If You're Not a True North American Geography Expert, Don't Even Bother With This Quiz

By: John Miller
Estimated Completion Time
2 min
If You're Not a True North American Geography Expert, Don't Even Bother With This Quiz
Image: shutterstock

About This Quiz

North America is so big — and extends through so much latitude — that it contains some of the most diverse landscapes anywhere in the world. There are the endless Canadian Rockies and the corn- and wheat-packed Great Plains, the plateaus of Mexico and the hills of Iowa. What do you really know about the geography of North America in our tough quiz?

Let’s be honest, compared with the monstrous mountains of the Alps and Himalayas, North America’s peaks are stumpy. But you won’t be thinking that when your lungs are searing during a hike at 14,000 feet. Do you know the names of the continent’s most forbidding and dangerous mountains?

Plate tectonics, glacier activity, rivers and a whole lot of other geological processes played a role in North America’s geography. In some areas, the land is flat and featureless (hello, western Kansas), but in other locations, mountains and rivers make the land a wild and treacherous place, particularly in the winter. How much do you know about the diversity of this continent’s geography?

From famous lakes to bake-your-brains-out deserts, North America is truly a changeable area, full of different cultures and peoples — except Canada, where there are only moose. Take our difficult North America geography quiz now!

In terms of overall size, North America is the ____-largest continent in the world.
3rd
7th
8th
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

North America is the world’s third-largest continent, behind Asia and Africa. It sprawls for about 9.4 million square miles.

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Which major American river flows into the Gulf of Mexico?
Cedar River
Columbia River
Mississippi River
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The mighty Mississippi River is more than 2,300 miles long, and its watershed includes 31 U.S. states and parts of Canada, too. At the end of its journey it empties into the Gulf of Mexico, near New Orleans.

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How many lakes make up the Great Lakes?
2
5
9
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

There are five Great Lakes. They are Lakes Superior, Michigan, Ontario, Erie and Huron, five of the biggest bodies of water anywhere.

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Where would you find the Adirondack Mountains?
Iowa
New York
New Mexico
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The Adirondack Mountains are located in New York State. At their highest point, they soar to about one mile above sea level.

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Which of the Great Lakes is the largest?
Lake Ontario
Luke Huron
Lake Superior
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Lake Superior is the largest of the five Great Lakes. By surface area, it is absolutely monstrous — the biggest freshwater lake on Earth.

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What’s the name of North America’s continental divide?
Grand Canyon
Great Divide
Des Moines
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The Great Divide is North America’s major continental divide. The watershed on the west side of the Divide drains into the Pacific Ocean; the east side drains into the Atlantic.

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What is the Canadian Shield?
a moose-based missile defense system
a large area of exposed rocks
a wall of bighorn sheep trained to attack Americans
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The Canadian Shield is a huge area of exposed ancient rock that covers nearly half the country. Much of the shield is dusted with a thin layer of soil.

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How do the Appalachian Mountains compare to the Rocky Mountains?
They are shorter and older.
They are higher and much more jagged in appearance.
They are identical.
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The Appalachian Mountains on the east side of North America are shorter and older than the younger and more dramatic Rocky Mountains. The Appalachians formed more than 400 million years ago; the Rockies may only be around 55 milllion years old.

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North America accounts for roughly what percentage of the world’s total land area?
about 3%
about 8%
about 17%
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

North America makes up just under 17% of the world’s land area. More than 560 million people live in the countries of North America — and the United States makes up the bulk of that number.

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You’ll find the Great Divide in which mountain range?
Rocky Mountains
Appalachian Mountains
Sierra Nevada Mountains
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The Great Divide runs north-south along the peaks of the Rocky Mountains. It is by far the biggest continental divide in North America, extending from the tip of Alaska through Central America.

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Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost area of which North American country?
Mexico
United States
Canada
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Newfoundland and Labrador make up the most eastern province of Canada. The vast majority of the area’s population lives on the island of Newfoundland ... while Labrador is very sparsely populated.

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Where would you find the Great Plains of North America?
Pacific Northwest
East Coast
Midwest
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The Great Plains are a vast area of plains mostly located in the Midwest portion of North America. Much of the area was originally covered by grasses that are now plowed into fields.

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How many countries are there in North America?
9
23
67
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

There are 23 countries that make up North America. The United States and Canada are by far the biggest countries on the continent.

