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 Geography Quiz Questions

85.
Which group of islands in the Caribbean Sea are divided into two parts - the "Greater X" including Cuba, Jamaica, Hispaniola, and Puerto Rico; and the smaller "Lesser X" — comprising the Leeward Islands, the Windward Islands, and the Leeward X?
Answer

The Antilles

Geographically, the Antilles are generally considered part of North America. Cuba, the Dominican Republic, and Puerto Rico – due to the prevalence of Spanish – are included in Latin America. The Bahamas, though part of the West Indies, are generally not included among the Antillean islands.

 
84.
Which area of shallow waters in the north Atlantic about 350 miles east of St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador is featured in the movie 'The Perfect Storm' as the final fishing grounds for Billy Tyne (George Clooney) and his crew?
Answer

Flemish Cap

The Flemish Cap is located within an area of transition between the cold waters of the Labrador Current and warmer waters influenced by the North Atlantic Current. It lies outside Canada's 200 nautical mile (370 km) Exclusive Economic Zone established in 1977, and is therefore in international fishing waters.

 
83.
Which countries two main islands are seperated by the Cook strait?
Answer

New Zealand

It lies between the North and South Islands of New Zealand. On its north side stands the city of Wellington; on the south side lie the Marlborough Sounds and Cloudy Bay. The strait takes its name from Captain James Cook, the first European commander to sail through it, in January - February 1770. In Mâori it has the name Raukawa or Raukawa Moana. Raukawa may mean "bitter leaves".

 
82.
What literally means "chief sea" in Greek, and is a term for a cluster of islands?
Answer

Archipelago

In antiquity, the Archipelago was the proper name for the Aegean Sea and, later, usage shifted to refer to the Aegean Islands (since the sea is remarkable for its large number of islands). It is now used to generally refer to any island group or, sometimes, to a sea containing a large number of scattered islands like the Aegean.

 
81.
Which beautiful geographic feature can be shaped as Crescentic, Linear, Star, Dome, Parabolic, Longitudinal, Transverse and Reversing?
Answer

A Dune

In physical geography, a dune is a hill of sand built by wind activity. The world's highest dunes are found in Algerian Sahara, where they can reach more than 1.5 kms.

 
80.
Which famous Bay in Sydney, Australia was the site of a landing by Captain James Cook of HMS Endeavour and sparked Britian's interest in Australia? New!
Answer

Botany Bay

In modern times the Bay is chiefly notable for being the site of Kingsford Smith International Airport, Australia's largest.

 
79.
Alfred Wegener was the first to formally publish the hypothesis that these had somehow "moved" apart but he was unable to provide a convincing explanation for the physical processes which might have caused it. What are we talking about?
Answer

Theory of Continental Drift

The hypothesis of continental drift became part of the larger theory of plate tectonics.

 
78.
Which newest of the territories of Canada formed in 1999 has a population of around 30,000 spread over an area the size of Western Europe?
Answer

Nunavat

Nunavut means 'our land' in Inuktitut, the language of the Inuit. If Nunavut were a sovereign nation, it would be the least densely populated in the world: Nearby Greenland, for example, has almost the same area and twice the population.

 
77.
After Russia, which is the largest country amongst the former Soviet republics in terms of area?
Answer

Kazakhstan

It is the 9th largest country in the world.

 
76.
What means 'all earth' in Greek and existed 250 million years ago?
Answer

Pangea, the supercontinent

It existed during the Paleozoic and Mesozoic eras before the process of plate tectonics separated each of the component continents into their current configuration.

 
75.
In 2006 which city, also the historic capital of the sun-worshipping Inca empire, has been found to be the spot on Earth with the highest ultraviolet light level?
Answer

Cusco in Peru

 
74.
Djerba or Jarbah island, in Tunisia, in the Mediterranean Sea, is a popular tourist place in modern times. It is said to be so idyllic that one forgets all sense of time there, as attested by Homer, who called it as the land of what?
Answer

Lotus Eaters

Djerba is a popular tourist destination, particularly for French, German, Italian and Czech tourists. It is one of the few remaining places in Tunisia where a Berber language is still spoken. Another factor drawing some tourists to Djerba is the 1977 location of the Mos Eisley exterior scenes in the first Star Wars movie, filmed in the town of Ajim.

