Go For the Gulf! Trivia Quiz

Also known as the Gulf of Makran, the Gulf of Oman sits at the mouth of the Indian Ocean at the Arabian Sea, where the waters cut the Arabian Peninsula off from the rest of Asia. Though much of this gulf runs along the coast of Oman, it also touches on Iraq and a bit of Pakistan on its north side and a bit of the United Arab Emirates at its far west before it opens into the more contained Persian Gulf.

Interestingly, the Gulf of Oman is known for its complicated marine ecosystem. Years of shipping, climate change, and fertilizer deposits inevitably created a dead zone for marine life.

The body of water found where the lengthy Saint Lawrence River cuts into North America, the Gulf of Saint Lawrence contains the Canadian provinces of Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, and Newfoundland while also bordering along the edges of Labrador, Quebec, and New Brunswick.

The gulf here has great historical significance for both Canada and what would become the 'New World' for early explorers as the waters would lead settlers inland towards the Great Lakes and what would become New France (and, eventually, Upper and Lower Canada).

Found at the Equator and the Prime Meridian where the Atlantic Ocean runs along the coast of Africa, the Gulf of Guinea encompasses the Atlantic waters for more than a dozen nations. Though its span has been contested over the years by many of said nations, all aiming to stake claim to a portion of it, it's been a critical region for explorers and shipping over centuries of maritime navigation. Until passage was found around and through the Americas or the Red Sea, ships headed for Asia generally went through this region.

Also known as the Gulf of Livonia, the Gulf of Riga is squeezed between the nations of Latvia and Estonia and the capital of the former sits on its shores on the freshwater Daugava River. Interestingly, because of the narrow strait that connects this gulf to the Baltic Sea, much of the fresh water that feeds into it makes the waters quite a bit less saline than the Baltic.

This disparity allows the Gulf of Riga to, for the most part, freeze over consistently during the wintertime.

The Gulf of Fonseca is likely a lesser-known body of water than most. Sitting on the Pacific side of Central America, this gulf shoots out into bays that form the interior coastlines of El Salvador, Honduras, and Nicaragua. Much of this region, inland at least, is comprised of wetlands while the islands found throughout the gulf are the results of volcanic activity.

Connected to the Indian Ocean by the shipping lanes in the Strait of Hormuz (leading to the Gulf of Oman), the Persian Gulf is one of the most important bodies of water, historically, for the shipment of oil and petroleum, and because of that, many of the cities built along its coast, especially in the United Arab Emirates (like Abu Dhabi and Dubai), emerged in the 21st century as destinations of wealth. Surrounded by eight countries, the Persian Gulf is known for diverse people and wildlife. It's been a region occupied by early civilization since the Stone Age.

One of the larger arms of the Baltic Sea, the Gulf of Finland is home to both the Finnish capital of Helsinki and the Estonian capital of Tallinn. Its importance reaches much further than that-- east, that is-- since it stretches as far as Russia and the major port city of Saint Petersburg, where the Neva River feeds into the sea.

The Gulf of Finland is relatively shallow as far as bodies of water go, and because of the temperature and ecosystem it forms, it's uniquely well-suited to preserving its thousands of historical shipwrecks.

Surrounded on the west by a long stretch of Northern Australia and on the east by Far North Queensland, the Gulf of Carpentaria opens northward into the Arafura Sea and the Torres Strait towards the Pacific Ocean and the island of New Guinea. Though many rivers flow into the gulf here, the region is notably sparsely inhabited, likely due to the remoteness of this hot expanse (typical for Australia).

Bordering five U.S. states, six Mexican states, and the nation of Cuba, the Gulf of Mexico is one of the most populated gulfs in the world and a unique site for industry-- especially oil and petrochemicals-- because of deposits beneath its shallow waters.

While the region is quite susceptible to inclement Caribbean weather, it's also, in some spots, quite the tourist destination; cities like Cancun and New Orleans make their home on different parts of the region. The Mississippi River watershed, which reaches as far north as the Canadian province of Alberta, has waters that flow into this gulf.

The northernmost reach of the Baltic Sea, the Gulf of Bothnia spreads itself up between Sweden and Finland, creating the long peninsula of Scandinavia in Northern Europe. Because of its northerly location and because the capitals of these countries are quite a ways south, the Gulf of Bothnia is home to a small handful of cities built around fishing, logging, and mining industries.

The massive region is otherwise densely forested and uninhabited.