A Geographical Top Three Trivia Quiz

Answer: deepest lakes

Located in southern Siberia, Lake Baikal is the deepest lake in the world, with a maximum depth of 1,622 m (5,387 ft). It is also the largest freshwater lake by volume, containing more water than all the Great Lakes put together. Lake Baikal was formed in a rift valley 25 million years ago, which makes it the world's oldest lake. Lake Tanganyika, located in Central Africa, is also a rift lake, and the world's longest; its maximum depth is 1,470 m (4,823 ft).

The Caspian Sea, located between Europe and Asia, is the largest lake in the world, though its size and the salinity of its waters have led some scientists to class it as a full-fledged sea.

Its maximum depth is 1,025 m (3,363 ft).

Answer: highest capital cities

At an altitude of 3,640 m (11,942 ft) above sea level, the Bolivian city of La Paz is the highest national capital (as in seat of government). Bolivia also has a second (constitutional) capital, Sucre, which is located at the respectable altitude of 2,750 m (9,022). Quito, the capital of Ecuador (and a UNESCO World Heritage site) is next, at an altitude of 2,850 m (9,350 ft). Third on the list is Thimphu, the capital of the small South Asian country of Bhutan, at an altitude of 2,648 m (8,688 ft).

However, some smaller permanent settlements have an even higher elevation: La Rinconada in southern Peru is located near a gold mine, at the whopping altitude of 5,100 m (16,700 ft).

Answer: largest island countries

With more than 13,000 islands and a land area of 1,904,569 km² (735,358 sq mi), the Southeast Asian country of Indonesia is by far the world's largest island nation, as well as one of the world's most populous countries. More than half of the Indonesian population is found on the island of Java (where the capital city of Jakarta is located).

The second-largest island nation, Madagascar, is found in the Indian Ocean, off the coast of Southeast Africa. With an area of 587,713 km² (226,917 sq mi), it is the world's fourth-largest island, and one of the most unique places on Earth in terms of biodiversity.

The third nation on the list, Papua New Guinea, occupies the eastern half of the world's third largest island, New Guinea (the western half, Irian Jaya, is part of Indonesia), and its offshore islands.

It has a land area of 462,840 sq km² (178,704 sq mi), and is the world's most linguistically diverse country, with over 800 languages spoken on its territory.

Answer: countries with the most land borders

Not surprisingly, the three countries with the most land borders (14 for China and Russia, 10 for Brazil) are all among the largest in the world. However, size does not necessarily imply many neighbours: the second biggest country, Canada, only borders the USA, which in turn has land borders only with Canada and Mexico. If overseas territories and departments are considered, France would have land borders with 11 countries, including Brazil: the overseas department of French Guiana borders Brazil to the east and south.

Here is a detailed breakdown of each of these three countries' land borders:

China - Afghanistan, Bhutan, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, North Korea, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan, Vietnam.
Russia - Azerbaijan, Belarus, China, Estonia, Finland, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Mongolia, North Korea, Norway, Poland, Ukraine.
Brazil - Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia, French Guyana (France), Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Uruguay, Venezuela.

Answer: highest volcanoes

The world's three highest volcanoes are all located in the Andes range, and relatively close to each other, in the northern part of the border between Argentina and Chile. Ojos del Salado (6,887 m/22,595 ft), the highest of the three, is also the second highest mountain in the Western and Southern Hemispheres.

However, Llullaillaco (6739 m/22,109 ft) is the one that had the most recent activity (19th century). Cerro Tipas (6660 m/21,850 ft), also known as Cerro Cazadero or Cerro Walter Penk, is the southernmost and most isolated of the three. Since its last eruption occurred over 10,000 years ago, Cerro Tipas is considered dormant (that is, expected to erupt again in the future), while the other two are considered active.

Answer: largest peninsulas

The three largest peninsulas in the world are all found in Asia. With its area of 3,237,500 km2 (1,250,000 sq mi), the oil-rich Arabian Peninsula is by far the largest in the world. Mostly covered by desert, it comprises the countries of Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Qatar, Oman, Bahrain, Kuwait and United Arab Emirates.

The Deccan Peninsula, the central and southern part of Indian subcontinent, is next with an area of 2,072,000 km² (800,004 sq mi). Third on the list is Indochina, the continental part of Southeast Asia, with an area of 1,938,743 km² (748,553 sq mi). Very rich in flora and fauna due to its hot, humid tropical climate, Indochina includes the countries of Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam and the peninsular part of Malaysia.

Answer: driest places

As the whole of Antarctica is considered a desert, it should not come as a surprise that the driest place in the world is located on the southernmost continent. With their extremely low humidity (average rainfall 0 mm/in per year!), the McMurdo Dry Valleys are free of snow and ice, a unique condition on the Antarctic continent due to the surrounding mountains blocking the flow of ice from the East Antarctic ice sheet.

The Atacama Desert in northern Chile, and particularly the city of Arica (the driest inhabited place on Earth), is slightly more humid, with an average rainfall of 0.761 mm/0.03 in per year.

The basin of Kufra in Libya, situated in the middle of the Sahara, is not only very dry (average rainfall per year: 0.860 mm/0.0338 in), but also very hot, with an average annual temperature of 31ºC (88ºF).

Answer: largest landlocked countries

Located in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, and formerly part of the Soviet Union, Kazakhstan is a huge country, the ninth largest in the world (2,724,900 km²/1,052,085 sq mi). Mongolia, sandwiched between Russia and China, is not nearly as big, with its 1,566,500 km² (603,909 sq mi).

The northern Central African country of Chad (1,284,000 km²/495,755 sq mi) comes third, followed by the neighbouring countries of Niger and Mali.

Answer: coldest capital cities

The Mongolian capital of Ulaanbaatar gets the prize for coldest capital in the word. Located at an altitude of 1,350 m (4,430 ft) above sea level, and hundreds of kilometers/miles away from any coast, Ulaanbaatar has an average annual temperature of 0.4ºC (31.3ºF), and winter temperatures can reach -40ºC (-40ºF) and below. Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan, has a slightly warmer climate, with an annual average of 3.5°C (38.3°F); temperatures of -30ºC (-22º) and below are not unusual in winter. The capital of Iceland, Reykjavik (which is also the world's northernmost capital) comes third, with an average annual temperature of 4.3ºC (39.7ºF). Due to the influence of the Gulf Stream, however, winter temperatures in Reykjavik never reach the lows of other cities: the lowest temperature recorded there was -19.7ºC (-3ºF).

Answer: lowest surface points

Located between Israel, Jordan and the West Bank, the Dead Sea depression is a large area of land below sea level that contains the lowest surface point on Earth - the shoreline of the Dead Sea, about 423 m (1,388 ft) below sea level. The following entries on the list are close contenders for second and third place, as their elevation is constantly changing. Lake Assal, a salt lake in the Afar Depression in Djibouti, lies at about 155 m (509 ft) below sea level. Lake Aydingkol, located in in the Turpan (or Turfan) Depression in western China, and now almost completely dry, is third at 154 m (505 ft) below sea level. All of these areas share a hot and dry climate, with summer temperatures that can reach 50ºC (122ºF), and high levels of evaporation and salinity.