Longitude 40 East Trivia Quiz

Answer: Eastern

Like many locations in that part of the world, the village has undergone name changes, starting as Berezova-Yarsk in 1920, then it became Chervona Zirka (from 1928 to 2016) before adopting its present name. It is the easternmost settlement, only about a kilometre from the border with Russia. It is over 1,500 kilometres from Uzhhorod, the westernmost point of Ukraine.

Answer: Tanzania

Our meridian crosses the southeasternmost part of Tanzania just near Mtwara, a city of 140,000 (2020 census). The city is just north of the Ruvuma (Rovuma) River, which is the border between Tanzania and Mozambique. The name Tanzania is a portmanteau of two countries that merged in 1964, Tanganyika and the Zanzibar islands.

The three wrong answers are all in Africa, but well to the west of 40 East.

Answer: Queen Maud Land

In 1820 Fabian von Bellingshausen and Mikhail Lazarev led an expedition towards the South Pole and were the first to see Antarctica. Because of imposing ice-cliffs, the area was not explored until the 1890s. The area named Queen Maud Land was named in 1930 after the reigning queen consort of King Haakon VII, Maud of Wales. Her father was Edward VII of England. Prince Olav V was her son and Harald V was Olav's son, Maud's grandson.

Richard Byrd, an American aviator and explorer, named a large portion of Antarctica after his wife. However, Marie Byrd Land remains unclaimed; in fact it is the largest unclaimed region on earth. Adelie Land is a thin slice of the Antarctic pie, and claimed by France.

The Antarctic Peninsula, the northernmost bit of the continent, is shared by claims from Argentina, Chile, and the United Kingdom.

Answer: Red Sea

The Red Sea meets the Indian Ocean at its southern end, at the Gulf of Aden. The northern end is the Gulf of Suez, which leads to the Suez Canal and the Mediterranean Sea. The sea is roughly 2,200 kms long, but only 350 kms wide.

The Sea of Azov is an offshoot of the Black Sea, in Ukraine. The Ob River is a very large river in Russia, and a considerable distance east of the 40th meridian. The Arafura Sea is between northern Australia and Indonesia.

Answer: Black Sea

Besides Turkey, the Black Sea borders Romania, Bulgaria, Ukraine, Russia and Georgia. The Danube, Dnieper and the Don are all major rivers that run into it. More than twenty other rivers also feed into the sea.

The Yellow Sea is in Eastern Asia, bordering China and the Koreas.

Answer: North

The White Sea is in northern Russia, and is bounded on its north by the Arctic Circle. The city of Arkhangelsk (Anglicised as Archangel) is located on its shore. It was an important city in WWII, being the destination of the Atlantic convoys, which provided supplies to the Russians. They ran from UK and later from USA, rendezvousing near Iceland, round the top of Scandinavia and into the White Sea. The German U-boat wolf packs made these voyages VERY dangerous, sinking many Allied ships.

The White Sea is over 2,500 kms north of the Black Sea.

Answer: Portuguese

The famous Portuguese explorer, Vasco da Gama, was the first European to sight the country, in 1498, leading to colonisation by Portugal. In 1975, Mozambique gained independence, and as was common in African countries, descended into civil war, as various factions sought to take control.

It is now relatively stable, politically, and has a population of around 34 million (2024 estimate). The capital, Maputo, is in the far south of the country, not far from the South African border.

Answer: Batman

The name is thought to originate from the Bati Raman mountain, located just south of the city. The area is known for its oilfields, and much of the population is employed in oil-related industries. It is not far from the border with Syria, and only a few kilometres from the 40th meridian.

I have it on good authority that Bruce Wayne does NOT live there!

Answer: Ethiopia

The 40thE line runs straight through the middle of Ethiopia, which has the largest population in the world, for a landlocked country- almost 110 million people live there. It is one of the few African countries that survived the European carve-up of the continent during the nineteenth century.

Uganda does NOT border Ethiopia- the two countries are separated by western Kenya.

Answer: Eritrea

The islands in the Archipelago have been known for the high quality of their pearls, since ancient times, and the small population of about 3,000 still count pearl diving as a major source of income.

Eritrea was a part of Ethiopia since the 1950s, but after a long campaign, it declared independence in 1993. Its human rights record is rather poor, with no democratic procedures in place, in fact there have been no national elections held since independence.

The small country of Djibouti borders Eritrea to the east, and Somalia is further east and south. Senegal is several thousand kilometres away, on the west coast of Africa.

Answer: Sochi

The first Russian Grand Prix was held in the same year as the Olympics and Paralympics, taking place quite close to the Olympic venues. The race was won by Lewis Hamilton.

Because of its more moderate climate, and its shore on the Black Sea, it is known as a summer resort city for Russians. One of the most southerly cities in the country, it has a population close to half a million, and is not far from the border of Georgia.

Answer: Barents Sea

Ownership of the sea is divided between Russia and Norway. There are extensive natural gas reserves under the sea floor, and it also supports an extensive fishing industry. Willem Barentsz (Barents) was a 16th century explorer who made three journeys into the Arctic searching for a northeast passage between Europe and the Pacific Ocean. The Bering Sea would be at the eastern end of that northeast passage. It separates Russia from Alaska, and was named after the Danish-born Russian, Vitus Bering, who explored the sea and its surroundings in 1728.

The Lazarev Sea and the Bellingshausen Sea are both named after Russian explorers, but are on the opposite side of the planet- they both border Antarctica.

Answer: Mecca

Mecca is in Saudi Arabia and is regarded as the holiest place in the Islamic religion. The Kaaba mosque is the centre of focus for Muslims, and a pilgrimage, or hajj, is part of the obligations to their religion. Kaaba, or Ka'bah is the Arabic word for cube.

Lumbini is in Nepal and is the birthplace of Siddhartha Gautama, the founder of Buddhism. Lao Tzu, the founder of Taoism, was born in the Chinese village of Quren.

Answer: Syria

Al Mayadin is in eastern Syria, and is not far from the border with Iraq. It is near the northern boundaries of the Syrian Desert, which also covers parts of Jordan and Saudi Arabia.

The Euphrates has its source in Turkey, Syria's northern neighbour, before it passes through Iraq and emptying into the Persian Gulf.

Jordan, Israel and Lebanon are all to the west of the 40th meridian.

Answer: Kenya

The river rises near Mt Kenya and passes though the southern part of the country, before emptying into the Indian Ocean. It has several dams along its length, generating power and irrigation for a large proportion of the country.

Garissa is just to the south of another imaginary line- the Equator.