Places Beginning with "D" Trivia Quiz

Answer: Dominican Republic

There are only four "D" countries (ignoring those countries whose official title starts with "Democratic Republic of..."). None of the four are particularly large but, with an area of 18,704 square miles, the largest is the Dominican Republic. The world's 131st-largest country, between Slovakia and Estonia in size, shares its Caribbean island of Hispaniola with Haiti. Dominican Republic covers roughly two-thirds of the island -- one of only two in the Caribbean that is divided between two countries (the other is Saint Martin, which is split between French and Dutch territories of the same name as the island).

Denmark is only marginally smaller, with an area of 16,639 square miles. (It would be significantly larger if you also included the country's overseas territories of Faeroe Islands and Greenland). Djibouti, located on the horn of Africa, is roughly half the size of the Dominican Republic, with an area of 9,000 square miles. The former French colony in the Caribbean, Dominica, is tiny compared to the other three -- just 290 square miles, which is slightly less than half the size of Houston, TX.

The photograph shows a watch tower on the Dominican Republic's only land border, which is closely guarded to prevent illegal immigration from Haiti. Sorry its not much of a clue, but most photos of places in Dom Rep seem to be copyrighted and thus unavailable to us.

Answer: Detroit MI

Although home to more than 700,000 people, the largest of the four alternatives and the state's largest city, Detroit is not the capital of Michigan -- that honor belongs to Lansing.
Dover is the country's longest-serving state capital city -- it became the capital of Delaware in 1777, ten years before Delaware became the first state to ratify the new Constitution. Iowa achieved statehood in 1846 and Des Moines became the state capital nine years later, in 1857. Denver, which as called Denver City until 1882, became capital of the Colorado Territory in 1867. Nine years later, "The Centennial State" achieved statehood in the year of the country's 100th anniversary, 1876.
The photograph shows the Detroit International Riverfront which is dominated by the Renaissance Center, the World Headquarters of General Motors.

Answer: Don

The Danube is the longest of the "D" rivers, rising in the Black Forest on southwestern Germany and flowing 1,795 miles in general easterly direction across Germany, Croatia, Serbia, Slovakia, Austria, Hungry, Bulgaria and Romania into the western Black Sea.
The next longest is the Dnieper, which rises near Smolensk, some 200 miles west of Moscow in northern Russia. It travels south through Belarus and is a vital navigable waterway for the economy of Ukraine as it flows 1,420 miles into the northern Black Sea.
The fourth-longest "D" river is the Dniester, which rises in the Carpathian Mountains in western Ukraine and flows 877 miles, crossing Moldova before discharging into the northwestern Black Sea.

The exception, just, is the Don, the world's 67th-longest river at 1,162 miles (not to be confused with the much shorter Scottish river of the same name). Rising in the town of Novomoskovsk southeast of Moscow, it then flows southeast through Russia and the Ukraine before swinging southwest, back into the Rostov Oblast region of Russia and emptying into the Sea of Azov.
The photograph shows the destination of the odd one out, the Sea of Azov, specifically the Yeya Spit where the city of Yeysk juts out into the sea.

Answer: Dili

Settled in 1520 by Portuguese explorers, Dili became capital of the colony of Portuguese Timor in 1769. Occupied by the Japanese between 1942 and 1945, the region was returned to Portugal at the end of the war. East Timor declared independence in November 1975 but was soon thereafter invaded by neighboring Indonesia. East Timor was designated as Indonesia's 27th province in July 1976. Following a 20-year civil war, the United Nations took responsibility for the region and the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste was declared with Dili as its capital on May 20, 2002.

The photograph shows the national flag of independent East Timor.
Of the alternatives, Dodoma is the capital of Tanzania, Dakar the capital of Senegal, and Doha the capital of Qatar.

Answer: Iran

Located near the south coast of the Caspian Sea some forty miles northeast of Tehran, Mount Damavand climbs to a height of 18,406 feet and is both the highest point in Iran and the highest volcanic peak in Asia. Although its last major eruption was more than 7,000 years ago, Mount Damavand is still classed as a stratovolcano (potentially active) as there are fumaroles emitting sulphur near the summit.

Of the 16 known routes to the summit of Mount Damavand, some are dangerous and require rock-climbing equipment. The southern route is the easiest, with steps carved in some places and a camp set up at the midway point of the ascent just below 14,000 feet. Mount Damavand was first climbed in the early 10th century.

Answer: Dushanbe

The name Dushanbe means Monday in the Tajik language ('du' meaning two and 'shanbe' meaning Saturday, so literally 'the second day after Saturday). Originally the location of a Monday marketplace village (Dyushambe-Bozor), it had a population of only 6,000 as recently as the mid-1920s. Renamed Stalinabad in 1931, the city reverted to Dushanbe in 1961. The population of Dushanbe peaked at just under 800,000 in 1987, three-quarters of them Russians and less than 3% native Tajiks. By 2011, the population had fallen to around 680,000 but more than 80% of those were Tajiks and less than 5% Russians.

The photograph shows the Government buildings in the center of Dushanbe.
Of the alternatives, Dasoguz is a city of some 200,000 people and is the capital of the province of the same name in northern Turkmenistan; Dilijan is a spa town in northern Armenia, popular with tourists visiting the Dilijan National Park; and Dammam is a city of some 900,000 and the capital of Eastern Province in Saudi Arabia.

Answer: Durham

A city of around 87,000 (2000 Census), Durham stands on the River Wear in northeastern England. Durham Cathedral (or "The Cathedral Church of Christ, Blessed Mary the Virgin and St Cuthbert of Durham" to give its full title) dates back to 995 with the 40-year project to build the current structure beginning about 100 years after that. Durham Castle (pictured) dates back to Norman times but has been wholly occupied by Durham University since 1840.

Answer: Greenland and Iceland

The 300-mile long Denmark Strait connects the Irminger Sea (part of the North Atlantic Ocean) with the Greenland Sea (the southern extension of the Arctic Ocean). At its narrowest it is 180 miles across, from Cape Tupinier in eastern Greenland to the northwestern Iceland peninsula of Hornstrandir.

The Davis Strait separates Greenland and the Canadian province of Newfoundland. The narrow Øresund strait divides Denmark from Scania in southwestern Sweden.
The photograph shows turf-roofed houses of Iceland.

Answer: Dayton OH

The sixth-largest city in Ohio, Dayton is home to around 140,000 (2010 Census) although more than 800,000 live in its metropolitan area. Just a few miles south of the city is the Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, the USAF's largest base, hence the city's connection to the aviation industry. Orville Wright was also born in Dayton.

The museum itself, established in 1923 and located at the base, is both the world's oldest and largest aviation museum -- it houses more that 360 aircraft and missiles. The photograph shows an aerial shot of the museum.

Answer: Dunedin

Many say that Dunedin's Larnach Castle is haunted. More than thirty reported "sightings" have led to visits from paranormal investigators and the site has been featured on numerous TV shows, both in New Zealand as well as America's "Ghost Hunters International". Located at a latitude of 45.52S, Dunedin is significantly further south that the other three options. Home to around 125,000, Dunedin is now the 2nd-largest city on New Zealand's South Island, although little more than 100 years ago, around the turn of the 19th Century, it was the largest city in the country. The photograph shows the supposedly-haunted Larnach Castle.