Literally Characterful Places Trivia Quiz

Answer: Australia

Kati Thanda-Lake Eyre is located about 700 kilometres (435 miles) north of the city of Adelaide in South Australia. The lake bed covers an enormous area of approximately 9,500 square kilometres (3,700 square miles) but as it is located in Australia's central desert region, the majority of its area is usually dried up. In general, the lake only fills with water during the rainy season when water levels rise in the rivers that empty into it. When this occurs, the lake only has an average depth of around 1.5 to 4 metres (5 to 13 feet) and most water loss from it occurs through the process of evaporation. The lowest point on the lake bed is 15 metres (49 feet) below sea level and is the Australian continent's lowest point.

In 1840, Edward John Eyre became the first European to see the lake that was then named in his honour. Charlotte Bronte's novel 'Jane Eyre' was not published for another seven years. The name originally given to the lake by the native people was Kati Thanda and the two rival names for it were officially combined together in 2012.

Answer: Missouri

The city of Hannibal, Missouri can be found around 160 kilometres (100 miles) north-west of the much larger city of St. Louis. It is located on the Mississippi River, on which the author Samuel Langhorne Clemens used to work as a riverboat pilot and would probably have uttered the nautical term for the depth of the water that he later took as his famous pen name. Much of Hannibal's tourist industry is based around its connection to Mark Twain as it is home to the Mark Twain Boyhood Home and Museum, Mark Twain Cave, Mark Twain Memorial Lighthouse and Sawyer's Creek Fun Park, as well as hosting events such as 'Tom Sawyer Days'.

Although the city's name derives from the Carthaginian hero who achieved military success during the Second Punic War after marching his army (and some elephants) across the Alps, the name 'Hannibal' is now associated with Thomas Harris's evil character Hannibal Lecter, who was portrayed by Anthony Hopkins in the Oscar-winning film 'The Silence of the Lambs'.

Answer: Chile

Robinson Crusoe Island was previously known as Más a Tierra and is the second-largest of the Juan Fernandez Islands, part of the Valparaiso region of Chile. The islands are volcanic in nature and located in the Pacific Ocean, just over 650 kilometres (400 miles) west of the nation's capital city, Santiago.

The Scottish sailor Alexander Selkirk was stranded on the island for five years in the early 18th century and it is believed that his story provided the inspiration for Daniel Defoe's 1719 work 'Robinson Crusoe'. In 1966 the island was renamed after the titular character; its larger neighbour became Alejandro Selkirk Island at the same time.

Answer: Switzerland

The European mountain range known as the Alps covers parts of eight different central and southern European countries. They are commonly subdivided into two distinct parts, the Eastern Alps and Western Alps, which in turn are subdivided into smaller ranges. The Bernese Alps are in western Switzerland and are one of the subdivisions of the Western Alps, broadly defined by the River Rhone to the south and west and the Grimsel Pass to the north and east.

The village of Grindelwald, located over 1,000 metres (3,280 feet) above sea-level, has a recorded history dating back to at least the mid-12th century, but didn't become internationally well-known until postcards of its scenic beauty appeared in the late 18th-century. It has since been developed as a major ski resort (a process that started when road and rail links to the village were constructed in the 19th century). The village shares its name with Gellert Grindelwald, a dark wizard from JK Rowling's 'Harry Potter' series whose defeat by Dumbledore was mentioned on a Chocolate Frog card in the very first book.

Answer: London

Paddington is an area of central London within the City of Westminster that is home to the railway station that is the main link between London, the west of England and South Wales. Paddington is also a London Underground station with stops on the Bakerloo, Circle, District and Hammersmith & City lines. Michael Bond set the start of his famous children's book 'A Bear Called Paddington' in the station and commuters can view a sculpture of the friendly bear on the main concourse.

Paddington started life as a medieval village on the outskirts of London, but it has now been subsumed into the heart of the modern city. Other than its transport links, notable locations in Paddington include St Mary's Hospital where many members of the Royal Family have been born, including Prince William, Duke of Cambridge and his children.

Answer: Manitoba

Gimli, Manitoba is located on the western shore of Lake Winnipeg in central Canada. The area around the town was originally granted to Icelandic settlers by the Canadian government in 1875 and became known as "New Iceland". Gimli became the main settlement for a large group of Icelanders, many of whom had emigrated from Iceland after their lands were devastated by the 1875 eruption of Mount Askja. The town's economy is based around fishing, tourism and the production centre for Canadian Crown Royal whisky.

J.R.R. Tolkien's character named Gimli was the dwarf who was one of the nine members of the Fellowship of the Ring and played a key role in the wider events of the 'Lord of the Rings' trilogy. He was particularly noted as being the son of Gloin, a dwarf who accompanied Bilbo Baggins on his adventures in the earlier story 'The Hobbit'. During the events of 'Lord of the Rings' Gimli developed a strong and competitive friendship with Legolas the elf, despite the long-standing enmity between their two races.

Answer: Western Australia

The Sherlock River in the Pilbara region of Western Australia flows north from the Abydos Plain to the Indian Ocean. It was named in 1861 by the explorer Frank Gregory, but since the first of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's novels featuring Sherlock Holmes ('A Study in Scarlet') didn't appear until 1887, the river can't have been named after one of the world's most famous fictional detectives. The riverbed is very wide and is usually dried up, but its existence becomes much more obvious during periods of flash flooding.

The land surrounding much of the course of the Sherlock River is largely uninhabited and the river doesn't flow through any towns or cities. Much of the isolated area belongs to a large sheep station named Sherlock Station and is over 1,500 kilometres (930 miles) from the city of Perth, where over 90% of Western Australia's population can be found.

Answer: Rhine

The Lorelei can be found in the Rhine Gorge (otherwise known as the Upper Middle Rhine Valley) in western Germany. It is 132 metres (433 feet) tall and sits on the right-hand bank, marking a large bend in the course of the river. While the Lorelei is in Germany, the Rhine itself rises in the Swiss Alps. The river then flows generally north and west through Germany and the Netherlands to its mouth on the North Sea coast. The course of the Rhine defines several national boundaries, including those between Switzerland and Austria, Switzerland and Germany, and Germany and France.

Heinrich Heine's 1824 poem 'Lorelei' told the story of a siren named Lorelei who sat on the rock and distracted shipping. The poem has been set to music by several composers (including Franz Liszt and Clara Schumann) and the eponymous character also appeared in an unfinished opera by Felix Mendelssohn.

Answer: Orange County

Orlando is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the world thanks to the presence of major attractions such as Walt Disney World, the Universal Orlando Resort and SeaWorld Orlando as well as other zoos, theme parks and museums. Sports fans could also visit the city to see teams such as the NBA's Orlando Magic in action. The city is the county seat of Orange County in central Florida and was founded as a fort during the Second Seminole War in the mid-19th century. It has a subtropical climate and its location means that it is prone to being battered by hurricanes coming in from the Atlantic.

There are many stories suggesting different origins for Orlando's name, including one that it was named after the character of Orlando from William Shakespeare's comedy 'As You Like It'.

Answer: Antarctica

The Athos Range in Antarctica shouldn't be confused with Mount Athos in Greece. The latter took its name from the character of Athos in Greek mythology, while the former was named after the Athos who was one of the titular musketeers in the famous novel by Alexandre Dumas. The Athos Range is the northernmost of three main ranges within the Prince Charles Mountains - it should come as no surprise to fans of 'The Three Musketeers' that the other two ranges are called the Porthos Range and the Aramis Range.

Mac. Robertson Land and the Prince Charles Mountains form part of the Australian Antarctic Territory.