 
73.
What is the collective name given to the 16 volcanoes identified by the International Association of Volcanology and Chemistry of the Earth's Interior (IAVCEI) as being worthy of particular study in light of their history of large, destructive eruptions and proximity to populated areas?
Answer

The Decade Volcanoes

A volcano may be designated a Decade Volcano if it exhibits more than one volcanic hazard; shows recent geological activity; is located in a populated area (eruptions at any of the Decade Volcanoes may threaten tens or hundreds of thousands of people, and therefore mitigating eruption hazards at these volcanoes is crucial); is politically and physically accessible for study; and there is local support for the work.

 
72.
What waterfalls, the world's highest-volume waterfall, were earlier known as Stanley falls?
Answer

Boyoma Falls, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

They consists of seven cataracts extending over 100 km on the Lualaba River near Kisangani (formerly Stanleyville). At the bottom of the falls the Lualaba becomes the Congo River.

 
71.
Three of the ten largest islands in the world belong to which country?
Answer

Canada - with Baffin (5th largest), Victoria (9th largest) and Ellesmere (10th largest)

Greenland is the largest island. Australia is widely considered as a continental landmass, not an island, though it is much larger than Greenland.

 
70.
What are the only 2 land-locked South American countries?
Answer

Bolivia and Paraguay

 
69.
What is the only city built in the 20th century to be considered a World Heritage Site by UNESCO?
Answer

Brasilia

Inaugurated on the 21st of April, 1960, it was the result of a modern urban project designed by Lúcio Costa. When seen from above, the city resembles the shape of an airplane or a butterfly.

 
68.
What is the largest subnational entity (statoid) in the world, with an area of 3,103,200 km²?
Answer

Sakha Republic in Russia

Sakha became the largest country subdivision in the world, when Nunavut separated from Canada's Northwest Territories in 1999.

 
67.
Which countrys' borders are unique in the sense that it is entirely surrounded by South Africa?
Answer

Lesotho

The name Lesotho roughly translates into "the land of the people who speak Sotho." The most notable geographic fact about Lesotho, apart from its status as an enclave, is that it is the only independent state in the world that lies entirely above 1,000 meters (3,300 ft) in elevation.

 
66.
Which area in Europe is famous for its cuckoo clocks, honey, ham, Pork Knuckle and of course, its cake?
Answer

Black Forest

The Black Forest (German Schwarzwald) is a wooded mountain range in southwestern Germany. It was also the setting for many fairy tales popularized by the Brothers Grimm.

 
65.
Which country was renamed on August 4, 1984 by President Thomas Sankara to mean "the land of upright people" (or "upright land")?
Answer

Burkina Faso

Formerly it called the Republic of Upper Volta.

 
64.
In geography, what is an endorheic basin — also called a terminal or closed basin?
Answer

A watershed from which there is no outflow of water

Any rain (or other precipitation) that falls inside an endorheic basin may only leave the system by evaporation. Although endorheic basins can occur in any climate, in practice they are most commonly found in hot desert locations.

 
63.
Which stretch of water between Peninsular Malaysia and the Indonesian island of Sumatra is one of the most important shipping lanes in the world?
Answer

Strait of Malacca

The Strait forms the main ship passageway between the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean, linking three of the world's most populous nations: India, Indonesia and China. At Phillips Channel near Singapore, the Strait narrows to 2.8 km (1.5 nautical miles) wide, creating one of the world's most significant traffic bottlenecks.

 
62.
Which tiny landlocked European country, also the smallest German-speaking country in the world, has bordering countries that are also landlocked?
Answer

Liechtenstein

It is in Western-Central Europe, bordered by Switzerland to its west and by Austria to its east. Uzbekistan in Central Asia (if the Caspian Sea is considered as a lake) is the only other 'double-landlocked' country in the world.

