"C"ities of the USA Trivia Quiz

Answer: Columbus OH

By 2015 estimates, there were 30 US cities beginning with "C" with populations in excess of 100,000, two of them state capitals. Many people may be surprised to learn that Columbus, Ohio, home to 850,000 (2015 estimate), is the country's 15th-largest city and the 4th-largest state capital.

After Ohio achieved statehood in 1803, political wrangling led to the state capital moving back and forth from Chillicothe to Zanesville. The solution was to build a centrally-located new city, and Columbus, named for the Genoan explorer, was founded on Valentine's Day 1812. After taking 18 years to build, the Ohio Statehouse finally opened here in 1857.

The city has various nicknames: "Discovery City", "Arch City", "Indie Art Capital", "Cowtown", "The Biggest Small Town in America" and simply "Cbus". Here you will find one of the country's largest universities (Ohio State), the largest private research and development foundation in the world (Battelle Memorial Institute) and the world's largest clearinghouse of chemical information (the Chemical Abstracts Service).

Notable Columbusites include the actress Beverly D'Angelo, golfing legend Jack Nicklaus, football's only two-time Heisman Trophy winner and long-time Cincinnati Bengals running back Archie Griffin, ace WWI fighter pilot Eddie Rickenbacker, horror fiction novelist R.L. Stine and cartoonist James Thurber.

Answer: Centennial CO

Having gained statehood in 1876, the state of Colorado is known as the Centennial State. When residents of various towns in Arapahoe County (the third most populous in Colorado) just south of Denver joined to form an incorporated city in 2001, they chose the name Centennial to mark the history of their state.

One of my all-time favourite novels, "Centennial" is a 1974 historical fiction by the Pulitzer-winning author James A Michener. It tells the story of the Colorado region from the time the mountains were formed, through the story of the indigenous peoples and creatures, to the arrival of settlers from the East. The Philadelphia Centennials will be known only to the most ardent of baseball anoraks: they failed to survive through their only season in the National Association, posting a 2-12 record in 1875 before they disappeared.

Notable people from Centennial include the young actress Madisen Beaty ("The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"), born here in 1995, and the actress Melissa Benoist (Marley Rose in the hit TV series "Glee), born in Littleton, now part of Centennial, in 1988.

Answer: Cedar Rapids IA

I380 is a 73-mile long auxiliary Interstate that runs north from I-80 near Iowa City to Waterloo in eastern Iowa. 20 miles north of Iowa City, I-380 passes through Cedar Rapids, Iowa's second-largest city (after the state capital, Des Moines). The city's symbol, a sculpture called "The Tree of Five Seasons", stands in the downtown region on the north bank of the Cedar River. Seen in numerous forms throughout the city, the 'fifth season' represents 'the time to enjoy the other four'.

Notable Cedar Rapidians include actor Elijah Wood (Frodo in "Lord of the Rings" film series), actress Terry Farrell (Jadzia Dax TV's "Star Trek: DS9"), actor Ashton Kutcher (formerly married to Demi Moore) and Marshal Yanda (Superbowl XLVII winner with the Baltimore Ravens).

Answer: Cambridge MA

The city's official motto is 'Literis Antiquis Novis Institutis Decora' (meaning "Distinguished for Classical Learning and New Institutions". Cambridge, Massachusetts was not only named for the famous English university city, but also has one of the world's highest concentrations of exceptionally smart people. The institutions in this relatively small city produce an incredibly high proportion of the statesmen, business leaders and scientists of the next generation. Here you will find two of the wprld's most -prestigious seats of higher learning, Harvard University (campus pictured) and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. It was also the home of the country's foremost university for women, Radcliffe College, until it completed its merger with Harvard in 1999.

Notable Cambridge natives include physician and poet Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr, Oscar-winning actor, producer, screenwriter Matt Damon, poet e.e. cummings, actor Paul Michael Glaser (TV's "Starsky & Hutch"), politician and U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Tip O'Neill, comedian Steven Wright, actor Frank Luz and actor Sam Waterston (Jack McCoy in TV hit series "Law & Order").

Answer: Clarksville TN

Clarksville, Tennessee was named for General George Rogers Clark, a Virginian who became the northwestern front's highest ranking officer during the American War of Independence. His brother was Second Lieutenant William Clark, who explored the western American state with Captain Meriwether Lewis.

Established in 1927 and now the seat of learning for around 10,000 students, Austin Peay State University in downtown Clarksville is Tennessee's fastest-growing centre of higher education. The city is also home to The Leaf-Chronicle, the state's oldest newspaper.

On the north side of the city, between Clarksville TN and Hopkinsville KY, is Fort Campbell, opened in 1941 and home to the 101st Airborne Division and the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment. Although officially designated at Fort Campbell, Kentucky for postal purposes, the majority of the base actually lies on the Tennessee side of the state line.

Notable Clarksville natives include mountaineer Ben Clark (at 23 in 2003 he became the second youngest American to climb Everest), entrepreneur Clarence Saunders (founder of Piggly Wiggly Stores), NASCAR driver Jeff Purvis and golfer Mason Rudolph.

