River Deep - Mountain High Trivia Quiz

Answer: Batian

Mount Kilimanjaro is located in northeastern Tanzania. It is comprised of three dormant volcano peaks. The tallest of the peaks is Kibo with a height of 19,341 ft (5,895 m). The second tallest is Mawenzi with a height of 16,893 ft (5,149 m). The shortest of the three is Shira, with a height of 13,140 ft (4,005 m).

Like Mount Kilimanjaro, Mount Kenya is also comprised of multiple dormant volcano peaks. Mount Kenya is located about 85 mi (136 km) northeast of Nairobi, Kenya's capital city. Batian is the tallest of Mount Kenya's peaks with a height of 17,057 ft (5,199 m).

Answer: Lake Tana (Ethiopia)

The White Nile originates at Lake Victoria in Uganda. It received the name White Nile as its water tends to have a duller color than the rest of the river due to clay sediment. The White Nile is the longer of the two main tributaries that converge to form the Nile River.

The Blue Nile originates at Lake Tana in Ethiopia. While it is the shorter of the two tributaries, it carries a larger volume of water. The Blue Nile starts out flowing southeast from Lake Tana and eventually curves to flow towards the northwest. The White and Blue Nile converge near the city of Khartoum, Sudan. According to Britannica.com, the Nile River is considered the longest river in the world with a length of 4,132 mi (6,650 km).

Answer: Mount Erebus

Mount Erebus is an active volcano on the continent of Antarctica. It has a height of 12,448 ft (3,794 m). Mount Erebus is located on Ross Island near an American research facility named McMurdo Station. The station and the mountain are both part of an Antarctic territory that has been claimed by New Zealand.

On November 28, 1979, Air New Zealand flight 901 departed from Auckland, New Zealand to fly a sightseeing route over Antarctica. It was scheduled to land at Christchurch to refuel before finally returning to Auckland. The flight was operated using a McDonnell Douglas DC-10. An error was made when the flight was being planned out and on top of that, the pilots encountered low visibility near Mount Erebus. The plane struck Mount Erebus and all 257 people on board perished.

Answer: Onyx River

The Onyx River is considered to be the longest river in Antarctica, despite having a length of only about 20 mi (32 km). Approximately 97 percent of Antarctica's terrain is hidden beneath a thick sheet of ice, which would carve out longer rivers should the ice ever melt completely.

The Onyx River sits on the Antarctic 'mainland' at the edge of the Ross Ice Shelf. The river is formed by meltwater that flows through the Wright Valley between the foot of the Wright Lower Glacier at Lake Brownworth down to Lake Vanda. The Onyx River only flows during the summer months (December-March) when temperatures can get high enough to melt some of the glacier ice. The river freezes up the rest of the year.

Answer: K2

Three of the top four highest peaks in the entire world can be found in the Himalaya mountain range and are partially within the borders of Nepal. In fact, Mount Everest and Lhotse, which both sit on the border between Nepal and China, are less than two miles (3.2 km) apart from each other (if you were to measure directly from one peak to the other). Kangchenjunga lies about 75 mi (120 km) to the east of Mount Everest and Lhotse and sits on the border between Nepal and India. K2, however, is located between the borders of China and Pakistan in the Karakoram mountain range.

Mount Everest is ranked number one with a height of 29,032 ft (8,849 m). K2 is second with a height of 28,251 ft (8,611 m). Kangchenjunga is third with a height of 28,169 ft (8,586 m). Lhotse is fourth with a height of 27,940 ft (8,516 m).

Answer: Shanghai

The Yangtze is the longest river in Asia and is also considered to be the third longest in the entire world. According to Britannica.com, the Yangtze has a length of 3,915 mi (6,300 km). The Yangtze is one of two major rivers that flow through China. The other is the Yellow (Huang He) River which flows further to the north.

The headwaters of the Yangtze River originate from the Tanggula Mountains in the Tibet Autonomous Region of China. From there, the Yangtze flows towards the east. It passes by the cities of Chongqing, Wuhan and Nanjing before emptying out to the East China Sea near Shanghai.

Answer: Snowy Mountains

Mount Kosciuszko can be found in the Snowy Mountains, which are located in southern New South Wales, near the state border with Victoria. Mount Kosciuszko is the tallest mountain on the continent of Australia with a height of 7,310 ft (2,228 m).

Mount Kosciuszko was named after Polish freedom fighter General Tadeusz Kosciuszko (1746-1817). It was given its name by Polish explorer Pawel Edmund Strzelecki (1797-1873) when he toured through mainland Australia and Tasmania from 1839-1842.

