Beyond the Sea Trivia Quiz

Answer: Caribbean Sea

Christopher Columbus was an fifteenth-century Italian-born explorer who sailed for Spain. He claimed many of the Caribbean islands he "discovered" for the Spanish Crown. Columbus is a controversial figure in history, particularly in the U.S.. While he is celebrated figure in some places, his poor treatment of Native Americans is condemned.

Many places in the U.S. that once celebrated Columbus Day now celebrate Indigenous Peoples Day instead.

Answer: Red Sea

Ibn Battuta was a medieval Moroccan sailor and explorer who traveled all around along the coasts of Africa. While he did explore the Southern Mediterranean Sea, he is more famous for his journeys to the Middle East and Asia. He crossed and explored the Red Sea several times on his journeys. He traveled as far south as Tanzania and as far east as China.

Answer: "Indian Sea"

Vasco da Gama was a Portuguese explorer during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries most famous for discovering a sea route between India and Europe. On his journey eastward, da Gama called what is now the Indian Ocean, the Indian Sea. In total, he made three voyages to India and died on his final trip.

He was given the title Admiral of the Seas of Arabia, Persia, India and all the Orient because of his accomplishments.

Answer: Chesapeake Bay

John Smith was an English explorer and one of the most famous colonists in Jamestown. He was instrumental in the survival of the colony that got off to a rocky start. He is believed to be the first person to map the coast of the Chesapeake Bay in the early seventeenth century. Less famously, he also mapped the coast of New England.

Answer: Gulf of Mexico

Amerigo Vespucci was the first European explorer to visit the Gulf of Mexico, which he did in 1497. Like Columbus, Vespucci also sailed for the Spanish Crown. Vespucci traveled the coastline all the way from Central America to the Florida Coast. He is also known for his journeys into South America and declared the so-called New World was not part of Asia, a fact already widely-believed.

Answer: Lake Huron

Samuel de Champlain was a French explorer of the seventeenth century best known for his explorations of New France (Canada) and New England. With the help of the Native Americans, de Champlain explored such bodies of water such as Lake Champlain, Ottawa River, the Bay of Fundy and Lake Huron.

Answer: Sea of Japan

Gennady Nevelskoy was a Russian explorer in the nineteenth century who explored and claimed many island in the Sea of Japan for Russia. Some of these islands remain disputed. Although many countries had sent explorers to the Sea of Japan, the Japanese worked hard to keep them out.

However, they had trouble repelling the Russians who used their islands in the sea as naval bases and for scientific purposes.

Answer: Weddell Sea

Otto Nordenskjold was a Swedish explorer who led voyages to the Antarctic Region, including the Weddell Sea. He was once stranded with his crew on an island in the Weddell sea in the early 20th century. Despite the harsh conditions, only one person died before they were rescued. His ship was named the Antarctic.

Answer: Nile River

David Livingstone was a 19th-century British explorer best known for his voyage to the Nile River and exploring Victoria Falls. He notoriously disappeared in Africa, leading Henry Morton Stanley to say "Dr. Livingstone, I presume" when he was located. Livingstone's African explorations led to the Scramble for Africa when many European countries quickly tried to colonize the continent.

Answer: Amazon River

Francisco de Orellana was a 16th-century Spanish conquistador who is believed to be the first European to explore and travel the entire length of the Amazon River in South America. De Orellana died on his second voyage, allegedly of grief, after his crew was poisoned by Natives. He also founded a number of Spanish settlements including Guayaquil, Ecuador.