2009 GEOGRAPHY QUIZ – ANSWER KEY

Prepared by: Carri Anderson, Christi Williams, Gary Bank,

Michael MacDonald, Miriam Krause, and Patrick O’Leary

 

TEAM NAME: ________________________________________________________________

Team participants: ______________________________      ______________________________

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Welcome to the Annual MNRPCV Geography Quiz! Big thanks go to John Nania and Andy Caranicas for establishing this tradition of brain-stretching on a geography theme. We hope you enjoy this year’s installment!

 

This year’s quiz is organized by the following regions.

Total points possible: 100 (plus bonus points)

Antarctica --------------- page 1

Africa -------------------- page 2

Middle East ------------- page 3

Asia/Pacific ------------- page 4

Australia ----------------- page 5

Central/South America - page 6

Europe ------------------- page 7

North America ---------- page 7

Blue Marble ------------- page 8

 

ANTARCTICA (4 points possible)

 

1. True or False:  Antarctica is considered a desert. (1pt)  True. A “desert” is defined as having less than 254 mm (10 inches) of annual precipitation, and Antarctica has between 2 & 8 inches maximum.

 

2. What is significant about Antarctica’s Mt. Erebus? (1pt)  Opposite of the Arctic

a) it has an observatory

b) it is a volcano

c) Shackleton climbed it in 1908

d) all of the above

 

3. In what century were the first historically confirmed sightings of Antarctica? (1pt)

19th Century / 1800s

 

 

4. As the Antarctic ice cap melts, the land mass of Antarctica will rise because of_______. (1pt)

a)      isostasy

b)      orogeny

c)      topography

d)     petrology

 

 

AFRICA (12 points possible)

 

5.  Where did the dodo bird live? (1pt)   Mauritius (East of Madagascar)

 

6. What city holds the record for the hottest recorded temperature in the world?  (1pt)

 El Azizia, Libya at 136 degrees Fahrenheit (alternative spelling El Ezizia)

 

7. Label the numbered countries on the map below.  (10 pts)

 

 

 

Answers:

  1. Lesotho                       6. Chad
  2. Mauritius                     7. Mauritania
  3. Angola                                    8. Tunisia
  4. Zimbabwe                   9. Eritrea
  5. Liberia                         10. Djibouti

 

MIDDLE EAST (7 points possible)

 

8.  Write the letter of the corresponding “role” next to the famous Middle Easterner. (4pts)

 

Hammurabi _____ (A)                                                Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz  _____ (C)

 

Darius _____ (D)                                                        Noor _____ (B)

 

A:  created code of laws in the capitol of Babylon (about 4000 yrs ago)

B:  Current president of united world colleges movement and advocate for the anti-nuclear       weapons proliferation movement, Global Zero, and Peace Corps supporter.

C:  King of Saudi Arabia

D:  Former King of Persia

 

9. Who was the first president of Israel? (1pt)  David Ben-Gurion

 

10. In which city is this image? (1pt)  Dubai

 

 

 

11. Who was the leader of Iran when the US Embassy in Tehran was stormed in 1979? (1pt)  Ayatollah Khomeini

 

 

 

 

ASIA/PACIFIC (8 points possible)

 

12. Name the Sanskrit poem that describes the Hindu path to spiritual wisdom, and also means Song of God - भगवद्गीता. (1pt)

Bhagavad Gita

 

13. What is the world’s largest landlocked country? (1pt)

(a) Kazakhstan

(b) Mongolia

(c) Chad

(d) Armenia

 

14. Where was this Giant Buddha sculpture located? (1pt)  Afghanistan

 

 

15.  Indicate True of False whether each of the following countries is one of the top ten most populated countries in the world. (1/2 pt for each correct, total of 2 pts)

___T__  India

___F__  Philippines

___T___Bangladesh

___T___ Indonesia

 

16. Lang Lang, considered by some to be the most popular pianist on the planet for his great bravado and unique flare, is from which country? (1pt)

China (he was inspired by watching an episode of the cartoon Tom & Jerry)

 

17. Aside from the classic Johnny Cash tune, what is the Ring of Fire? (1pt)

An extensive zone of volcanic and seismic activity that coincides roughly with the borders of the Pacific Ocean.

 

18. What is the name of the large dam currently under construction on the Yangtze River. (1pt)

Three Gorges Dam

AUSTRALIA (6 points possible)

 

18. Name three animals that are only found in Australia (excluding zoos, etc). (3pts)

kangaroo, wombat, koala, kookaburra, platypus, dingo, echidna, Tasmanian devil, quolls, numbat

 

19. What is the capital city of Australia? (1pt)

 Canberra

 

20.  Name this famous Australian landmark: (1pt) Sydney Opera House

 

 

 

 

 

 

21. What does it mean to “whinge”? (1pt) to complain constantly/whine

 

 

 

 

 

CENTRAL & SOUTH AMERICA (6 points possible)

 

23.  What is the capital of Honduras? Your answer must be spelled correctly for credit.  (1pts) Tegucigalpa

 

24. Where is this giant Jesus statue located? (1pt)  Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

 

