Tri-Points, Eastern Edition Trivia Quiz

Answer: Mount Frissell

The highest point in Connecticut is located on the side of Mount Frissell, and is 2380 feet. It is one the trickier high points to find in the US. The Appalachian Trail passes extremely close to Mount Frissell. Mount Greylock (3491 feet) is the highest spot in Massachusetts. Mount Marcy (5344 feet) is the high point in New York. Bear Mountain is the second highest point in Connecticut, at 2316 feet; it is the highest peak, just not the highest point, in Connecticut.

Answer: Harpers Ferry NHP

Harpers Ferry, West Virginia gained immortality with the 1859 raid of abolitionist John Brown. On October 16, Brown raided the arsenal at Harpers Ferry, seeking arms for a slave uprising. The raid was a failure; most of Brown's men were killed or captured, and Brown himself was executed.

There is a National Historic Park there now, and it is a beautiful location on the Susquehanna and Potomac Rivers. The Appalachian Trail has its headquarters in Harpers Ferry, and the trail passes right through the center of town. Antietam is located directly north of the tri-point, near the Maryland town of Sharpsburg. Manassas is located in suburban Virginia, roughly 30 miles west of Washington DC. Clara Barton National Historic Site is in Glen Echo, Maryland, about nine miles NW of Washington, DC.

Answer: Mount Rogers

The highest point in Virginia is Mount Rogers, at 5729 feet. It is named after William Barton Rogers, a geologist who went on to found the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Mount Rogers is one of the few places in the eastern United States where one can visit spruce-fir forests.

Mount Mitchell (6684 feet) is the highest point in North Carolina. Clingman's Dome (6643 feet), is the highest point in Tennessee, and can be found in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Despite George Washington being born in the state of Virginia, Mount Washington (6288 feet) is the highest point in New Hampshire.

Answer: Cumberland Gap

The Cumberland Gap is a large pass in the Appalachians, and was critical to the passage of settlers from the eastern United states to the west. It was so important that a National Historic Park was established there in 1940. Daniel Boone, the American explorer, is closely linked with the Cumberland Gap. The gap also gave rise to a popular folk song which has been recorded by a variety of country artists.

Newfound Gap is between Tennessee and North Carolina and is in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Pennington Gap is between Virginia and Kentucky, and Iron Mountain Gap is between Tennessee and North Carolina.

Answer: Pennsylvania - West Virginia - Maryland

The intersection of Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Maryland is located between US 40 and Interstate 68. It is fairly close to Fort Necessity National Battlefield in Pennsylvania. Illinois-Indiana-Kentucky is near the end of the Ohio River, where it meets the Wabash. Ohio-Pennsylvania-West Virginia is near East Liverpool, Ohio. Kentucky, Ohio and West Virginia meet near Huntington, WV.

Answer: Dubuque

Dubuque is on the banks of the Mississippi River, just across the river from Wisconsin and Illinois. East Dubuque is actually located in Illinois. Dubuque is one of the older cities in the Midwest, first explored by the French in 1673, and permanently settled in 1785. It is well known for its immigrant history and scenic hills which overlook the river.

Keokuk is in southern Iowa, near where Iowa, Illinois and Missouri meet. Davenport is on the Mississippi, but not close to a tri-point. Des Moines is in the center of Iowa, nowhere near any border.

Answer: Memphis

Memphis is located only a few miles from where Tennessee, Arkansas and Mississippi meet. The actual point would be somewhere in the river. With a population of around 650,000, Memphis is the largest city in Tennessee and the largest city along the Mississippi.

It is most famous as the home of Elvis Presley, and is well known for Jazz music and barbecued ribs. Minneapolis is near the Minnesota/Wisconsin border, but no tri-point. St Louis is near Illinois, but no tri-point. New Orleans is not near any state border.

Answer: Chattahoochee River

The Chattahoochee is roughly 430 miles long, and forms much of the border between Alabama and Georgia. In Florida, it flows into the Apalachicola, and then the Gulf of Mexico. In the Columbus, Georgia area, there is a 15 mile-long riverwalk along the banks of the Chattahoochee. Alan Jackson won a CMA Song of the Year Award for his song named after the river in 1993.

The Alabama River flows from Montgomery to Mobile. The Coosa River is in northern Alabama. The Choctawhatchee roughly parallels the Chattahoochee in southern Alabama, about 50 miles to the west.

Answer: Massachusetts - Vermont - New Hampshire

The boundary between much of Vermont and New Hampshire is the Connecticut River. At 410 miles, it is the longest river in New England, flowing all the way from the Canadian border to Long Island Sound. The Connecticut is very popular for boating and fishing.

The tri-point of Mississippi, Alabama and Tennessee is on the Tennessee River, at Pickwick Lake. The tri-point of New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Delaware would be in the Delaware river, near Claymont DE. The tri-point of Louisiana, Arkansas and Mississippi is on the Mississippi, near Lake Providence LA.

Answer: Maine

Maine is the only state among the lower 48 to border only one other state, New Hampshire. Therefore, it cannot have a tri-point. Technically, Maine has a tri-point where the New Hampshire/Maine border intersects with Quebec near Coburn Gore, Maine.