The North American Geography Quiz

Estimated Completion Time
2 min
The North American Geography Quiz
Image: Anson_iStock/iStock/Thinkstock

About This Quiz

When it comes to North America's magnitude, the numbers speak for themselves: it covers an area of 9,540,000 square miles and covers about 16.5 percent of the earth's terrain. The continent is home to Canada, the United States, Mexico, plus other countries in Central America and the Caribbean, so it should come as no surprise that the population surpasses 500 million people. With such immense size comes immense variety in landscape and climate, from the ice cold of Greenland to the tropical Caribbean.

The continent is mainly associated with the United States, but this quiz will be a real test for any self-proclaimed geography expert. Expect to find yourself considering all aspects of the continent from mountain ranges to lakes to the people. The natural beauty in North America draws tourists from all over the world but this quiz is going to make you question just how well you know these natural wonders.

After you get through all 30 questions, we guarantee that you'll be smarter than when you started and full of a newfound appreciation for the grandeur of North America. So go ahead and dive into this challenge. 

Which North American river would you cross to travel from El Paso, Texas, to Ciudad Juarez, Mexico?
Mississippi
Missouri
Rio Grande
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The Rio Grande River separates the Texan and Mexican towns.

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What is the current population of North America?
50 million
100 million
More than 500 million
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The population of North America is expected to reach more than 533 million in 2016.

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True or false: Canada is the world's second largest country in total area.
True
False
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

This is true. Canada spans more than 3,855,100 square miles (9,984,670 square kilometers).

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What mountain range includes North America's major Continental Divide?
The Sierra Nevadas
The Rocky Mountains
The Cascade Range
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The Great Divide runs north and south through the Rocky Mountains.

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What region of North America is made of large expanses of prairie and steppe?
The Great Plains
The Great Basin
The Atlantic Seaboard
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The Great Plains features a broad expanse of prairie and steppe that lies east of the Rocky Mountains in both the United States and Canada.

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How many countries in North America are landlocked?
Zero
One
Two
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Every country in North America borders an ocean. Canada, the United States, and Mexico border both the Atlantic and the Pacific.

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What kind of minerals have been mined in the Rocky Mountains?
Copper, lead and gold.
Tungsten, zinc and uranium.
All of the above.
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The Rocky Mountain region has been mined for its copper, lead, gold, silver, tungsten, uranium and zinc.

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What engineering marvel in North America connects the Atlantic and Pacific oceans?
Alaskan Inside Passage
Hoover Dam
Panama Canal
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The 50-mile (80-kilometer) Panama Canal, which was completed in 1914, is one of the most important waterways in the world — by connecting the Atlantic and Pacific oceans through the Isthmus of Panama, it dramatically shortens shipping routes.

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Where is the lowest elevation in North America?
The Badlands
Death Valley
Mojave Desert
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Death Valley's Badwater Basin in Furnace Creek, California, has the lowest elevation in North America at 282 feet (86 meters) below sea level.

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True or false: Three countries make up most of North America's land mass.
True
False
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Canada, the United States and Mexico account for most of the North America land mass.

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What is North America's largest mountain range?
Cascade Range
Rocky Mountains
Appalachian Mountains
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The Rocky Mountains are the largest chain in North America, stretching from British Columbia, Canada, to New Mexico.

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True or false: Nearly 80 percent of Greenland is covered in ice.
True
False
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Greenland’s major physical feature is its massive ice sheet, which is second only to Antarctica’s in size. The Greenland ice sheet covers more than 700,000 square miles (1.8 million square km) — more than 80 percent of its total land area.

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True or false: The Florida Everglades are the largest wetland system in the United States.
True
False
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The Everglades cover more than 4,300 square miles (11,137 square kilometers) of southern Florida.

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What is the most populous city in North America?
New York City
Mexico City
Los Angeles
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Mexico City is identified as the most populous city in North America, with a population of nearly 20 million.

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What is the largest freshwater lake in the North America?
Lake Superior
Lake Huron
Lake Michigan
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Lake Superior the largest freshwater lake in North America.

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What two mountain ranges run along the entire Pacific Coast?
Sierra Nevada and Cascades
Sierra Nevada and Alaska Range
Cascades and Canadian Shield
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Both the Sierra Nevada and Cascades follow the Pacific Coast, shielding the humid winds that sweep in from the ocean.

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True or false: It took more than 60 years to build the Hoover Dam.
True
False
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

It took more than 60 years from the time Maj. John Wesley Powell began to conduct geological studies of the Colorado River in 1869 until construction on the dam began in 1933. It only took five years to complete construction.

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What is the highest peak in North America?
Denali
Mount Logan
Iztaccihuatl
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Denali, which is located within Denali National Park and Preserve in Alaska, stands at 20,320 feet (6,194 meters).

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How many islands, reefs and cays make up the Caribbean region of North America?
More than 200
More than 2,500
More than 7,000
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The Caribbean region includes more than 7,000 islands, islets, reefs and cays. Some have relatively flat and sandy terrain, while others are rugged, mountainous and volcanic.

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What mountain range in North America includes some of the youngest mountains on Earth?
Appalachian Mountains
Rocky Mountains
Cascade Range
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Some of Earth's youngest mountains are in the Cascade Range of the U.S. states of Washington, Oregon and California, where some peaks began to form only about 1 million years ago.

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How much of the world's freshwater do the Great Lakes hold?
15
20
25
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The Great Lakes — Lake Superior, Lake Michigan, Lake Huron, Lake Erie and Lake Ontario — contain about 20 percent of the world's freshwater.

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How many physical regions is North America divided into?
Five
Six
Eight
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

North America is divided into five physical regions: the mountainous West, the Great Plains, the Canadian Shield, the varied eastern region and the Caribbean.

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What's the largest volcano in the United States?
Mount St. Helens
Mauna Loa
Kilauea
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

While Kilauea in Hawaii is considered one of (if not the) most dangerous volcanoes in the U.S., it's actually Mauna Loa that is the largest.

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What is the longest river in North America?
Mississippi
Missouri
Rio Grande
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The Missouri River is North America's longest river, beginning in western Montana and ending 2,341 miles (3,767 kilometers) away, north of St. Louis, Missouri, where it enters the Mississippi River.

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True or false: North America has three major desert regions.
True
False
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The four major desert regions — Great Basin Desert, Sonoran Desert, Chihuahuan Desert and Mojave Desert — are all in the American Southwest and Northern Mexico.

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How many countries make up North America?
5
18
23
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

There are a total of 23 countries in North America, including all of the Caribbean and Central American countries, Bermuda, Canada, Mexico, the United States and Greenland.

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True or false: British Columbia borders two states.
True
False
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

British Columbia borders four states: Washington, Idaho, Montana and Alaska.

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How many major bodies of water does North America border?
Three
Four
Five
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

North America borders four major bodies of water: the Pacific Ocean, Atlantic Ocean, Arctic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico.

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North America is the ______ largest continent.
First
Second
Third
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

North America is the third largest continent, after Asia and Africa.

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North America is the only continent with what?
Volcanoes and tornados.
Every type of climate.
Mountains and islands.
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Weather varies dramatically across the North American landscape. Climates range from arctic cold to equatorial heat and everything in between.

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