Extreme Geography Quiz

1. What is the lowest point on Earth's land surface?

1. Death Valley at -86 metres
2. The Afar Depression at -155 metres
3. The Dead Sea shore (Israel/Jordan/Palestine) at -430 metres
4. The Mariana Trench at -11,034 metres

2. Which is the world's coldest permanently inhabited place?

1. Barrow (Utqiaġvik), Alaska
2. Oymyakon, Russia
3. Resolute Bay, Canada
4. Yakutsk, Russia

3. What is the world's largest hot desert?

1. The Arabian Desert
2. The Australian Outback
3. The Gobi Desert
4. The Sahara Desert

4. What is the world's largest country by land area?

1. Canada
2. China
3. Russia
4. United States

5. Which point on Earth's surface is farthest from the Earth's centre?

1. Mount Chimborazo in Ecuador — because Earth bulges at the equator, making equatorial mountains further from the centre
2. Mount Everest — because it is the highest point above sea level
3. The North Pole — because the Arctic is elevated ice
4. The Tibetan Plateau — because it is the highest landmass by average elevation

6. The Amazon River discharges more water than any other river. How much of the world's freshwater discharge into oceans does it represent?

1. About 10%
2. About 20%
3. About 30%
4. About 5%

7. What is the world's highest navigable lake?

1. Lake Tanganyika in East Africa at 773 metres
2. Lake Titicaca on the Peru-Bolivia border at 3,812 metres
3. Nam Tso in Tibet at 4,718 metres
4. The Caspian Sea at -28 metres

8. Which country has the longest coastline in the world?

1. Australia
2. Canada
3. Indonesia
4. Russia

9. What is the world's smallest country by area?

1. Liechtenstein
2. Monaco
3. San Marino
4. Vatican City

10. Where is the world's largest freshwater lake by surface area?

1. Lake Baikal, Russia
2. Lake Superior, North America
3. Lake Tanganyika, Africa
4. The Caspian Sea

11. Which continent has the highest average elevation?

1. Antarctica
2. Asia
3. North America
4. South America

12. Which country is the most densely populated in the world (excluding city-states)?

1. Bangladesh
2. India
3. Netherlands
4. Rwanda

13. What is the world's largest canyon?

1. The Blyde River Canyon, South Africa
2. The Cotahuasi Canyon, Peru
3. The Grand Canyon, USA
4. The Yarlung Tsangpo Grand Canyon, Tibet

14. Where is the world's highest waterfall (by total drop)?

1. Angel Falls, Venezuela
2. Iguazu Falls, Brazil/Argentina
3. Niagara Falls, USA/Canada
4. Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe/Zambia

15. What is the world's longest mountain range?

1. The Andes in South America
2. The Himalayas in Asia
3. The Mid-Ocean Ridge
4. The Rocky Mountains in North America

16. Which country has the largest number of active volcanoes?

1. Iceland
2. Indonesia
3. Japan
4. Philippines

17. What is the world's most sparsely populated country?

1. Greenland
2. Iceland
3. Mongolia
4. Namibia

18. Which is the world's largest lake by surface area (if salt lakes are included)?

1. Lake Baikal, Russia
2. Lake Huron, North America
3. Lake Superior, North America
4. The Caspian Sea

19. What is the driest non-polar desert on Earth?

1. Death Valley
2. The Arabian Desert
3. The Atacama Desert
4. The Sahara Desert

20. Which country contains the point on Earth most distant from any ocean — the 'pole of inaccessibility'?

1. China
2. Kazakhstan
3. Mongolia
4. Russia