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Where would you find a place named Badwater Basin?
Ohio
Iowa
California
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Badwater Basin has the lowest elevation of any place in North America, and it is located in Death Valley National Park in California. The Basin is 282 feet below sea level.

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Where would you find the Aleutian Islands?
North Carolina
Alaska
Hawaii
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The Aleutian Islands are a remote set of islands included as part of Alaska. They’ve been a point of strategic maneuvering between the U.S. and Russia - and Japan, too during WWII.

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Mount Elbert is the tallest peak in which mountain range?
Sierra Nevada Mountains
Appalachian Mountains
Rocky Mountains
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The Rocky Mountains run all the way from New Mexico to northern British Columbia, a distance of over 3,000 miles. Mount Elbert, at14,440 feet, in Colorado, is the range’s highest peak.

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What are the Ozarks?
a series of lakes
mountains
intertwining rivers
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The Ozarks are mountains located in Missouri, Arkansas, Oklahoma and Kansas. On a topographical map they may look short, but in real life they make for a tough hike.

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Where would you find the tallest mountain peak in all of North America?
Washington
Alaska
New Mexico
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

It used to be called Mount McKinley, but it’s now known as Denali, and at 20,310 feet, it’s the tallest peak in North America. It’s also the third most prominent peak on Earth.

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Before they were hunted nearly to extinction in the 19th century, which animal dominated the Great Plains?
passenger pigeon
bison
gerbil
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The bison roamed the Great Plains by the millions in the early 1800s, easily the most iconic animal of the area. Hunters, often supplied by the U.S. Army and paid nearly $3 a hide by private industry, nearly led to the species going extinct. The intentional removal of the buffalo also denied Native Americans their historic food sources, forcing them into conflict with white settlers.

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True or false: North America has the most varied types of climates of any continent on Earth.
true
false
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

It’s true, thanks to its varied geography and vastness of latitude, North America has the most varied climates on Earth. It has everything from frigid Arctic tundra to tropical jungles.

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In which part of Canada would you find most of the Canadian Shield?
northern area
western area
southern area
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The Canadian Shield covers vast portions of the north and east side of the country. Very few people live on the Shield... but mining opportunites are plentiful.

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What is a defining characteristic of Death Valley?
It has more cemeteries per capita than anywhere else on the continent.
It is crazy hot.
Everyone who enters the area instantly dies.
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Death Valley is one of the hottest places on the planet. The hottest temperature ever recorded there was 134 degrees Fahrenheit, in 1913.

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The Great Plains extend from the Gulf of Mexico to ______.
California
Iowa
the Canadian Arctic
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The Great Plains are truly massive, spreading their plains-y goodness all the way from the Gulf of Mexico to the Canadian Arctic. Canadians call this area the "Prairies."

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True or false: By volume, Lake Superior is the biggest freshwater lake on the planet.
true
false
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

By surface area, Superior is the world’s biggest freshwater lake, but by volume it ranks third, behind Lakes Baikal and Tanganyika.

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The Rio Grande River partially forms a border between Texas and ______.
Utah
Mexico
Louisiana
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The Rio Grande is a legendary river of the Southwest, and it is more than 1,800 miles long. Some of that length creates a border between Texas and Mexico.

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Which land feature connects North and South America?
Guatemala
Missouri River
Isthmus of Panama
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The Isthmus of Panama is the skinny bit of land that connects North and South America. It is also home, of course, to the Panama Canal, which allows ships to take a shortcut across the isthmus.

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Mount Robson is the tallest peak in the Canadian Rockies. It rests in which province?
Ontario
Newfoundland
British Columbia
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

At 12,972 feet, Mount Robson towers over many parts of other peaks in British Columbia. On a clear day, you can see its snowy peaks from nearby Yellowhead Highway.

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True or false: The Caribbean islands are part of North America.
true
false
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

It’s true - the Caribbean islands, although they are separated from the mainland by a lot of sea, are still considered part of North America.

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What’s the highest peak in the contiguous United States?
Mount Nebraska
Mount Robson
Mount Whitney
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

In the Sierra Nevada mountains of California, you’ll find Mount Whitney, the highest peak in the entire contiguous United States. The peak is 14,505 feet high.

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Denali is the highest peak in North America. When was the first successful ascent of its summit?
1854
1913
1971
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

In 1913, four climbers mastered Denali via the South Summit route. By comparison, Mount Everest — the world’s tallest peak — wasn’t summited until 1953.

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