World Geography Quiz: Physical & Economic Geography of the World

Spoilers! These are the Starter quiz’s answers. Easy, Medium, Hard and Mixed rounds show their own answers when you finish.

1. Which strait connects the Persian Gulf with the Gulf of Oman?

   • Strait of Hormuz
   • Bab-el-Mandeb
   • Strait of Malacca
   • Strait of Gibraltar

   Answer: Strait of Hormuz. The Strait of Hormuz lies between Iran and Oman and is a vital route for oil tankers. Bab-el-Mandeb links the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden.

2. The temperate grasslands of Argentina are called the:

   • Prairies
   • Pampas
   • Veld
   • Steppes

   Answer: Pampas. Temperate grasslands have regional names: Prairies (North America), Pampas (Argentina), Steppes (Eurasia), Veld (South Africa) and Downs (Australia).

3. The Mariana Trench, which contains the deepest known point on Earth, is in the:

   • Atlantic Ocean
   • Indian Ocean
   • Pacific Ocean
   • Arctic Ocean

   Answer: Pacific Ocean. Its Challenger Deep is about 11 km below sea level. Trenches form where one plate subducts beneath another, here along the western Pacific.

4. The Suez Canal connects:

   • The Atlantic and Pacific Oceans
   • The Black Sea and the Mediterranean Sea
   • The Red Sea and the Arabian Sea
   • The Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea

   Answer: The Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea. Opened in 1869 in Egypt, it shortened the sea route between Europe and Asia. The Panama Canal links the Atlantic and Pacific.

5. Which is the largest island in the world?

   • Greenland
   • New Guinea
   • Borneo
   • Madagascar

   Answer: Greenland. Greenland is the largest island; Australia is treated as a continent, not an island. New Guinea and Borneo come next.

6. Lake Baikal, the deepest freshwater lake in the world, is located in:

   • Canada
   • Kazakhstan
   • Russia
   • Mongolia

   Answer: Russia. Baikal lies in Siberia, Russia, and is also among the oldest lakes. The Caspian Sea is the largest lake by area; Lake Superior is the largest freshwater lake by area.

7. The Ruhr region, a major coal-based industrial region of Europe, is in:

   • France
   • Poland
   • Belgium
   • Germany

   Answer: Germany. The Ruhr valley grew around coal, iron and steel, helped by the Rhine waterway for cheap transport.

8. The equator does NOT pass through which of these countries?

   • Kenya
   • Nigeria
   • Brazil
   • Indonesia

   Answer: Nigeria. The equator crosses Ecuador, Colombia, Brazil, Gabon, the Congo, DR Congo, Uganda, Kenya, Somalia, the Maldives' waters and Indonesia, among others. Nigeria lies wholly north of it.

9. The Atacama, one of the driest deserts on Earth, lies mainly in:

   • Peru
   • Chile
   • Mexico
   • Namibia

   Answer: Chile. It lies in the rain shadow of the Andes and beside the cold Humboldt (Peru) Current, which keeps the coastal air dry. The Namib in Africa is formed similarly by the Benguela Current.

10. Chile is the world's leading producer of which mineral, mined at sites such as Chuquicamata and Escondida?

    • Tin
    • Bauxite
    • Copper
    • Diamond

    Answer: Copper. The Andes of Chile and Peru hold some of the world's largest copper deposits, and copper is Chile's main export.