Journey Around the Globe [23] Trivia Quiz

Answer: Atacama

The Atacama is one of the driest and least hospitable deserts in the world, actually receiving less precipitation than any other. Its aridity leads to unique traits brought on by mountain ranges to the east and west. For instance, the desert is pocked with salt flats, a major source of industry for Northern Chile, and many of the rare cases of groundwater in the region are tainted with high levels of arsenic.

This said, the conditions lead the Atacama to be a hotspot (not a pun) for professional astronomers and adventure-seekers.

The Tarapacá Region takes in in the port city of Iquique on the west coast.

Answer: Sintra, Portugal

A medieval castle built more than one thousand years ago by the Moors, Castelo dos Mouros overlooks Sintra, Portugal to the northwest of what is presently the Portuguese capital, Lisbon. Now a UNESCO World Heritage site, the castle here offers unparalleled views from its chapel, towers, and battlements from atop a hill. Sintra is, otherwise, a fascinating historical city home to unique Romanesque architecture along the Costa do Sol.

As such it's also one of the richest regions in Portugal and all of Southwestern Europe.

Answer: Norway

One of the most northern permanent settlements on the globe, the Lofoten Archipelago juts off the northwest coast of Norway and falls inside the Arctic Circle. This means that for a chunk of its summer the region is bathed in sunlight day and night while in winter it is left in darkness.

But nonetheless, the region is majestic, home to fishing villages nestled between fjorded peaks separated by stretches of water in the North Atlantic. Some of the villages here date back to the Viking era.

Answer: Gdansk

The city of Gdańsk, Poland, is one of the largest in the nation and it sits near the northern coast. Shown here is a small piece of the Motława River Waterfront as it cuts in front of a medieval harbour crane north of Old Town Gdansk. The Motława ends when it meets the Gulf of Gdansk and the Baltic Sea to the north, but it stretches deep into Poland proper, connecting to the Vistula River which, in turn, winds down to Warsaw and Kraków.

Answer: Schönbrunn Palace

Schönbrunn Palace has been one of the central landmarks for the House of Habsburg since the sixteenth century and the extensive grounds there, home to acres and acres of gardens, mazes, a zoo, fountains, and hills, are a Viennese sight to behold. The Gloriette, depicted, is on the highest part of the property and grants a panoramic view of the otherwise flat surrounding city. Formerly a dining hall, the Schönbrunn Gloriette is now a focal point rising above the Palace proper.

It was destroyed in the Second World War but has since been rebuilt.

Answer: Abu Dhabi

Yas Island is home to the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix (at the Yas Marina Circuit) but the island is also the destination for waterparks and theme parks operated by Ferrari, Warner Brothers, and SeaWorld. Abu Dhabi may not be the first place on the mind as a tourist destination, but these high-ticket attractions bring in a healthy amount of visitors.

The city, the second-largest in the United Arab Emirates after Dubai, is better known for its government buildings, the Sheikh Zayed Mosque, and the surrounding desert. Abu Dhabi, fortunately, sits on islands at the edge of the Persian Gulf; everywhere inland is a bit drier.

Answer: Oman

Found in the far east of the United Arab Emirates, Al Ain shares the border crossing with the Omani town of Al-Buraimi but is, notably, the larger of the two, having been built up as a tourist destination in an oasis. Home to one of the country's largest mosques, the Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Mosque, Al Ain almost seems like an outlier city, being nowhere near the Persian Gulf and being surrounded by desert.

The city also sits in the shadow of the mountain of Jebel Hafeet, the only classified peak in this part of the nation.

Answer: Java

Found north of the city of Bandung, Tangkuban Perahu is typically seen as a tourist destination because of its landscape. For years, visitors have been able to reach the craters of the peak to view the local hot springs. This being said, due to its location, Tangkuban Perahu has been active frequently, even in the twenty-first century (in 2013 and 2019). Safety is a major factor in determining whether or not anyone can step foot in the area.

The north side of the peak is, notably, off-limits because it spews poison gas.

Answer: Honshu

Technically a Buddhist shrine, the Gotokuji Shrine, found in Setagaya, Tokyo, is on the island of Honshu, Japan's largest. Easily reached from the Tokyo Metro, it's a bit of a pilgrimage spot for anyone aiming to track the origin of Maneki Neko, a typical Japanese good luck charm. Gotokuji may be unique in terms of its contents, but Tokyo is a metropolis that blends the old and the new in significant ways.

Besides the obvious high tech sprawl in Japan's capital, the city is home to tens of thousands of shrines, some of which are more than a thousand years old.

Answer: Juneau

Slightly to the south of Juneau, cutting into the mainland, Taku Inlet is a shallow waterway home to the Taku Glacier, one of the deepest glaciers in the world, found in Alaska's Tongass National Forest, the largest tract of protected forest in the United States.

Interestingly, Tongass is regarded as a part of the Pacific Rainforest which stretches down into British Colombia. The glacier also shares its name with some of the nearby peaks, the Taku Towers, which are part of the Coast Mountains that stretch along the Panhandle.