US Geography Quiz
Rivers, Great Lakes, deserts and peaks: 15 questions on the physical map of the United States.
Which is the longest river in the United States?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Missouri
The Missouri runs about 2,341 miles (3,767 km) from the Rocky Mountains of Montana to its meeting with the Mississippi near St. Louis, roughly a mile longer than the Mississippi itself.
The Lewis and Clark expedition followed the Missouri upstream for most of its journey west in 1804 and 1805.
Which of the Great Lakes is the largest by surface area?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Superior
Lake Superior covers about 31,700 square miles (82,100 square km), making it the largest freshwater lake in the world by surface area. It holds about 10 percent of the planet's surface fresh water.
Superior is so large that it has its own tides, though they rise and fall by less than two inches (5 cm).
Which mountain range runs along the eastern United States from Alabama up through New England?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Appalachian Mountains
The Appalachians stretch about 2,000 miles (3,200 km) from central Alabama to Newfoundland in Canada, passing through the Smokies, the Blue Ridge, the Alleghenies and the White Mountains.
The Appalachian Trail runs about 2,190 miles (3,520 km) along the range from Springer Mountain in Georgia to Mount Katahdin in Maine.
Which river carved the Grand Canyon?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Colorado River
The Colorado River has cut down through the layered rock of the Colorado Plateau for around five to six million years, exposing nearly two billion years of geological history in the canyon walls.
So much of the Colorado is diverted for farms and cities that in most years it no longer reaches the sea in the Gulf of California.
Which is the only Great Lake located entirely within the United States?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Lake Michigan
Lake Michigan is bordered by Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana and Michigan, with no Canadian shore. The other four Great Lakes all form part of the border with Canada.
Lake Michigan and Lake Huron are connected by the Straits of Mackinac and are technically one body of water at the same elevation.
Which river forms most of the border between Texas and Mexico?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Rio Grande
The Rio Grande rises in the Colorado Rockies, crosses New Mexico and then marks the entire 1,250 mile (2,000 km) Texas border with Mexico before emptying into the Gulf of Mexico.
In Mexico the same river is called the Río Bravo del Norte, or simply the Río Bravo.
Which is the highest peak in the contiguous 48 states?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Mount Whitney
Mount Whitney in California's Sierra Nevada reaches 14,505 feet (4,421 m). Mount Elbert in Colorado is the highest of the Rockies at 14,440 feet (4,401 m), just 65 feet lower.
Whitney is only about 85 miles (137 km) from Badwater Basin in Death Valley, the lowest point in North America.
Which desert, famous for its saguaro cactus, covers much of southern Arizona?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Sonoran Desert
The Sonoran Desert spans southern Arizona, southeastern California and much of northwestern Mexico. It is the only place in the world where the giant saguaro cactus grows wild.
Phoenix and Tucson both sit in the Sonoran Desert, which gets two rainy seasons a year and is the greenest of the North American deserts.
Which state has the longest coastline in the United States?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Alaska
Alaska has about 6,640 miles (10,690 km) of general coastline, more than all the other states combined, thanks to its fjords, islands and the long Aleutian chain.
Alaska is the only state that touches three different seas: the Arctic Ocean, the Bering Sea and the Pacific Ocean.
Mount Rainier, Mount Hood and Mount Shasta are all volcanoes in which mountain range?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Cascade Range
The Cascade Range runs from northern California through Oregon and Washington into British Columbia. Its big snow capped peaks are stratovolcanoes formed by the Juan de Fuca plate sliding beneath North America.
Mount Rainier at 14,411 feet (4,392 m) carries more glacial ice than any other peak in the contiguous United States.
Lake Tahoe straddles the border between which two states?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
California and Nevada
About two thirds of Lake Tahoe lies in California and one third in Nevada. It sits at 6,225 feet (1,897 m) in the Sierra Nevada and is the largest alpine lake in North America.
Tahoe is about 1,645 feet (501 m) deep, second only to Crater Lake among lakes in the United States.
Which is the largest estuary in the United States?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Chesapeake Bay
Chesapeake Bay runs about 200 miles (320 km) through Maryland and Virginia and covers roughly 4,480 square miles (11,600 square km). Its biggest source of fresh water is the Susquehanna River.
