoyed those times a lot :(
[I'm just assuming anyone who reads this far in the comments has already taken the quiz, so there is officially no need from this point on to worry about "spoilers".]
Kewl...
San Juan Island, WA is where the famous "PIG WAR" almost re-ignited the war between the British and the US.. OK, that may be overly dramatic, but it was a tense time..
For anyone who wants to "visit" the San Juan Island group (Orca Island, Cone Islands, Shaw, Lopez, etc etc) you can watch any of the FREE WILLY movies, as they were filmed in the San Juans...
Michale.....
Has anyone been to the northwesternmost point of land in the 48? Forget what it's called, Point Something-or-another. Spectacular!
That would be CAPE Flattery... :D
Ironically enough, the WESTERN most part of the Lower 48, Cape Alva, is only FIVE SECONDS longitude ...
(a mere 360 feet!! (depending on the tide))
from the NORTHWESTERN most part of the lower 48, Cape Flattery..
Weird, eh? :D
Michale
Kevin
Even better news for you, if we are deducting the number of States one has been to then, since I've been to 13, my new score is -9!
Most of my score came from the first and second sections. I believe I may have scored only one correct question in the third section.
I grew up in southeast Michigan, so a lot of my points came from Great Lakes area questions. And I did get the bonus Detroit question, but started second guessing myself because it seemed so obvious to me that I thought it must not be right. lol
Please don't make me subtract the number of states I have been to from my total. Family roads trips to Florida, Washington state, New York state, and Oklahoma would dramatically reduce my score. And my already bruised ego couldn't handle that.
ninjaf,
Family roads trips to Florida, Washington state,
What parts, if I may ask??
Wanna know if we might have "chewed some of the same dirt"...
"Well, we sure as hell chewed some of the same dirt, sir."
-Gunny Highway, HEARTBREAK RIDGE
:D
Michale.....
Michale,
Orlando (for the whole Disney & Universal tour) and Spokane for a summer visit in my mid-teens.