Image: Dean Fikar / Moment / Getty Images
About This Quiz
Today there are many different ways to determine where the North ends and the South begins. One of the first methods used was the Mason- Dixon Line, but that was created a century before the Civil War, and cities like Washington, D.C. (the Union capital) are in the South according to the line. Some people use the Ohio River, the Potomac River or U.S. Route 40 to split the country. If you wanted to use religion or dialect, those could work, but what may be the most accurate line to separate the country is the Sweet Tea Line created by McDonald's in 2004.
The Sweet Tea Line doesn't split the country in half physically but socially. It's simple. Northerners prefer hot tea any time of the year, and when it's iced, it's unsweetened. Southerners prefer iced tea at any time of the year, and it's always sweetened. This is based on sales from the largest fast-food chain in the world, and you'd be hard-pressed to find a northerner or a southerner who disagreed.
With that being said, the easiest way to split the country is using the geographic center of the continental United States, which is the border of Kansas and Nebraska. It splits California into a northern state and a southern state, and if you look at the 1860 presidential election results, this would be accurate politically as well. Abraham Lincoln got killed in Los Angeles County but won the state. Today California is probably the most liberal state in the country, but that wasn't always the case. Take a look at these landmarks and tell us whether they're in the North or the South.
North
The Statue of Liberty was gifted to the United States by France in the mid 19th century, and it sits on New York's Liberty Island. The statue was dedicated in 1886, and by 1900 the copper color began turning green. By 1906 it was completely green.
South
Advertisement
North
South
The Hoover Dam is located on the border of Arizona and Nevada. It's geographically located in the southern United States, but very few people consider Arizona or Nevada to be in the American South. The Hoover Dam is named after President Herbert Hoover.
Advertisement
North
Washington, D.C., Virginia and Maryland make up the country's DMV area, and whether they're located in the North or South is always up to debate. Virginia is in the South. Maryland is on the border, and D.C. has been the capital of the Union since 1790.
South
Advertisement
North
Mount Rushmore is located in the northern state of South Dakota. Washington, Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Lincoln are depicted on the mountain. The project took nearly 15 years, and funding dried up before it was finished.
South
Advertisement
North
South
Arizona is about as far south as you can get in the country, but the state didn't join the union until the early 1900s. The Grand Canyon is 277 miles long, 18 miles wide and one mile deep at its greatest points. The canyon is about 6 million years old, but the national park celebrated its 100th birthday in 2019.
Advertisement
North
South
Alcatraz Island is way west but about as far south as Virginia. It's underneath the geographic center of the country, and it's located near San Francisco in California. Al Capone, Machine Gun Kelly, Bumpy Johnson and Whitey Bulger all did time at Alcatraz. Prison operations ceased in 1963.
Advertisement
North
Pennsylvania is one of the most important states in the country's history and even served as the capital of the country at one point. It was one of the most important states in the Union during the Civil War and is the textbook definition of the American North.
South
Advertisement
North
South
Taos Pueblo is a historic town in New Mexico settled by Native Americans centuries ago. The community was designated a national landmark in 1960 and a world heritage site in 1992. About 4,500 people live in the area today.
Advertisement
North
South
The Alamo was a chapel-turned-fortress that was destroyed and restored more than once amid war. It was built in the early 1700s and became a U.S. national landmark in 1960. It was designated a world heritage site in 2015.
Advertisement
North
If there's such thing as the Deep North, Boston is at the center of it. Faneuil Hall was built by a wealthy slave trader named Peter Faneuil as a gift to the city. It opened in 1743 and today is one of the most visited landmarks in the country.
South
Advertisement
North
South
Montezuma Castle is located in Camp Verde, Arizona. It's named after Aztec Emperor Montezuma, but Montezuma had nothing to do with the complex. Explorers simply named it because they thought it was connected to the Aztecs. It was actually built by the Sinagua people.
Advertisement
North
Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, is well in the North. Confederate General Robert E. Lee led an invasion of the North called the Gettysburg Campaign. Confederate forces were unsuccessful in the Battle of Gettysburg, but both sides suffered massive casualties.
South
Advertisement
North
South
George Washington's Mount Vernon estate is located in Virginia, about 13 miles from Washington, D.C. The property included dozens of buildings spread across thousands of acres when Washington lived there.
Advertisement
North
South
Explorers noticed the rare beauty of White Sands as soon as they set foot on it, but it wasn't designated a national park until 1933. The white sands are made from gypsum, which is a calcium product used to make things like chalk and drywall. It's the largest field of gypsum dunes in the world.
Advertisement
North
The Crazy Horse Memorial is carved into the same Black Hills in South Dakota as the Mount Rushmore monument. The monuments are about 20 minutes away from each other. The memorial is unfinished and has been under construction for more than 70 years.
South
Advertisement
North
South
Arlington National Cemetery is located in Arlington County, Virginia. The JFK Eternal Flame and Tomb of the Unknown Soldier are two of the most popular sites in the cemetery. Astronaut and U.S. Senator John Glenn is also buried at the cemetery.
Advertisement
North
The Freedom Trail is in Boston and starts at Boston Common and runs north to the Bunker Hill Monument. The trail winds past the USS Constitution, Faneuil Hall, Old North Church, the Old State House and more.
South
Advertisement
North
South
Based on the Missouri Compromise, Missouri is a southern state. The compromise prohibited slavery everywhere north of Arkansas except in Missouri, and Missouri joined the union as a slave state in 1821. Geographically, most of the state is underneath the center of the country. The Gateway Arch is recognized as the "The Gateway to the West."