The bay's watershed drains parts of six states plus Washington, D.C., which is why pollution there is such a hard regional problem.
Which river flows through Hells Canyon on the border between Idaho and Oregon?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Snake River
The Snake River has cut Hells Canyon nearly 8,000 feet (2,400 m) deep below the Seven Devils peaks, making it one of the deepest river gorges in North America. The Snake is the Columbia's largest tributary.
Evel Knievel famously failed to jump the Snake River Canyon near Twin Falls, Idaho in a rocket powered cycle in 1974.
Which is the highest peak in the Appalachian Mountains?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Mount Mitchell
Mount Mitchell in North Carolina's Black Mountains rises to 6,684 feet (2,037 m), the highest point in mainland North America east of the Mississippi River.
The peak is named after Elisha Mitchell, a professor who died in a fall there in 1857 while trying to confirm his height measurements.
The Ohio River joins the Mississippi at which city?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Cairo
The two rivers meet at Cairo at the southern tip of Illinois, where the Ohio actually carries more water than the Mississippi it joins. The Missouri enters the Mississippi further upstream, above St. Louis.
Cairo, pronounced KAY-ro by locals, is the town Huck and Jim are trying to reach but drift past in the fog in Mark Twain's Huckleberry Finn.
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All Geography quizzes →About the US Geography Quiz
The United States stretches from the Atlantic to the Pacific across four time zones in the contiguous states alone, and its map is packed with record breakers: the Missouri, longer than the Mississippi it feeds, Lake Superior, the largest freshwater lake on Earth by surface area, and Mount Whitney, the highest point in the lower 48.
These 15 questions skip the state capitals and go straight for the physical geography: which river carved the Grand Canyon, which Great Lake stays entirely inside the country, where the Sonoran Desert sits and which city watches the Ohio pour into the Mississippi. It suits students revising, road trip planners and pub quiz teams who think they know their way around the country.
You will find 15 multiple choice questions here, each with four options. Difficulty: Medium. Most people finish in about 6 minutes, and every answer comes with a short explanation and one extra fact worth keeping.
How to play
Read the question and pick one of the four answers. The correct answer is revealed straight away with a short explanation, then press Next question to keep going. At the end you get your score out of 15 and a full review of your round. Play again any time and the questions arrive in a fresh order. There is no timer and no account.
Good to know before you play
What is the longest river in the United States?
The Missouri River, at about 2,341 miles (3,767 km), edges out the Mississippi by a single mile. Together they form the fourth longest river system in the world.
What is the highest mountain in the contiguous United States?
Mount Whitney in California's Sierra Nevada, at 14,505 feet (4,421 m). Denali in Alaska is higher overall at 20,310 feet (6,190 m).
Does this quiz include state capitals?
No. Capitals and state nicknames have their own quizzes on the site. This one sticks to rivers, lakes, mountains, deserts, bays and coastlines.
Answer key: all 15 questions with explanations
- Which is the longest river in the United States?
Missouri The Missouri runs about 2,341 miles (3,767 km) from the Rocky Mountains of Montana to its meeting with the Mississippi near St. Louis, roughly a mile longer than the Mississippi itself. The Lewis and Clark expedition followed the Missouri upstream for most of its journey west in 1804 and 1805. - Which of the Great Lakes is the largest by surface area?
Superior Lake Superior covers about 31,700 square miles (82,100 square km), making it the largest freshwater lake in the world by surface area. It holds about 10 percent of the planet's surface fresh water. Superior is so large that it has its own tides, though they rise and fall by less than two inches (5 cm). - Which mountain range runs along the eastern United States from Alabama up through New England?
Appalachian Mountains The Appalachians stretch about 2,000 miles (3,200 km) from central Alabama to Newfoundland in Canada, passing through the Smokies, the Blue Ridge, the Alleghenies and the White Mountains. The Appalachian Trail runs about 2,190 miles (3,520 km) along the range from Springer Mountain in Georgia to Mount Katahdin in Maine. - Which river carved the Grand Canyon?
