Prisoners of Geography: The Quiz Book

CHAPTER 1

NORTH AMERICA

1 You are an English settler newly arrived in Jamestown, Virginia, in 1611. You make the decision to journey west and explore the interior of this rich and fertile new land but your party quickly meets a geographical barrier. What is it now known as?

a) The Potomac River

b) The Appalachian Mountains

c) The Adirondack Mountains

d) Bryce Canyon

2 Were you to reach it, to the west lies a broad stretch of fertile flat land, 4,800 km from its southern to northern tip. What is the name of this flat land?

3 Can you identify these US cities from their nicknames?

a) The Big Easy

b) Sin City

c) Emerald City

d) The Magic City

e) The Mile High City

f) The Big Apple

g) City of Brotherly Love

h) The Windy City

i) City of Angels

j) Motor City

4 What are the names of the thirteen British colonies that eventually became the first incarnation of the United States of America as established by the Articles of Confederation, ratified on 1 March 1781?

5 It is September 1777 and the Revolutionary War is raging. You are General Horatio Gates, awaiting instructions on where to position your fortifications against the British troops who are advancing south from Canada. But when your orders arrive they have been encoded. Scribbled next to them is 'F=6, O=15'.

Can you solve the code and work out where to place your fortifications?

2 5 13 9 19 8 5 9 7 8 20 19 10 21 19

20 19 15 21 20 8 15 6 19 1 18 1 20 15

7 1 15 22 5 18 12 15 15 11 9 14 7 20 8

5 8 21 4 19 15 14 18 9 22 5 18

6 Can you match these famous quotations to the president who said them?

a) 'The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.'

b) 'We'll lead not merely by the example of our power but by the power of our example.'

c) 'I'll never tell a lie. I'll never make a misleading statement. I'll never betray the confidence that any of you had in me. And I'll never avoid a controversial issue.'

d) 'So to all Americans in every city near and far, small and large, from mountain to mountain, and from ocean to ocean, hear these words: You will never be ignored again.'

e) 'If this capsule history of our progress teaches us anything, it is that man, in his quest for knowledge and progress, is determined and cannot be deterred.'

Joe Biden

Jimmy Carter

John F. Kennedy

Franklin D. Roosevelt

Donald Trump

7 In April 1803, the US government struck a deal with the French government to acquire a territory, which at a stroke effectively doubled the nominal size of the USA. What is its name?

a) The Southwest Expansion

b) The Northwest Expansion

c) The Louisiana Purchase

d) The Missouri Compromise

8 Why was this acquisition so essential?

a) It secured key arable farmland

b) It secured the Mississippi River Basin system

c) It provided revenue from valuable resources, such as timber and coal

d) It weakened the French militarily

9 In relation to this purchase of land, of which city did Thomas Jefferson say: 'There is on the globe one single spot, the possessor of which is our natural and habitual enemy'?

10 Which famous acronym is a military alliance formed in 1949 that always has an American as its most senior military commander?

11 How many of the 50 states can you label correctly?

12 A key negotiation known as the Adams-Onís Treaty took place between the USA and Spain in 1819. Can you find the other name for it in the anagram below?

A SECTARIAN TENT, TENTHLY TORN

(hint: 3, 16, 6)

And which state was won through it?

LARD OF I

(hint: 7)

13 The USA gained new territory in the 1819 treaty, but what was its true significance?

a) It provided a launchpad to attack its southern neighbours

b) It made the transcontinental railway possible

c) It secured rich mineral deposits

d) It gave the USA direct access to the Pacific for the first time

14 Which of these states doesn't belong in this list and why?

a) Colorado

b) Maine

c) Virginia

d) Massachusetts

15 Which state was finally annexed into the USA in 1845, almost ten years after it had first achieved independence as a republic?

16 And which country had it achieved independence from in 1836?

17 In 1867 the Secretary of State bought territory controlled by Russia for $7.2 million. Dismissed by many as a vast overspend for worthless land containing only snow and ice, what was it soon nicknamed, contained in the anagram below?

SLY FALSE WORD

(hint: 7, 5)

18 On 18 November 1883 the railroads moved forward with the idea of four US time zones in order to better coordinate train timetables. What are the names of the four time zones still used in the contiguous United States today?

19 And what are the other two time zones beyond the contiguous United States?

20 Can you name the five states that, though they may already have been US territories, were formally admitted to the union in the twentieth century?

21 Which island has been a headache for numerous American presidents, but especially for William McKinley in 1898 and John F. Kennedy in 1962?

22 In the autumn of 1940 a deal was made that was utterly essential to the USA becoming a global naval power. Unravel the anagram to find it.

STAND TO FORESEE BEST EAGER RHYMERS

(hint: 3, 10, 3, 5, 9)

23 The Great Lakes contain what percentage of the world's fresh water?

a) 12%

b) 16%

c) 21%

d) 31%

24 Which eight US states surround the Great Lakes?

25 And which two Canadian provinces also surround them?

26 Which of these global events might cause the largest disruption to US exports?

a) An increase in production of tech components from China

b) A global surplus of soy beans, drastically lowering the price

c) The discovery of large oil and natural gas reserves in territories outside the control of the USA

d) A new state-backed car manufacturer in the Middle East

27 How many Americans have walked on the Moon?

a) 2

b) 3

c) 8

d) 12

28 Can you work out the name of the US states represented below?

a)

b) 10 = C

c)

d)

29 Complete the following quote from the Declaration of Independence (1776), selecting from the words given below:

When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to ______ the political bands which have connected them with another, and to _______ among the Powers of the earth, the ______ and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should _______ the causes which impel them to the separation.

assume

collapse

declare

deny

dissolve

increase

magnify

remove

separate

30 Which country did President Obama describe as no more than 'a regional power' in 2014?

a) Russia

b) North Korea

c) Saudi Arabia

d) Turkey

31 Which US state has an economy bigger than every country in the world other than China, Germany, Japan and the USA itself?

32 How long are the Rocky Mountains?

a) 3,700 km

b) 4,800 km

c) 5,300 km

d) 6,100 km

33 What is the size of the USA?

a) 7.5 million km2

b) 9.8 million km2

c) 11.4 million km2

d) 13.2 million km2

34 Which US state is the largest by population?

a) California

b) New York

c) Texas

d) Florida

35 Can you name the US state for each of these state capitals?

1) Albany

2) Annapolis

3) Atlanta

4)...