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Sharpen your pencil. Focus your brain. Whether you're an armchair traveler or a globetrotter, see how much you know about geography with our yearly quiz.

    GLOBAL KNOWLEDGE


  1. Which country is not partly in the Southern Hemisphere?
    Ethiopia.
    Brazil.
    Indonesia.
    Ecuador.


  2. Which country does not include the Himalayas?
    Bhutan.
    Bangladesh.
    Nepal.
    India.


  3. If it's noon in New York, what time is it in Los Angeles?
    9 a.m.
    11 a.m.
    3 p.m.
    6 a.m.


  4. Which language is spoken by the most people as their primary language?
    English.
    Arabic.
    Spanish.
    Mandarin Chinese.


  5. Which city would be the least likely to be threatened by a tsunami?
    Honolulu.
    Tokyo.
    Mexico City.
    Manila.


  6. Brugge (or Bruges) and Mechelen are traditional centers of lace production in what country?
    Belgium.
    Netherlands.
    Luxembourg.
    Andorra.


  7. Lourdes is a major European pilgrimage site located in the foothills of what mountain range?
    Alps.
    Pyrenees.
    Urals.
    Apennines.


  8. What is the approximate population of the United States?
    200 million.
    180 million.
    300 million.
    375 million.


  9. What city is the setting for the television show "ER"?
    Chicago.
    San Francisco.
    New York.
    Boston.


  10. Which of these two countries have the most heavily fortified border in the world?
    U.S. and Mexico.
    Lebanon and Israel.
    North Korea and South Korea.
    China and Russia.


  11. AFRICA CHALLENGE


  12. How many African countries are landlocked (with no sea coast)?
    20.
    18.
    15.
    12.


  13. What is Africa's highest mountain and in which country is it located?
    Mount Kenya, Kenya.
    Kilimanjaro, Tanzania.
    Mount Karisimbi, Rwanda/Republic of the Congo.
    Ras Dashen, Ethiopia.


  14. What is the longest river in Africa?
    Zambezi.
    Congo.
    Niger.
    Nile.


  15. Which mainland African nation has the longest coastline?
    Mozambique.
    Libya.
    Somalia.
    South Africa.


  16. Which of these African countries does not have the equator running through it?
    Somalia.
    Gabon.
    Uganda.
    Tanzania.


  17. Which two countries does the annual Serengeti animal migration cross?
    Kenya and Tanzania.
    Tanzania and Rwanda.
    Kenya and Ethiopia.
    Tanzania and Uganda.


  18. What is the biggest country in Africa?
    Sudan.
    Democratic Republic of Congo
    Angola
    Algeria.


  19. Which African country is entirely surrounded by one other country?
    Swaziland.
    Lesotho.
    Togo.
    Guinea-Bissau.


  20. What is the smallest country in mainland Africa?
    Djibouti.
    Lesotho.
    Burundi.
    The Gambia.


  21. The Sahara runs through all but which country?
    Chad.
    Mali.
    Benin.
    Algeria.


  22. What is Africa's biggest lake?
    Lake Tanganyika.
    Lake Victoria.
    Lake Chad.
    Lake Volta.

  23. Which two countries share Victoria Falls?
    Zimbabwe and Zambia.
    Botswana and Zambia.
    Zimbabwe and Botswana.
    Zambia and Angola.

  24. CLOSER TO HOME


  25. What's the deepest lake in the Pacific Northwest?
    Crater Lake.
    Coeur d'Alene Lake.
    Lake Roosevelt.
    Lake Chelan.

  26. The capital of Alaska is:
    Anchorage.
    Juneau.
    Sitka.
    Haines.

  27. How tall is Seattle's Space Needle?
    528 feet.
    700 feet.
    442 feet.
    605 feet.

  28. The town of The Dalles, Ore. is named after:
    An early pioneer.
    A Spanish word meaning to wait.
    TV show set in Texas.
    A French word meaning flagstone.

  29. Which Indian reservation contains part of one of Washington's major peaks?
    Colville.
    Nisqually.
    Yakama.
    Tulalip.

  30. The northwest tip of Vancouver Island is called:
    Cape Cook.
    Cape Caution.
    Cape Scott.
    Point No Point.

  31. Which of these lighthouses is in Oregon:
    Cape Meares Lighthouse.
    Cape Disappointment Lighthouse.
    North Head Lighthouse.
    Destruction Island Lighthouse.

  32. The official Washington state flower is:
    Tulip.
    Foxglove.
    Coast Rhododendron.
    Dandelion.

  33. What body of water separates the islands of Southeast Alaska from British Columbia's Queen Charlotte Islands?
    Dixon Entrance.
    Hecate Strait.
    Queen Charlotte Sound.
    Strait of Georgia.

  34. Which of these is not an Idaho ski resort.
    Sun Valley.
    Silver Star.
    Silver Mountain.
    Brundage.

  35. GLOBAL VIEWS


  36. What Middle Eastern country has a port on the Mediterranean Sea at Ashdod and one on the Red Sea at Eilat?
    Egypt.
    Israel.
    Lebanon.
    Jordan.

  37. Which Canadian province produces more than half the country's manufactured goods?
    Ontario.
    Quebec.
    British Columbia.
    Alberta.

  38. Laos, Cambodia and which other present-day Southeast Asian country were once part of French Indochina?
    Thailand.
    Burma.
    Malaysia.
    Vietnam.

  39. Which is the largest country in area in Central America?
    Guatemala.
    Honduras.
    Nicaragua.
    Costa Rica.

  40. The Atlas Mountains separate the city of Marrakech from the Sahara in which country?
    Morocco.
    Mauritania.
    Algeria.
    Chad.

  41. The Bekaa Valley, a source of grain for the Roman Empire, is part of what Middle Eastern country?
    Egypt.
    Syria.
    Lebanon.
    Israel.

  42. During the 1961 Bay of Pigs invasion, exiles from which Caribbean country tried unsuccessfully to overthrow their country's government?
    Jamaica.
    Cuba.
    Dominican Republic.
    Grenada.

  43. From 1979 to 1989, the Soviet army occupied what landlocked country in Central Asia?
    Uzbekistan.
    Tajikistan.
    Kyrgyzstan.
    Afghanistan.

  44. Panama is bordered by Costa Rica and what other country?
    Honduras.
    Nicaragua.
    Colombia.
    Mexico.

  45. The Umbria region, a center of olive oil production, is in which European country?
    Italy.
    Greece.
    France.
    Slovenia.

  46. Two of the world's largest islands, Baffin and Ellesmere, are in which part of Canada?
    Northwest Territories.
    Labrador.
    Yukon.
    Nunavut.

  47. What is France's chief port on the Mediterranean Sea?
    St. Tropez.
    Marseille.
    Toulon.
    Nice.

Sources: The Chicago Tribune and Seattle Times travel staff

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