Answer: Corpus Christi TX

Located some 130 miles southeast of San Antonio, Corpus Christi, Texas lies on the Gulf of Mexico. The bay on which the city stands was named "Body of Christ" by a 16th-century Spanish-speaking explorer and the city was given the same name in the 1840s.

The photograph shows a spectacular night view of the Corpus Christi Harbor Bridge, built in 1959 to carry traffic across the ship canal that serves one of the country's busiest seaports. Handling mostly oil and agricultural products, the city is home to the deepest inshore port on the Gulf of Mexico.

The USS Lexington, nicknamed "The Blue Ghost", was launched here in 1942. An Essex-class aircraft carrier, she was the fifth US Navy ship named for the Revolutionary War battle. Designated as a National Historic Landmark in 2003, the Lexington is the world's oldest remaining fleet carrier.

Notable natives of Corpus Christi include Hall of Famer and former Baltimore Colts split end Raymond Berry, country singer Roger Creager, actress Farrah Fawcett (Jill Munroe in TV's original "Charlie's Angels") and NASCAR champion Terry Labonte.

Answer: Charleston SC

With a population in excess of 135,000 (2015 estimate), Charleston has overtaken state capital Columbia since the 2010 Census to become the largest city in South Carolina. Founded in 1670 as Charles Town (in honour of England's king at the time, Charles II), by the end of the 17th-century it was amongst the five largest cities in the country. It was not until after the Revolutionary War, in 1783, that the city was incorporated, complete with the name by which we know it today.

Established in 1842 as The Military College of South Carolina, The Citadel today educates around 3,500 students of which more than 80% are army cadets. Sports teams representing the Citadel Bulldogs compete in the Southern Conference of the NCAA Division 1 against other southeastern universities including South Carolina, Alabama, Georgia and Tennessee.

Notable natives of Charleston include novelist Robert Jordan (the "Wheel of Time" book series), chemist and former Space Shuttle and International Space Station astronaut Catherine Coleman, suffragette Helen Morris Lewis, Nobel Prize-winning biochemist Robert F. Furchgott, actor Thomas Gibson (TV's "Chicago Hope" and Aaron Hotchner in "Criminal Minds") and country singer and songwriter Darius Rucker.

Answer: Carlsbad CA

The city of Carlsbad, California is located on a seven-mile stretch of the Pacific coast some 35 miles north of San Diego and 90 miles south of Los Angeles. With a median income in excess of $100,000 p/a it is ranked as California's fifth-richest city.

Carlsbad became home to the world's first modern purpose-built skateboard park in 1976. In 1999, the first LegoLand theme park (pictured) outside of Europe opened here, instantly becoming the third-largest employer in the city.

Notable Carlsbadians include professional skateboarder Tony Hawk.

Answer: Cleveland OH

Named for Connecticut-born soldier and surveyor Moses Cleveland, it is the second-largest city in Ohio after the state capital Columbus. The photograph shows a picturesque night scene of downtown Cleveland, which is located on the southern shore of Lake Erie. Owing to its heavily wooded areas, Cleveland has been known as "The Forest City" since the 1830s. Indeed, the very first major-league baseball game was played in 1871 by two National Association teams, one of which was the Forest City club of Cleveland. (The other was the Kekionga club of Fort Wayne, Indiana.)

Cleveland became "The Rock and Roll Capital of the World" in 1983, when the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame opened as part of the city's North Coast Harbour development. Case Western Reserve University is a relative newcomer in terms of higher education institutions, having been established in 1967 from the merger of two colleges founded in the 19th-century.

Notable Clevelanders include U.S. President James A. Garfield, Oscar-winning actress Halle Berry, singer Tracy Chapman, director Wes Craven, sci-fi novelist Stephen R. Donaldson, TV host Arsenio Hall, Apollo 13 astronaut Jim Lovell, composer Henry Mancini and Hall of Famer and former Pittsburgh Steelers coach Chuck Noll.

Answer: Chattanooga TN

Chattanooga, Tennessee lies between the Appalachian Mountains and the Cumberland Plateau on the Tennessee River near the southeastern corner of the state. That Chattanooga should be a hub for rail transit should come as no surprise to anyone who remembers the 1941 Glenn Miller song "The Chattanooga Choo Choo". The city is also the home of the Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum and the HQ of the National Model Railroad Association. On the roads, I-24, I-59 and I-75 all serve the city.

The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga is located in the city and are represented in the Southern Conference of the NCAA Division 1 sporting program. The Mocs (originally the Chattanooga Moccasins) basketball team have played at the 11,000-seat McKenzie Arena since 1982.

Notable Chattanoogan include former tennis great Roscoe Tanner, Hall of Famer and 13-time All-Pro defensive end Reggie White, country and soul singer Fred Cash, composer George S. Clinton and professional wrestlers Ray and Terry Gordy.