Advertisement
North
South
California spans both the North and South. The state was almost officially split in half in 1859, and southern California had more confederate sympathizers than the north. The Golden Gate Bridge is underneath the geographic center of the country.
Advertisement
North
South
Fort Sumter is a fort off the coast of Charleston, South Carolina. South Carolina seceded from the union in 1860 and then told American troops to leave Fort Sumter. Before the Confederate Army was created, South Carolina militiamen started bombing the Fort. American troops retreated, and the Civil War started.
Advertisement
North
If you've ever been to Washington, D.C., you know it feels like the gateway to the South or the North, depending on where you're coming from. Washington, D.C. has been the capital of the union since 1790.
South
Advertisement
North
Old Faithful has erupted at least once every two hours since the year 2000. The geyser has more than 1 million recorded eruptions, and it's one of the most popular attractions at Yellowstone National Park. It's located in Wyoming.
South
Advertisement
North
South
The Great Smoky Mountains National Park is the most visited national park in America. The mountains run along the border of North Carolina and Tennessee and are often seen sitting under thick clouds of fog.
Advertisement
North
New York City is as North as it gets. About 22 million people visit Grand Central Terminal every year. The terminal is centrally located in midtown Manhattan, and it has been featured in dozens of films and TV shows.
South
Advertisement
North
Cloud Gate is also known as "The Bean" and is located at an entrance to Millennium Park in Chicago. The monument was created in 2006 and strongly resembles a dollop of liquid mercury. The structure weighs about 100 tons.
South
Advertisement
North
South
Biltmore Estate is in North Carolina and was built in the late 19th century. George Washington Vanderbilt II built Biltmore as a summer home that he called a "little mountain escape." It's the second-largest private residence in the world, excluding royal palaces.
Advertisement
North
Washington, D.C. has more national landmarks than any city other than New York City. More than 20 million people visit the National Mall each year, and its name was inspired by The Mall in London. The National Mall is 2 miles long from the U.S. Capitol to the Jefferson Memorial.
South
Advertisement
North
Niagara Falls is so north it borders Canada. The falls run along the border of New York and Canada. About 30 million people visit the falls on both the Canadian and American sides each year. People have visited the site for nearly 200 years.
South
Advertisement
North
The tallest tree in the world was discovered in 2006 and soars more than 380 feet tall. It was named Hyperion, and its exact location is kept secret for preservation efforts. There are multiple redwood parks in California, and they are located in the northern half of the state.
South
Advertisement
North
South
Sequoia National Park is located in southern California. It's geographically situated in the southern half of the country, and based on Lincoln's election results in Los Angeles during the election of 1860, it's safe to say southern California resembled the Deep South during the Civil War.
Advertisement
North
South
Mammoth Cave runs more than 415 miles and is nearly double the length of the second-longest cave system in the world. It's located in Brownsville, Kentucky, and was discovered in 1791. The system consists of notable rooms like the Bottomless Pit and the Frozen Niagara room.
Advertisement
North
Philadelphia, New York City and Boston are three of the most notable northern cities in American history. Independence Hall is located in Philadelphia, and it's most known for being the meeting place for the Second Continental Congress.
South
Advertisement
North
South
Aside from writing the Declaration of Independence, being president and completing the Louisiana Purchase, Thomas Jefferson was also an architect. He began designing the Monticello plantation in Virginia when he was just 26. He also designed the University of Virginia, and his architectural style is known as Jeffersonian architecture.
Advertisement
North
South
Monument Valley sits on the border of Arizona and Utah, but it just barely squeezes into Arizona, putting it in the southern United States. The area has been featured all over the world, and you can see it everywhere from "Forrest Gump" to dozens of car commercials.
Advertisement
North
The Chrysler Building was completed in 1930 and was the world's tallest building until the Empire State Building was completed in 1931. The Empire State Building was the world's tallest until the Twin Towers went up in lower Manhattan in 1973.
South
Advertisement
North
Devils Tower National Monument was established under Theodore Roosevelt in 1906. It's located in northeast Wyoming and rises more than 5,100 feet above sea level. The name comes from a misinterpretation, and it's called "Tree Rock," "Bear's Lodge" and "Brown Buffalo Horn" in Native American languages.
South
Advertisement
North
Crater Lake formed in Oregon when a volcano collapsed thousands of years ago. The amount of rain and snowfall in Oregon creates enough water to keep the lake from drying out, but no rivers or streams are flowing into the lake.
South
Advertisement
North
The Space Needle is one of America's most unique structures and is an icon of Seattle known all over the world. The top of the Space Needle is home to a revolving restaurant that plans to be the world's first revolving restaurant with a glass floor.
South
Advertisement
North
South
The Pearl Harbor Memorial is officially known as the USS Arizona Memorial and is located in Honolulu. There is no state in America as far south as Hawaii, but Hawaii is the last state most people think when they think of the American South. Hawaii didn't become a state until 1959.
Advertisement
North
Mount McKinley is officially known as Denali, and it's as far north as it gets in America. It soars more than 20,000 feet tall and is located in central Alaska. Of the Seven Summits, Denali ranks third.
South
Advertisement
You Got:
/40
.jpg){kind=link}
.jpg){kind=link}
,_Chicago_1_26_18_(39343630775).jpg){kind=link}
.jpg){kind=link}
.jpg){kind=link}
.JPG){kind=link}
.jpeg){kind=link}