25. What country, in 1880, made the first attempt to construct a canal across Panama? (1pt)  France

 

26. Which of the following is the wettest inhabited place on earth? (1pt)

a)      Buenaventura, Colombia (267" rain per year is the wettest inhabited place on earth)

b)      Campo Grande, Brazil

c)      Cochabamba, Bolivia

d)     Salto, Paraguay

 

27. Who are the Sendero Luminoso/Shining Path? (1pt)  Maoist rebel group which fought the government for control in Peru

 

28. What country is aspiring to have the world’s largest underwater museum, including these life-sized sculptures? (1pt)  Mexico

 

EUROPE    (7 points possible)

 

29. Where and in what year were the first Olympic Winter Games? (1pt)  Chamonix, France, in 1924

 

29. Where is this miraculous painting of the Black Madonna located? (1pt)  Poland

 

 

30. What country is the world's largest salmon producer? (1pt)  Norway

 

31. What country had a parliament from 1297 until 1801? (1pt)  Ireland

 

32. What river begins in the Black Forest region of Germany, flows across central Europe and the countries of Austria, Hungry, Croatia, and Romania (among others) and empties into the Black Sea? (1pt)

The Danube

 

33. What country was the first to send female pilots into combat, dubbed the Night Witches in World War II? (1pt)  Soviet Union

 

34. What was the last country in Eastern Europe to abandon rigid communist party rule? (1pt)  Albania

 

 

 NORTH AMERICA (10+ points possible)

 

35. Where is the world's largest hand-planted forest? (1pt)

(a) Muir Woods, California

(b) Halsey National Forest, Nebraska

(c) Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, Minnesota

(d) Deschutes National Forest, Oregon

 

36. What does “Minnesota” mean in the Dakota language? (1pt)  Sky-tinted water

 

37.  What animal is on the Canadian quarter? (1pt)  Caribou

38. True or False:  Canada is the world’s second largest country by landmass. (1pt)  True

 

39. Match the bird with the state it officially represents: (5pts)

            New Mexico _____ (B)                      A) Black-Capped Chickadee

            Wisconsin _____ (D)                          B) Roadrunner

            Oklahoma _____ (E)                           C) Cardinal

            Kentucky _____ (C)                           D) American Robin

            Maine _____ (A)                                 E) Scissor Tailed Flycatcher

 

40. Name Minnesota’s elected members in the US House of Representatives. (1 pt each)

Michelle Bachmann, Keith Ellison, John Kline, Betty McCollum, James Oberstar, Erik Paulsen, Collin Peterson, Timothy Walz

 

 

BLUE MARBLE:  (40 points possible)

 

40.  Name two of the three writing systems found on the Rosetta Stone (the ancient Egyptian artifact, not the one you buy at the airport)? (2pts)  Egyptian hieroglyphs, Egyptian demotic, and classical Greek

 

41. Where is the Rosetta Stone now located? (It's been on public display there since 1802.) Give the building and city.  (1pt)  The British Museum in London

 

42. Name three countries that use each of the following currencies: (9pts total)

            Shilling (3pts) Uganda, Somalia, Tanzania, Kenya

 

            Dinar (3pts) Algeria, Bahrain, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Macedonia, Libya, Serbia, Tunisia

 

            Rupee (3pts) India, Mauritius, Nepal, Pakistan, Seychelles, Sri Lanka

 

 

43. Match the following newspapers or news agencies with their country: (6pts)

            Far News Agency _____ (B)                          A) South Korea

            Yonhap _____            (A)                                          B) Iran

            HaAretz _____ (D)                                         C) Fiji

            PAC News _____ (C)                                     D) Israel

            EFE _____ (F)                                                E) Vatican City

            L'Osservatore _____ (E)                                 F) Spain

 

 

44. What is a Quincinera? (1pt)  celebration for a 15 year old girl in Latin America

 

45. What treasure did an expedition from New Zealand recently discover in Antarctica? (1 pt)

2 barrels of Scotch Whiskey

 

46. What title meaning "Great Soul" is often given to Mohandas K. Gandhi in recognition of his spiritual and nonviolent campaign for Indian independence? (1pt)  Mahatma

 

47. Match the following scripts with their language: (5pts)

            Arabic (B)                                           A) 당신을 사랑하는

            Chinese (Traditional) (C)          B) أنا أحبك

            Japanese (E)                    C) 我愛你

            Russian (D)                                         D) Я тебя люблю

            Korean (A)                                          E) 愛しています

 

48. Match the language family with the continent/region where it is spoken: (4pts)

            Khoisan           _____ (D)                    A) Siberia

            Samoyedic      _____ (A)                    B) Europe

            Caucasian        _____ (B)                    C) Asia

            Dravidian        _____ (C)                    D) Africa

 

49. What three countries span two continents? (3pts) Egypt, Russia, and Turkey

 

50. Name the seven wonders of the ancient world.  (7pts)

Artemision at Ephesus (Temple of Artemis), Colossus of Rhodes (statue of Helios), Hanging Gardens of Babylon, Mausoleum at Halicarnassus, Olympian Zeus, Pyramids of Egypt, Tower of Pharos (lighthouse at Alexandria)