Colorado River The Colorado River has cut down through the layered rock of the Colorado Plateau for around five to six million years, exposing nearly two billion years of geological history in the canyon walls. So much of the Colorado is diverted for farms and cities that in most years it no longer reaches the sea in the Gulf of California. - Which is the only Great Lake located entirely within the United States?
Lake Michigan Lake Michigan is bordered by Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana and Michigan, with no Canadian shore. The other four Great Lakes all form part of the border with Canada. Lake Michigan and Lake Huron are connected by the Straits of Mackinac and are technically one body of water at the same elevation. - Which river forms most of the border between Texas and Mexico?
Rio Grande The Rio Grande rises in the Colorado Rockies, crosses New Mexico and then marks the entire 1,250 mile (2,000 km) Texas border with Mexico before emptying into the Gulf of Mexico. In Mexico the same river is called the Río Bravo del Norte, or simply the Río Bravo. - Which is the highest peak in the contiguous 48 states?
Mount Whitney Mount Whitney in California's Sierra Nevada reaches 14,505 feet (4,421 m). Mount Elbert in Colorado is the highest of the Rockies at 14,440 feet (4,401 m), just 65 feet lower. Whitney is only about 85 miles (137 km) from Badwater Basin in Death Valley, the lowest point in North America. - Which desert, famous for its saguaro cactus, covers much of southern Arizona?
Sonoran Desert The Sonoran Desert spans southern Arizona, southeastern California and much of northwestern Mexico. It is the only place in the world where the giant saguaro cactus grows wild. Phoenix and Tucson both sit in the Sonoran Desert, which gets two rainy seasons a year and is the greenest of the North American deserts. - Which state has the longest coastline in the United States?
Alaska Alaska has about 6,640 miles (10,690 km) of general coastline, more than all the other states combined, thanks to its fjords, islands and the long Aleutian chain. Alaska is the only state that touches three different seas: the Arctic Ocean, the Bering Sea and the Pacific Ocean. - Mount Rainier, Mount Hood and Mount Shasta are all volcanoes in which mountain range?
Cascade Range The Cascade Range runs from northern California through Oregon and Washington into British Columbia. Its big snow capped peaks are stratovolcanoes formed by the Juan de Fuca plate sliding beneath North America. Mount Rainier at 14,411 feet (4,392 m) carries more glacial ice than any other peak in the contiguous United States. - Lake Tahoe straddles the border between which two states?
California and Nevada About two thirds of Lake Tahoe lies in California and one third in Nevada. It sits at 6,225 feet (1,897 m) in the Sierra Nevada and is the largest alpine lake in North America. Tahoe is about 1,645 feet (501 m) deep, second only to Crater Lake among lakes in the United States. - Which is the largest estuary in the United States?
Chesapeake Bay Chesapeake Bay runs about 200 miles (320 km) through Maryland and Virginia and covers roughly 4,480 square miles (11,600 square km). Its biggest source of fresh water is the Susquehanna River. The bay's watershed drains parts of six states plus Washington, D.C., which is why pollution there is such a hard regional problem. - Which river flows through Hells Canyon on the border between Idaho and Oregon?
Snake River The Snake River has cut Hells Canyon nearly 8,000 feet (2,400 m) deep below the Seven Devils peaks, making it one of the deepest river gorges in North America. The Snake is the Columbia's largest tributary. Evel Knievel famously failed to jump the Snake River Canyon near Twin Falls, Idaho in a rocket powered cycle in 1974. - Which is the highest peak in the Appalachian Mountains?
Mount Mitchell Mount Mitchell in North Carolina's Black Mountains rises to 6,684 feet (2,037 m), the highest point in mainland North America east of the Mississippi River. The peak is named after Elisha Mitchell, a professor who died in a fall there in 1857 while trying to confirm his height measurements. - The Ohio River joins the Mississippi at which city?
Cairo The two rivers meet at Cairo at the southern tip of Illinois, where the Ohio actually carries more water than the Mississippi it joins. The Missouri enters the Mississippi further upstream, above St. Louis. Cairo, pronounced KAY-ro by locals, is the town Huck and Jim are trying to reach but drift past in the fog in Mark Twain's Huckleberry Finn.
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