Answer: Queensland

The Murray River begins in the mountains near Cowombat Flat in the state of New South Wales. It then flows from east to west forming a natural border between New South Wales and Victoria. The Murray River continues into South Australia where it turns southward and empties out into Lake Alexandria located to the southeast of Adelaide. According to Britannica.com, the Murray River has a length of 1,570 mi (2,530 km).

It should be noted that there are actually two rivers in Australia named the Murray River. The second one is much shorter and can be found in the southwestern corner of Western Australia, south of the city of Perth. Both rivers were named after British Secretary of State Sir George Murray (1772-1846).

Answer: Caucasus

Mount Elbrus can be found in the Caucasus Mountains which are located in the southwestern corner of Russia. The Caucasus mountain range forms a natural border between Russia and the nation of Georgia. Mount Elbrus itself lies fully within the Russian side of the border.

Mount Elbrus is considered to be the tallest mountain in Europe as it sits on the western side of the Ural Mountains. Mount Elbrus is an extinct volcano and features two prominent peaks. The tallest of the peaks has a height of 18,356 ft (5,642 m). The second peak has a height of 18,356 ft (5,595 m).

Answer: Caspian Sea

The Volga River is also located on the European side of Russia. The river begins in the Valdai Hills located to the northwest of Moscow. It meanders through western Russia and eventually empties out into the Caspian Sea just south of the border between Russia and Kazakhstan. Per Britannica.com, the Volga River has a length of 2,193 mi (3,530 km).

Though the Volga River comes close to the border with Kazakhstan, since it remains on the western side of the Ural Mountains, it is considered to be part of the continent of Europe. Outside of Russia, the longest river in Europe would be the Danube with a length of 1,770 mi (2,850 km).

Answer: Yukon Territory

Denali (aka Mount McKinley) is part of the Alaska mountain range in south central Alaska between the cities of Anchorage and Fairbanks. It is the tallest mountain in North America with a height of 20,310 ft (6,190 m). The mountain received its alternate name in 1896 in honor of the then presidential candidate William McKinley who won the election and became the 25th President of the United States.

Mount Logan, which is the tallest mountain in Canada and the second tallest in North America, lies just to the east of the border between Alaska and Yukon Territory in Canada. Mount Logan has a height of 19,551 ft (5,959 m). The mountain was named after Canadian geologist Sir William Edmond Logan (1798-1875).

Answer: Minnesota

The Mississippi River begins at Lake Itasca which is located in northern Minnesota near the city of Bemidji. The Mississippi River starts out flowing north and east before eventually curving towards the south.

The Mississippi River then continues flowing to the south forming a natural border for ten states before eventually draining out to the Gulf of Mexico near the city of New Orleans, Louisiana. Per Britannica.com, the Mississippi River is the longest river in North America with a length of 2,340 mi (3.766 km).

Answer: Mount Aconcagua

Mount Aconcagua is the tallest mountain that is located outside the continent of Asia. Per Wikipedia, it ranks 189th overall in the world with a height of 22,838 ft (6,961 m). Mount Aconcagua can be found within the Andes mountain range in western Argentina. It sits less than ten miles (fifteen kilometers) from the Chile/Argentina border.

Mount Chimborazo in Ecuador is another notable mountain in South America. While it is not the tallest in the Western Hemisphere, scientists have designated it as the furthest point from the center of the Earth. This is caused by the Earth bulging out at the equator due to its axial rotation.

Answer: Peru

The Amazon River is considered the second longest river in the entire world. Per Britannica.com, the Amazon River has an estimated length of around 4,000 mi (6,400 km). While it ranks only second in length, the Amazon River is by far considered to be the largest river in the world when measured by the volume of water it carries.

The Amazon River primarily flows through northern Brazil from west to east and empties out into the Atlantic Ocean just north of the city of Belem. However, the source of the Amazon River is located in northeastern Peru, near the city of Iquitos.

Answer: New Guinea

Mount Kosciuszko is the tallest mountain on the continent of Australia. However, Australia has been politically grouped into a broader region called Oceania, which includes the eastern side of the island of New Guinea (aka Papua New Guinea). Therefore, Mount Wilhelm, which is located in Papua New Guinea, is often considered to be the tallest mountain in the entire Oceanic region. Mount Wilhelm has a height of 14,793 ft (4,509 m).

If the whole island of New Guinea were to be included as being part of Oceania, then Puncak Jaya, which is located on the Indonesian side (western side) of New Guinea would then the tallest mountain in the region. Indonesia as a whole is generally considered to be politically part of Asia. Puncak Jaya has a height of 16,024 ft (4,884 m).