Elemental Geography Trivia Quiz

Answer: Arctic

"Arctic" is a Greek word meaning "toward the bear," which in this case means the constellation Ursa Minor (the Little Dipper), which includes the North Star. "Antarctic" means "away from the bear."

Answer: South America

Amerigo Vespucci was an Florentine explorer who made some very nice maps of the new world in the 1500s. A German cartographer, Martin Waldseemüller, liked Vespucci's maps so much that he honoured him by using his name for the new continent, and then it stuck.

Answer: Pacific

In English, the Pacific Ocean's name is traced back to the Portuguese explorer Magellan, who called it the "peaceful sea." Interestingly, the Japanese and Chinese names for the Pacific have roughly the same meaning.

Answer: Alps

The Alps are a mountain range in southern Europe, with parts in France, Switzerland, Italy, Lichtenstein, Austria, Germany, and Slovenia. The Alps have maintained their name back into ancient history. The name means "white."

Answer: Baltic

The Baltic Sea is a norther European sea separating Scandinavia from the rest of the continent. Germany, Poland, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Russia, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania all have coasts on the Baltic Sea, but only those last three are called the "Baltic States."

Answer: Sinai

The Sinai peninsula is a part of modern day Egypt, jutting into the Red Sea. Many stories in the Abrahamic religions are set here, including Moses receiving the Ten Commandments from God on Mt. Sinai.

Answer: Atlantic

The name for this ocean translates as "Atlas' Sea," with Atlas being the Greek Titan who holds the world upon his shoulders. An Atlas is also a book of maps, named after the same character.

Answer: Pamirs

The Pamirs are a mountain range in central Asia, with parts in modern Afghanistan, China, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan. They include some of the highest peaks in the world (higher than the Alps, Andes, and Rockies), but are overshadowed by their neighbours, the Himalayas and Karakoram.

Answer: Yucatan

The Yucatán peninsula in Mexico is a popular tourist destination. There is fascinating history in the region, including Mayan temples, and the Chicxulub crater, which is where the dinosaur-killing asteroid struck 66 million years ago.

Answer: Hudson bay

A bay is defined as a body of water surrounded on three sides by land. Hudson bay is one of the largest bays in the world (the largest, by area, is the Bay of Bengal). Hudson Bay was named after Henry Hudson, the same person the New York river is named after. The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) was chartered in 1670, and was a major force on Canadian history. It is still running today.