 
61.
Which famous street in London, England, named after the River which still flows under it in the sewers, is synonymous with British journalism?
Answer

Fleet street

Even though the last major British news office, Reuters, left in 2005, the street's name continues to be used as a metonymy for the British national press. Fleet Street is now more associated with the Law and its courts and barristers' chambers.

 
60.
It literally means 'Beautiful forest' in Bengali language, and is home to the only man-eating tigers left in the world. What is it?
Answer

The Sundarbans, the largest mangrove forest in the world.

It lies at the mouth of the Ganges and is spread across areas of Bangladesh and West Bengal, India, forming the seaward fringe of the delta. The area is known for its wide range of fauna. The most famous among these are the maneating Royal Bengal Tigers, but numerous species of birds, spotted deer, crocodiles and snakes also inhabit it. It is estimated that there are now 400 Bengal tigers and about 30,000 spotted deer in the area.

 
59.
What is the only non-American capital city named after a US president?
Answer

Monrovia, the capital of Liberia

 
58.
If you are trekking in the Khumbu region, the gateway to the high Himalaya, or even on the way to climb Everest, which village you are most likely to stay at, for altitude acclimatization?
Answer

Namche Bazaar

 
57.
Upon seeing which stunning geographic feature did Eleanor Roosevelt reportedly say "Poor Niagara"?
Answer

The Iguazu Falls in South America

The waterfall system consists of about 270 falls along 2.7 kilometres (1.67 miles) of the Iguazu River. Vastly larger than North America's Niagara Falls, Iguazu is rivalled only by Southern Africa's Victoria Falls. The Garganta del Diablo or Devil's Throat is the most impressive of all, and marks the border between Argentina and Brazil.

 
56.
An estuary is a semi-enclosed coastal body of water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. What is the world's largest?
Answer

Gulf of Saint Lawrence

It is the outlet of North America's Great Lakes via the Saint Lawrence River into the Atlantic Ocean.

 
55.
Lesotho is one of only three states surrounded entirely by another (South Africa); What are the other two?
Answer

San Marino and Vatican City, in Italy

 
54.
Japan has several territorial disputes with its neighbors: what are the various countries it fights over for the Kuril Islands, over Dokdo (Takeshima), for the Senkaku Islands (Diaoyutai Islands), and for the status of Okinotorishima?
Answer

Russia over the Kuril Islands, with South Korea over Dokdo (Takeshima), with China and Taiwan over the Senkaku Islands (Diaoyutai Islands), and with China over the status of Okinotorishima.

These disputes are in part about the control of marine and natural resources, such as possible reserves of crude oil and natural gas.

 
53.
What is the largest country with a single time zone?New!
Answer

China

 
52.
What gorge, found in the Ngorongoro area of Tanzania, is considered the seat of humanity after the discovery of the earliest known specimens of modern man?
Answer

The Olduvai Gorge

It is one of the most important prehistoric sites in the world and has been instrumental in furthering understanding of early human evolution. Excavation work there was pioneered by Louis Leakey in the 1950s and is continued today by his family.

 
51.
Which is the shallowest ocean on earth?
Answer

The Arctic Ocean

It is also the smallest.

 
50.
Which feature that is 6380 kms long has traditionally been considered a dividing line between North and South China?
Answer

The Yangtze River

It is the longest river in Asia and the third longest in the world, after the Nile in Africa, and the Amazon in South America.

 
49.
The melting Furtwängler Glacier, sometimes used as an example of global warming, is near which famous African geographic feature?
Answer

Mount Kilimanjaro

Furtwängler Glacier is a small remnant of an enormous icecap which once crowned the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro. This icecap has retreated significantly over the past century and between 1912 and the 2000, 82 percent of the glacial ice on the mountain has disappeared. The retreat of glacial ice on the summit is expected to continue and by the year 2020, all the glaciers on top of the mountain may be gone.

 
48.
Which is the largest lake situated entirely within Canada?
Answer

The Great Bear Lake

It is also the fourth largest in North America, and the eighth largest in the world.

 
47.
Established in 1974 in this self-governing territory, which is the largest national park in the world with an area of 972,000 sq kms (375,000 square miles)?
Answer

Northeast Greenland National Park

It is also the only national park in Greenland. The park encompasses the entire northeastern coastline and interior sections of Greenland.

 
46.
On the geologic time scale, which term denotes the largest subdivision of time?
Answer

An Eon

An eon is composed of several geologic eras, which in turn are composed of geologic periods, which are composed of geologic epochs. We are currently in the Phanerozoic Eon, the Cenozoic Era, the Quaternary Period, and the Holocene epoch. Formerly, only one eon existed besides the Phanerozoic: the Precambrian. More recently, the Hadean, Archean, and Proterozoic "eras" of Precambrian time have been considered eons.

 
45.
What is the peninsula of Western Asia which forms the Asian portion of Turkey?
Answer

Anatolia, also known as Asia Minor

The name comes from the Greek for "east". The Byzantine theme of "Anatolikon" ("eastern one") signified the lands to the east of Europe and Constantinople.

 
44.
What is the largest landmass entirely within the Pacific Ocean?
Answer

The island of New Guinea - the second largest island in the world.

Almost all of the smaller islands of the Pacific lie between 30°N and 30°S, extending from South-east Asia to Easter Island; the rest of the Pacific Basin is almost entirely submerged.

 
43.
With an area of 25,708 sq. kms (9,926 sq. miles) and five million inhabitants, which is the largest island in the Mediterranean?
Answer

Sicily

It is an autonomous region of Italy.

 
42.
What former Soviet republic, now an independent country, is also the name of a state in the US?
Answer

Georgia

 
41.
What is the name of the 'crooked street' in San Fransisco that is famous for having a steep, one-block section that consists of tight hairpin turns?
Answer

Lombard Street

The crooked section of the street is reserved for one-way traffic traveling east (downhill), and is paved with bricks. The section was built in 1923 to accommodate the steepness of the slope.

 
40.
The Shatt al-Arab waterway constitutes a part of the border between which countries?
Answer

Iran and Iraq

Also called Arvandrud, it is a river of some 200 km in length, formed by the confluence of the Euphrates and the Tigris. The the southern end of the river constitutes the border between Iraq and Iran down to the mouth of the river as it discharges into the Persian Gulf. Conflicting territorial claims and disputes over navigation rights between Iran and Iraq were among the main factors for the Iraq-Iran War that lasted from 1980 to 1988, when the pre-1980 status quo was restored.

 
39.
Located in Botswana, which is the world's largest inland delta?
Answer

Okavango Delta

The area was once part of Lake Makgadikgadi, an ancient lake that dried up some 10,000 years ago. Today, the Okavango River has no outlet to the sea and it empties onto the sands of the Kalahari Desert, irrigating 15,000 km² of the desert.

 
38.
Following the 1999 UN-sponsored act of self-determination, which country became the first new sovereign state of the twenty-first century on May 20, 2002 when Indonesia relinquished control of the territory?
Answer

East Timor (Capital: Dili)

Colonized by Portugal in the sixteenth century, East Timor was known as Portuguese Timor for centuries. It was invaded and occupied by Indonesia in 1975 and declared the country's 27th province the following year. Alongside the Philippines, East Timor is one of only two predominantly Roman Catholic countries in Asia, and the only Portuguese-speaking sovereign state in Asia.

 
37.
Which island in the Mediterranean, also Greece's largest, was the center of the Minoan civilization (ca. 2600-1400 BCE), the oldest civilization in Europe?
Answer

Crete

Crete is a popular tourist destination; its attractions include the Minoan sites of Knossos and Phaistos, the classical site of Gortys, the Venetian castle in Rethymno, and the Samaria Gorge, as well as many other natural sites, monuments, and beaches.

 
36.
As of February 2008, into how many countries has the erstwhile Yugoslavia broken into?
Answer

7

The seven countries that were once part of Yugoslavia are Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, Slovenia and Kosovo.

 
35.
In the mountaineering world, what are referred to as the seven summits?
Answer

The highest mountains of each of the seven continents.

Summiting all of them is regarded as a mountaineering challenge, first postulated as such in the 1980s by Richard Bass.

 
34.
All the largest islands in the world are in Oceans/Seas and hence are surrounded by sea-water. What is the largest island completely surrounded by fresh water?
Answer

Marajo, surrounded by the Amazon

It is located at the mouth of the Amazon and has a land area of 40,100 km² (15,500 sq mi). Although its northeast coastline faces the Atlantic Ocean, the outflow from the Amazon is so great that the sea at the mouth is quite unbriny for some distance from shore. The island sits almost directly on the equator.

 
33.
What is the largest sea body in the world, after the five oceans?
Answer

The South China Sea

It is a part of the Pacific Ocean, encompassing an area from Singapore to the Strait of Taiwan of around 3,500,000 km². The sea and its mostly uninhabited islands are subject to several competing claims of sovereignty by neighboring nations. These competing claims are also reflected in the variety of names used for the islands and the sea.

 
32.
Located in Guatemala, what is the largest of the ancient ruined cities of the Maya civilization?
Answer

Tikal

Now part of Guatemala's Tikal National Park, it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and a popular tourist spot. Tikal was one of the major cultural and population centers of the Maya civilization. Though monumental architecture at the site dates to the 4th century BC, Tikal reached its apogee during the Classic Period, ca. 200 AD to 850 AD, during which time the site dominated the Maya region politically, economically, and militarily while interacting with areas throughout Mesoamerica, such as central Mexican center of Teotihuacan.

 
31.
Uros are a group of about 43 artificial islands made of floating reeds on which navigable lake?
Answer

Lake Titicaca

These islands have become a major tourist attraction for Peru, drawing excursions from the lakeside city of Puno. Their original purpose was defensive, and they could be moved if a threat arose. One of the islands retains a watchtower largely constructed of reeds.

 
30.
What is the only nation state of the Commonwealth of Nations on the mainland of South America?
Answer

Guyana

Guyana achieved independence from the United Kingdom in 1966 and became a republic in 1970, remaining a member of the Commonwealth.

 
29.
What is the largest country in the world without permanent rivers?
Answer

Saudi Arabia

 
28.
It is common knowledge that 70% of earth's surface is covered with water. Of this, what percentage does the Pacific Ocean cover?
Answer

About 46% (about 32% of earth's total surface area)

At 169.2 million square kilometres (65.3 million square miles) in area, it is larger than all of the Earth's land area combined. The equator subdivides it into the North Pacific Ocean and South Pacific Ocean.

 
27.
If Panama Canal has two sets of locks, how many does the Suez Canal have?
Answer

None

The canal has no locks because the terrain through which it passes is flat, and the minor difference in sea level at the ends is easily coped with through the length of the canal.

 
26.
Which city in Egypt has been characterised as the "world's greatest open air museum" and contains the ruins of the temple complexes at Karnak as well as monuments, temples and tombs on the West Bank Necropolis, which include the Valley of the Kings and Valley of the Queens?
Answer

Luxor

It was called Thebes in ancient times. Luxor today represents an excellent base for touring Upper Egypt, and is a popular holiday destination, both in its own right and as a starting or finishing point for Nile cruises.

 
25.
How many US state capitals are named after US presidents?
Answer

4 (Lincoln-Nebraska, Jackson-Mississippi, Madison-Wisconsin and Jefferson City-Missouri).

 
24.
What is the southern tip of Greenland?
Answer

Cape Farewell

 
23.
What are the only two South American countries that do not border Brazil?
Answer

Equador and Chile

Brazil borders Venezuela, Suriname, Guyana and the department of French Guiana to the north, Uruguay to the south, Argentina and Paraguay to the southwest, Bolivia and Peru to the west, and Colombia to the northwest.

 
22.
The mighty Himalayas take the cake as far as the list of highest mountains goes; so, what is the highest peak outside of this range?
Answer

Mt Aconcagua, in the Andes

To comprehend the enormous scale of Himalayan peaks, consider that Aconcagua is at 6,962 m, while the Himalayan system has over 100 separate mountains exceeding 7,200 meters

 
21.
Which country, the smallest in continental America, is sometimes called the "Tom Thumb of the Americas" because of its size?
Answer

El Salvador

It is the only Central American country that does not have a Caribbean coastline.

 
20.
What are the two main tributaries of the mighty Nile?
Answer

The White Nile and the Blue Nile

Blue Nile is the source of most of the Nile's water and fertile soil, but the White Nile is the longer of the two. The White Nile rises in the Great Lakes region of central Africa and flows north from there through Tanzania, Lake Victoria, Uganda and southern Sudan, while the Blue Nile starts at Lake Tana in Ethiopia, flowing into Sudan from the southeast. The two rivers meet near the Sudanese capital Khartoum. The Nile ends in a large delta that empties into the Mediterranean Sea.

 
19.
Which system of of tidal eddies and whirlpools off the coast of Norway has featured in many historical accounts, and has also been written about by many authors notably Edgar Allan Poe and Jules Verne?
Answer

The Moskstraumen or Maelstrom

The Moskstraumen has featured in many historical accounts, generally exaggerated. It was first described more than 2000 years ago by the Greek historian Pytheas, and later, it was marked on many nautical maps with warnings and dramatic descriptions. Both Poe and Verne both portray it inaccurately as a single massive whirlpool.

 
18.
Which country is frequently associated with polders (a low-lying tract of land that forms an artificial hydrological entity) as is evident from the saying: 'God created the world except for X. The Y took it from the sea’.
Answer

The Netherlands (X). Y is 'Dutch'.

The Dutch have a long history of reclamation of marshes and fenland, not only within their country but also abroad. About half of all polderland within northwest Europa is located within the Netherlands. The first embankments in Europe were constructed in Roman times. The first polders were constructed in the 11th century. This also leads to the expression used to describe Dutch decision making - the Polder Model.

 
17.
Among US states with the highest number of national parks, California and Alaska come in first with 8 each. Which state comes next with 5 of them?
Answer

Utah with Arches, Bryce Canyon, Capitol Reef, Canyonlands and Zion.

 
16.
What is the French-speaking part of Switzerland called?
Answer

Romandy

The term Romandy does not formally exist in the political system but is used to distinguish and unify the French-speaking population of Switzerland. About 1.5 million people (or 20% of the Swiss population) live in Romandy.

 
15.
By political definition, what is the essential difference between Great Britian and United Kingdom?
Answer

Northern Ireland. Great Britian = England + Scotland + Wales and United Kingdom = Great Britian + Northern Ireland.

Politically, "Great Britain" describes the combination of England, Scotland, and Wales. It includes outlying islands such as the Isle of Wight, Anglesey, the Isles of Scilly, the Hebrides, and the island groups of Orkney and Shetland, but does not include the Isle of Man or the Channel Islands. Over the centuries, Great Britain has evolved politically from several independent countries and after 1801 Great Britain together with the island of Ireland constituted the larger United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland (UK). The UK became the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland in the 1920s (1922) following the independence of five-sixths of Ireland as first the Irish Free State, a Dominion of the then British Commonwealth, and then later as an independent republic outside the British Commonwealth as the Republic of Ireland.

 
14.
What is the largest thing of its geographic type in the world, and has the lowest population density and has its capital at Nuuk?
Answer

Greenland (it is the largest island in the world).

It is a self-governed Danish territory.

 
13.
Which river, a tributary of the Yukon River in Canada, has given its name to the Gold Rush of 1896?
Answer

Klondike

Gold was discovered in tributaries of the Klondike River in 1896 and is still being mined today. Its name comes from the Hän word Tr'ondëk meaning "hammerstone", which were used to hammer down stakes used to set salmon nets.

 
12.
The name of which great ancient city (still very much in existence) is derived from the Sanskrit words meaning 'Region of war'?
Answer

Samarkand from Samara Khanda.

Present in modern day Uzbekistan, it is one of the oldest inhabited cities in the world, prospering from its location on the Silk Road trade route between China and Europe.

 
11.
What is 'La Mache' in French and what does it typically refer to?
Answer

Meaning 'The Sleeve', it refers to the English channel

It that separates the island of Great Britain from northern France and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about 563 km (350 mi) long and at its widest is 240 km (150 mi). The Strait of Dover is the narrowest part of the channel being only 34 km (21 mi).

