Purple Mountains and Other Majesties Quiz

Answer: Pike's Peak

Pike's Peak is located in central Colorado. It was named after American explorer Zebulon Pike who led an expedition through the Rocky Mountains after the area was acquired by the United States via the Louisiana Purchase. Pike's Peak is over 14,000 ft (4,200 m) tall and is made out of granite containing potassium feldspar, which gives the mountain its distinctive pink/purple color.

The song "America the Beautiful" was originally a poem written by Katharine Lee Bates in 1895. The original title of the poem was "Pike's Peak" and both the song and original poem contain the phrase "for purple mountain majesties".

The music of "America the Beautiful" was originally composed by Samuel A. Ward to be used in a different song in 1883. His music was later combined with a modified version of Katharine Lee Bates' original poem to create the song Americans are familiar with today.

Answer: Vermont

Vermont's name is a combination of the French words vert (green) and mont (mountain). The state's nickname is also the Green Mountain State. The Green Mountains themselves are a subrange of the Appalachian Mountains that stretch from the Canadian border in the north to the Massachusetts border in the south. Vermont was originally colonized by the French in 1609.

It was ceded over to the British in 1763 following the French and Indian War. It remained separate from the thirteen colonies that would go on to form the United States of America in 1776. On January 15, 1777, Vermont became its own nation after declaring independence from Great Britain. Vermont was admitted as the fourteenth state on March 4, 1791.

Answer: Texas

Fort Brown was established in Texas in 1846 in order to provide protection from Mexico following Texas' admittance as a state on December 29, 1845. Fort Brown is located in southern Texas, within the aptly named city of Brownsville, which was founded in 1848. Brownsville sits across the Rio Grande from the Mexican city of Matamoros and currently houses a major border patrol station. Fort Brown was named after Major Jacob Brown who was killed in the Siege of Fort Texas (Fort Brown's original name), which occurred during the Mexican-American War. Fort Brown was decommissioned in 1946 and many of the buildings, such as the Cavalry Building in the photo were acquired and preserved by Texas Southmost College as well as the City of Brownsville. Fort Brown and Brownsville are located about 45 min away from South Padre Island, a popular resort site on the Gulf of Mexico.

Answer: White Sands

The photograph was taken at White Sands National Park in southern New Mexico. The white sand dunes are made of a mineral called gypsum (calcium sulfate dihydrate) which were left behind after the water from Lake Lucero dried up. Tourists who visit White Sands National Park are advised to take a jug of water with them due to the extreme dryness of the area. White Sands Missile Range, located north of the National Park, is a major American weapons testing facility. During the Manhattan Project, the first atomic bomb was detonated at what is now known as the Trinity Site which is currently located within the grounds of the WSMR. White Sands Space Harbor, also located within the WSMR, served as a backup landing facility for the space shuttle. The only time it was utilized was on March 22, 1982 when Space Shuttle Columbia was forced to land at White Sands due to flooding at Edwards AFB in California.

Answer: Kentucky

The Blue Ridge Mountains are another subrange of the Appalachian Mountains. They are located on the eastern side of the Great Appalachian Valley and stretch from southern Pennsylvania down to northern Georgia, crossing through the states of Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina and Tennessee. Kentucky does not have any part of the Blue Ridge Mountains within its borders.

The Blue Ridge Parkway, where the photograph was taken, is a scenic road protected by the National Park Service that cuts through the Blue Ridge Mountains in Virginia and North Carolina.

The Blue Ridge Mountains played a significant role during the American Civil War, as Confederate General Robert E. Lee used the mountains as cover while attempting to invade the Union, which was thwarted at the Battle of Gettysburg.

Answer: Steamboat Geyser

Yellowstone National Park is known for its widespread geologic activity. It was declared to be a dormant supervolcano with the potential for widespread destruction should it ever erupt again. There are also more than 500 active geysers at Yellowstone. Old Faithful is the most famous of these geysers.

Its eruptions occur frequently (one every 45-120 minutes) and are also pretty accurate to predict. Water from Old Faithful will shoot up to a height of 185 ft (56 m). Steamboat Geyser, which is also located in Yellowstone, produces the world's tallest eruptions.

It can shoot water up nearly 400 ft (122 m). However, Steamboat Geyser's eruptions are much less frequent and less predictable than Old Faithful's.

Answer: North Orange

The Oranges are a group of four cities located adjacent to each other in northern New Jersey. They are comprised of the cities of East Orange, West Orange and South Orange. There is no North Orange. The last of the four cities is simply named the City of Orange. Seton Hall University is located in the city of South Orange and is famous for its heavy metal radio station WSOU, "Seton Hall's Pirate Radio". West Orange is home to the Thomas Edison National Historical Park, which includes the famous inventor's former estate named Glenmont (pictured in the photograph), as well as Edison's main laboratory.

The cities were named after King William III of England (aka Prince of Orange) who ruled England, Ireland and Scotland from 1689-1702.

Answer: Black Rock Desert

The Black Rock Desert is located in northwestern Nevada and is believed to be the remains of a prehistoric lake that dried up. The desert is surrounded by mountains made of volcanic rocks and black limestone. Burning Man is a famous annual event that is held in this desert.

The first Burning Man was held in 1986 at Baker Beach, near San Francisco, California. The event moved to Black Rock Desert in 1990 and has been held once a year ever since except in 1997, where it was held in nearby Hualapai Flat.

The 2020 Burning Man was cancelled due to the coronavirus epidemic. When the Burning Man event is in the area a temporary city named Black Rock City is created for the participants. The city is designed in a C pattern complete with individual streets and avenues.

In 2019, nearly 80,000 people attended Burning Man.

Answer: North Dakota and Minnesota

The Red River of the North forms a natural border between the states of North Dakota and Minnesota. The river is 550 mi (890 km) long and flows from south to north beginning near the town of Wahpeton, North Dakota and emptying out into Lake Winnipeg in the Canadian province of Manitoba.

The water from Lake Winnipeg continues north via the Nelson River and eventually empties out into Hudson Bay. The bridge in the photograph is the Sorlie Memorial Bridge (aka Red River Bridge) which was completed in 1929.

It forms a link between the cities of Grand Forks, North Dakota and East Grand Forks, Minnesota. The Red River of the North has a tendency to flood quite often, causing millions of dollars in damage when it does.

Answer: Silver Springs

Silver Springs is considered to be one of the largest artesian springs in the world. The springs are located near the city of Ocala, Florida. The waters here are almost crystal clear, much clearer than water someone might expect to find in the State of Florida. Silver Springs is also considered to be one of the oldest tourist attractions in the state.

In 1878, nearly a century before Walt Disney World was completed near Orlando, Silver Springs began to offer their famous glass-bottom boat rides. The attraction still exists today as the glass-bottom boats provide tourists a spectacular view of the plants and animals that live within the waters of Silver Springs. Nowadays, there is also a small amusement park at Silver Springs for those tourists who get bored riding on the glass-bottom boats.