Reading the Map

Geography · 20 questions

Not capitals and flags: what a map is quietly telling you.

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1. What is the well-known distortion of the Mercator projection?

   1. It curves the equator
   2. It inflates land near the poles
   3. It shrinks all the oceans
   4. It scrambles compass directions
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   B) It inflates land near the poles

2. Greenland's true area is closest to that of which country?

   1. Africa
   2. Australia
   3. Saudi Arabia
   4. Russia
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   C) Saudi Arabia

3. Only two countries are doubly landlocked, meaning their neighbours are landlocked too. Which is one?

   1. Mongolia
   2. Nepal
   3. Bolivia
   4. Uzbekistan
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   D) Uzbekistan

4. Why do the surface and deep currents of the Bosphorus run in opposite directions?

   1. The two seas differ in salinity
   2. The prevailing wind reverses
   3. The Moon's pull dominates
   4. River discharge alternates
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   A) The two seas differ in salinity

5. What is it called when one side of a mountain range is wet and the far side is dry?

   1. A rain shadow
   2. A sea breeze
   3. A frontal belt
   4. A temperature inversion
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   A) A rain shadow

6. Why is the equator lined with rainforest rather than desert?

   1. Cold ocean currents cool it
   2. The soil is exceptionally rich
   3. Rising warm air brings heavy rain
   4. The land sits very low
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   C) Rising warm air brings heavy rain

7. Why do most of the world's great deserts lie near the thirtieth parallels?

   1. Continents are widest there
   2. They are farthest from any ocean
   3. Volcanic rock dominates there
   4. Dry air descends in those belts
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   D) Dry air descends in those belts

8. On a topographic map, closely spaced contour lines indicate what?

   1. Flat ground
   2. Steep ground
   3. Marshland
   4. Land at sea level
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   B) Steep ground

9. Which statement about Russia's time zones is correct?

   1. It uses a single time zone
   2. It spans more than ten of them
   3. It spans exactly three
   4. It does not use time zones
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   B) It spans more than ten of them

10. Why do people float so easily in the Dead Sea?

    1. Its very high salt content
    2. It is extremely shallow
    3. The water is unusually cold
    4. Strong currents lift bathers
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    A) Its very high salt content

11. What sets the Nile apart from most other great rivers?

    1. It never reaches the sea
    2. Its water is salty
    3. It flows from south to north
    4. It freezes every winter
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    C) It flows from south to north

12. What is the term for a territory entirely surrounded by another country?

    1. A corridor
    2. A mandate
    3. A buffer zone
    4. An enclave
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    D) An enclave

13. The Bering Strait separates which two continents?

    1. Europe and Asia
    2. Africa and Europe
    3. Asia and North America
    4. Asia and Australia
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    C) Asia and North America

14. Which is the longest mountain range on land?

    1. The Himalayas
    2. The Rockies
    3. The Alps
    4. The Andes
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    D) The Andes

15. On common world maps Africa looks smaller than it really is.

    1. True
    2. False
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    A) True

16. The equator passes just south of the Mediterranean Sea.

    1. True
    2. False
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    B) False

17. A country's northernmost point is not necessarily its coldest place.

    1. True
    2. False
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    A) True

18. Sailing the Panama Canal from the Atlantic to the Pacific, you travel eastward for part of it.

    1. True
    2. False
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    A) True

19. Lake Baikal is the deepest lake in the world.

    1. True
    2. False
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    A) True

20. Every river on Earth eventually reaches the sea.

    1. True
    2. False
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    B) False