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Geography Trivia Questions for Kids and Families
Oceans, continents, capitals and mountains: thirty geography trivia questions with answers, from easy to hard, to test how well your family knows the world.
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Easy geography trivia questions for kids
1.Which ocean lies between the Americas on one side and Europe and Africa on the other?
The Atlantic Ocean. The Atlantic is named after Atlas from Greek myths, and it covers about 20 percent of Earth's surface.
2.How many continents are there in the most common count?
Seven. Some countries teach fewer by joining continents, such as North and South America.
3.What is the largest country in the world by area?
Russia. Russia stretches across two continents, Europe and Asia, and covers about one-tenth of all the land on Earth.
4.Which is the smallest continent?
Australia. Australia is also the flattest continent.
5.What is the capital city of Japan?
Tokyo. Tokyo was called Edo until 1868, when it was renamed and became Japan's capital.
6.Which is the largest continent on Earth?
Asia. Asia stretches all the way from the eastern Mediterranean Sea to the western Pacific Ocean.
7.What is the imaginary line around the middle of the Earth called?
The equator. It divides Earth into the Northern and Southern Hemispheres.
8.Which U.S. state is made up entirely of islands?
Hawaii. The Hawaiian islands were formed by volcanoes.
9.Which famous waterfalls sit on the border between the United States and Canada?
Niagara Falls. Niagara Falls is really three waterfalls: Horseshoe Falls, American Falls and Bridal Veil Falls.
10.On a map, what is the box called that explains what the symbols and colors mean?
The legend (or key). Many maps also have a compass rose or an arrow, which usually points north.
11.What do we call a round, ball-shaped model of Earth?
A globe. Because it is round, a globe shows distances and directions more accurately than a flat map.
12.What do we call a huge mass of ice that slowly flows over land?
A glacier. Glaciers are found on every continent except Australia.
Medium geography trivia questions
13.Which river flows through London?
The Thames. It is England's longest river, and it starts at Thames Head in Gloucestershire.
14.Which mountain range runs down the west side of South America?
The Andes. It is the longest mountain range on any continent.
15.Which is the smallest of Earth's five oceans?
The Arctic Ocean. The Arctic Ocean is almost completely covered with ice for most of the year.
16.Which Italian city is built on islands in a lagoon, with canals running between its buildings?
Venice. Venice is made up of 118 small islands joined by more than 400 bridges.
17.What do we call land that is almost surrounded by water but joined to the mainland on one side?
A peninsula. Most of the U.S. state of Florida is a peninsula.
18.Which European country is famous for its fjords, long narrow sea inlets carved by glaciers?
Norway. Norway's longest fjord, the Sognefjord, reaches about 205 kilometers (127 miles) inland.
19.What is the capital city of Canada?
Ottawa. Queen Victoria picked Ottawa in 1857, and it became the capital of the new Dominion of Canada in 1867.
20.What is the name of the line of 0 degrees longitude that runs through Greenwich, England?
The Prime Meridian. In 1884, representatives from 25 countries agreed to use it as the world's standard starting line for longitude.
21.Which European island country is called a land of fire and ice, for its volcanoes and glaciers?
Iceland. Its biggest glacier, Vatnajokull, is the largest glacier in Europe.
22.What is the capital city of New Zealand?
Wellington. Parliament moved there from Auckland in 1865, partly because Wellington is near the middle of the country.
Hard geography trivia questions for adults
23.What is the largest lake in Africa?
Lake Victoria. It is shared by three countries: Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda.
24.What is the name of the line of latitude 23.5 degrees north of the equator?
The Tropic of Cancer. At the June solstice, the Sun's rays shine straight down on it.
25.Which large desert covers southern Mongolia and part of northern China?
The Gobi Desert. Scientists have found many dinosaur fossils there, even dinosaur embryos still in their eggs.
26.Which great European river begins in Germany's Black Forest and flows to the Black Sea?
The Danube. On its way, the Danube flows through ten countries, from Germany to Ukraine.
27.Which mountain range in Russia is usually said to mark the boundary between Europe and Asia?
The Ural Mountains. The Urals run about 2,500 kilometers (1,550 miles) from north to south.
28.The Galapagos Islands, famous for giant tortoises, belong to which South American country?
Ecuador. Charles Darwin visited the islands in 1835 aboard the ship HMS Beagle.
29.What do we call a narrow strip of land that connects two larger landmasses?
An isthmus. The Isthmus of Panama joins North America and South America.
30.Which major African river is famous for crossing the equator twice?
The Congo River. The Congo is Africa's second-longest river.
Ways to use these geography questions
Spread a world map on the table or set a globe in the middle, and after each answer let the youngest player find the place before the next question is read. On a road trip, save the waterfall, river and capital questions for the car and have passengers look them up in an atlas or map app between stops. Teachers can use the map-skills questions about the equator, the legend and the Prime Meridian as a five-minute warm-up before a lesson. For a family challenge, give everyone sticky dots to mark each place they answer correctly, and see whose dots reach the most continents by the end.
Play Geography trivia together
Room Trivia has a whole geography category with different questions: four answers to pick from, points for speed, and a scoreboard. Put it on a TV or laptop and everyone answers on their own phone. Free, with no app and no account.