 
10.
What is the name given to Asia's principal area of illicit opium production, overlapping the three nations of Afghanistan, Iran, and Pakistan? New!
Answer

The Golden Crescent

 
9.
What is also known as Qomolangma or Sagarmatha or Chomolungma in the native tongues of the people around it?
Answer

Mount Everest

The Nepali name is Sagarmatha and the Tibetan name is Chomolungma or Qomolangma. In 1865, the mountain was given its English name by Andrew Waugh, the British surveyor-general of India who surveyed it and he chose to name the mountain after George Everest, the surveyor-general of India from 1830 to 1843, who was largely responsible for completing the section of the Great Trigonometric Survey of India.

 
8.
What area does the imprecise geographic term 'Levant' refer to?
Answer

A large area in the Middle East south of the Taurus Mountains, bounded by the Mediterranean Sea on the west, and by the northern Arabian Desert and Upper Mesopotamia to the east

The term Levant is first attested in English in 1497, originally used in the wider sense of "Mediterranean lands east of Venetia". Today "Levant" is typically used by archaeologists and historians with reference to the prehistory and the ancient and medieval history of the region, as when discussing the Crusades. The term is also occasionally employed to refer to modern or contemporary events, peoples, states, or parts of states in the same region, namely Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria and the Palestinian territories.

 
7.
Two monumental statues of standing Buddhas carved into the side of a cliff were destroyed by the Taliban in 2001 were located in which part of central Afghanistan?
Answer

In the Bamyan valley and were called 'Buddhas of Bamyan'

Built during the 6th century, the statues represented the classic blended style of Greco-Buddhist art.

 
6.
The Fedchenko Glacier is the longest glacier in the world outside of the polar regions. In which Asian country is it located?
Answer

Tajikistan

The glacier is long and narrow, currently extending for 77 km (47 miles) and covering over 700 km² (270 mi²).

 
5.
Which American state was nicknamed the "Rip Van Winkle State" during the period 1820-1850 for its reputation of backwardness, closed-mindedness, and lack of economic opportunities?
Answer

North Carolina

 
4.
The Bridge of Sighs is one of many bridges in Venice built in the 16th century. How did it get its name?
Answer

The bridge name, given by Lord Byron in the 19th century, comes from the suggestion that prisoners would sigh at their final view of beautiful Venice out the window before being taken down to their cells.

In reality, the days of inquisitions and summary executions were over by the time the bridge was built, and the cells under the palace roof were occupied mostly by small-time criminals. A local legend says that lovers will be assured eternal love if they kiss on a gondola at sunset under the bridge.

 
3.
What has an uninterrupted drop of 807 m (2,648 ft), a total drop of nearly 1km and is located in the Canaima National Park, Venezuela?
Answer

Angel Falls, the world's highest free-falling waterfall.

Although sighted in the early 20th century by the explorer Ernesto Sanchez La Cruz, the waterfall was not known to the Western world until it was visited in 1935 by American aviator James Crawford Angel on a flight while he was searching for a valuable ore bed. In 1936, Angel returned and landed his plane at the top of the waterfall. The falls are currently named after him.

 
2.
It is well known that Germany re-unified in 1990. In the same year, which two middle eastern nations, North X and South X formally united as the Republic of X?
Answer

Yemen

In the sixteenth century and again in the nineteenth century, north Yemen was part of the Ottoman Empire, and in some periods its Imams exerted control over south Yemen. North Yemen became independent of the Ottoman Empire in 1918 and became a republic in 1962. In 1839, the British occupied the port of Aden and established it as a colony in September of that year. They also set up a zone of loose alliances (known as protectorates) around Aden to act as a protective buffer. In 1967, the British withdrew and gave back Aden to Yemen due to extreme pressure of battles with the North and Egyptian allies. After the British withdrawal, this area became known as South Yemen.

 
1.
Which beautiful church situated in Red Square, Moscow is often confused with the Kremlin?
Answer

St Basil's Cathedral

The misconception has inadvertently been reinforced by Western television journalists, who have often stood in front of St. Basil's during their reports.

 
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