Farther North, South, East, or West Quiz

Each question has two major cities and a cardinal direction. You just have to tell me which city is farther in the given direction (larger latitude or longitude value). Note, all coordinates have been rounded to the nearest whole degree.

A multiple-choice quiz by qrayx. Estimated time: 3 mins.

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. Of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and Reykjavik, Iceland, which is farther West?

Answer: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Reykjavik sits at 22� West and Rio de Janeiro is 43� West, for a difference of 21�. Their time zones are three hours apart, though Reykjavik is far enough west that it should only be two. Iceland keeps the same time as the United Kingdom to keep their time closer to the rest of Europe.

2. Of Lima, Peru, and Singapore, Singapore, which is farther South?

Answer: Lima, Peru

Singapore is actually 1� North (just above the equator), while Lima is 12� South. Singapore has a reputation as an island city-state with a high population density. Peru has a much lower density, but the city of Lima has twice as many people as Singapore and a higher population density (2020 numbers).

3. Of Lagos, Nigeria, and Jakarta, Indonesia, which is farther South?

Answer: Jakarta, Indonesia

Jakarta is 6� South and Lagos is on the other side of the equator at 7� North, for a difference of 13� of latitude. They are separated by 104� of longitude, or 6 time zones.

4. Of Delhi, India, and Mexico City, Mexico, which is farther North?

Answer: Delhi, India

Delhi is 29� North and Mexico City is at 19� North, for a difference of 10�. Originally for this question I was looking at Mumbai, India, which sits at 19.08� North, just south of Mexico City (19.43� North), but that seemed too close for a fair question.

5. Of Toronto, Canada, and Paris, France, which is farther North?

Answer: Paris, France

A lot of the population of Canada (the Great White North) actually lives further south than a lot of Europe (and, interestingly, a lot of the United States' population). Toronto sits at 44� North, with Paris at 49� North, for a differences of 5�. The 49th parallel is the border for a lot of the U.S.-Canada border, but southern Ontario and Quebec (where more than half the Canadian population live) are south of that parallel.

6. Of Melbourne, Australia, and Tokyo, Japan, which is farther East?

Answer: Melbourne, Australia

Our first triple digit numbers! Tokyo is at 140� East, but Melbourne beats it by 5� at 145� East. These two cities are about equally far from the equator, with Melbourne at 38� South, and Tokyo at 36� North.

7. Of Madrid, Spain, and London, United Kingdom, which is farther West?

Answer: Madrid, Spain

Considering the prime meridian (0� longitude) is defined as passing through Greenwich, UK, it's unsurprising that London is (when rounded) also at 0�. Madrid is 4� West. Despite being more west, Spain is one hour ahead of the UK to use the same time as the majority of Europe. Spain's neighbour, Portugal (good friends with England for centuries), uses Greenwich Mean Time.

8. Of Seoul, Korea, and New York, United States, which is farther North?

Answer: New York, United States

Seoul is (when rounded) at 38� North, with New York just a bit higher at 41� North. The 38th parallel was the original border between North and South Korea after the second world war. The border changed a bit after the Korean War, but the border is still often called the 38th. Seoul is less than 30 km from the border with North Korea.

9. Of Cape Town, South Africa, and Cairo, Egypt, which is farther East?

Answer: Cairo, Egypt

Cairo, at the far north of Africa, sits at 31� East, while Cape Town, at the far south (and on the Atlantic coast), sits at just 18� East. The South African city of Johannesburg is much closer to Cairo at 28� East. Egypt, despite having broad modern borders, has most of its population concentrated along the north-south Nile River, so most of its population centres have really close longitude values.

10. Of Auckland, New Zealand, and Buenos Aires, Argentina, which is farther South?

Answer: Auckland, New Zealand

Auckland and Buenos Aires both sit near the north ends of their countries and are very close in latitude. Buenos Aires, at 35� South, is just a bit north of Auckland's 37� South.

Source: Author qrayx

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor agony before going online.
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Farther North, South, East, or West Quiz

Each question has two major cities and a cardinal direction. You just have to tell me which city is farther in the given direction (larger latitude or longitude value). Note, all coordinates have been rounded to the nearest whole degree.

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