Geography of the United States Quiz

Question: Which large city in southeastern Michigan was founded by Antoine Laumet de la Mothe Cadillac?

Answer: The city of Detroit, Michigan, was founded in 1701 by a French trader, Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac, who built a fort on the river and named it Fort-Pontchartrain-du-Détroit in honour of his patron (the French word detroit meaning “strait”); later the British called it simply Detroit.

Question: In what U.S. state is Pavlof Volcano located?

Answer: Pavlof Volcano is a volcanic peak of the Aleutian Range near the southwestern tip of the Alaska Peninsula.

Question: The mouth of which river was discovered in 1673 by the French explorers Jacques Marquette and Louis Jolliet while they were canoeing down the Mississippi River?

Answer: The mouth of the Missouri River was discovered in 1673 by the French explorers Jacques Marquette and Louis Jolliet while they were canoeing down the Mississippi River.

Question: Which of these lakes is entirely within the United States?

Answer: The third largest of the five Great Lakes of North America, Lake Michigan is the only one lying wholly within the United States.

Question: Tallahassee is the capital of which U.S. state?

Answer: The city of Tallahassee is the capital of the U.S. state of Florida.

Question: Which major U.S. city is closest to the junction of the Mississippi and Missouri rivers?

Answer: St. Louis, Missouri, is the major city closest to the junction of the Mississippi and Missouri rivers. It is 10 miles (16 km) below their confluence.

Question: Who founded the settlement that later grew into the city of Chicago?

Answer: Jean-Baptist-Point Du Sable was a pioneer trader and founder of the settlement that later became the city of Chicago.

Question: In which two U.S. states is Okefenokee Swamp located?

Answer: Okefenokee Swamp is a swamp and wildlife refuge in southeastern Georgia and northern Florida in the United States.

Question: Which boundary in the United States, together with the Ohio River, was regarded in the pre-Civil War period as the dividing line between the slave-holding states in the South and the free-soil states in the North?

Answer: The Mason–Dixon Line was originally the boundary between Maryland and Pennsylvania in the United States. In the pre-Civil War period it was regarded, together with the Ohio River, as the dividing line between slave states south of it and free-soil states north of it.

Question: In what U.S. state can the world’s tallest trees be found?

Answer: California is home to Redwood National Park, which preserves virgin (old-growth) groves of ancient redwood trees, including the world’s tallest tree. Redwoods are the tallest living trees; they often exceed 300 feet (90 metres) in height.

Question: On which of the North American Great Lakes is Cleveland, Ohio, located?

Answer: The city of Cleveland, Ohio, is a port on the southern shore of Lake Erie, at the mouth of the Cuyahoga River.

Question: Into which bay does the Potomac River flow?

Answer: The Potomac River’s North and South branches (95 miles [150 km] and 130 miles [210 km] long, respectively) flow into Chesapeake Bay via Maryland and the District of Columbia in the United States.

Question: What U.S. city is New Hampshire’s only seaport?

Answer: The city of Portsmouth is New Hampshire’s only seaport.

Question: Where in the United States is Death Valley?

Answer: Death Valley is a structural depression in California. It is the lowest, hottest, and driest portion of the North American continent.

Question: Which U.S. city is situated at the confluence of the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers?

Answer: Philadelphia, which is the largest city in Pennsylvania, is situated at the confluence of the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers.