| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| The deepest known cave on Earth, the Krubera Cave, is located in this mountain range. A mountain known as “Freezing Cold Peak” is this range’s Mount Kazbek. A controversy over “neutral passports” has affected a region in this mountain range called Abkhazia. Khillar Khachirov was the first ascend to this range’s highest peak, which is the tallest in Europe. Mount Elbrus is found in, for the point, what Eurasian mountain range between the Black and Caspian Seas? | Caucasus Mountains |
| The motto of this city translates to “I am not led, I lead.” Ibirapuera Park can be found in this city and contains buildings by Oscar Niemeyer. Roughly six million residents of this city’s metro area are of Italian descent. Over 88,000 students attend the major university of this city, which names its country’s most populous state. For the point, name this largest city in Brazil, named for an Apostle of Jesus. | S˜ao Paulo |
| A major city in this state was the western terminus of the Lone Tree Ferry. The Elkhorn River originates in the Sandhills, a dune-heavy region of this central US state. Bellevue is a suburb of this state’s most populous city, which forms a metropolitan area with Council Bluffs, Iowa. Warren Buffett founded Berkshire Hathaway in this state, which contains the Platte River. For the point, name this Midwestern state home to Lincoln and Omaha. | Nebraska |
| This country’s namesake wolf is endemic to a mountain range that contains the Semien Mountains. A monolithic church in this country dedicated to St. George is found in its town of Lalibela. An Olympian from this country made a controversial cross with his hands to demonstrate solidarity with its Oromo people. Amharic is widely spoken in this country which was historically called Abyssinia. For the point, name this East African country with capital at Addis Ababa. | Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia |
| The primary entertainment district of this city is Starhill, found in the Golden Triangle. The Titiwangsa Mountains form the northern boundary of this city’s Klang Valley. Found in the state of Selangor, this city’s largest ethnic group is the Bumiputera. This city is home to a pair of buildings connected by the Skybridge which were, at one point, the tallest in the world. The Petronas Towers are located in, for the point, what capital city of Malaysia? | Kuala Lumpur |
| To deter kidnappers in the largest city of this state, boulders were rolled onto roads in the Campestre neighborhood. In this state, the Conchos River flows northeast to the Rio Bravo del Norte, while the drainage of six other rivers forms this state’s Copper Canyon, which ends in neighboring Sinaloa at the Gulf of California. East of the Sierra Madre Occidental is this state’s namesake desert. Ciudad Ju´arez is found in, for the point, what Mexican state that shares its name with a small dog breed? | Free and Sovereign State of Chihuahua |
| A story about the creation of this location involves two boys fighting on their way to Mount Conner. William Gosse was an early explorer of this location, whose creation is sacred to the Anangu people. This location, found in the same national park as the similar Kata Tjuta, is a six hour drive from the nearest major city, Alice Springs. For the point, name this sacred sandstone formation in the Northern Territory of Australia. | Uluru (accept Ayers Rock) |
| An annual airshow is held at this country’s Ilopango Airport, though its Comalapa Aiport is now used commercially. A statue of Christ standing on a globe was built in this country’s Plaza of the Savior of the World, which now also contains a statue of bishop O´scar Romero. This country borders Guatemala and Honduras and has a Pacific, but not an Atlantic, coastline. For the point, name this smallest Central American country whose capital is San Salvador. | El Salvador |
| One river of this name flows through Palo Duro Canyon and the Prairie Dog Town Fork. One river of this name begins in Yunnan and flows into the Gulf of Tonkin after passing through Hanoi. Lake Winnipeg is where a river with this name “of the north” empties, while one “of the south” passes through Louisiana before becoming part of the Mississippi. For the point, give this colorful name of several rivers that flow through iron-based rock beds. | Red River (accept any additional information that uses the word red) |
| Description acceptable. Geologist Jules Marcou claims that this action was inspired by an indigenous term for a Nicaraguan mountain range. Matthias Ringmann supported this action, noting that women had been honored similarly in two other occasions. This action was inspired by the creation of the 1507 Universalis Cosmographia and was done by Martin Waldseemu¨ller, who was inspired by an explorer who made post-Columbian voyages to the New World. For the point, name this action that honored the Italian explorer Vespucci. | the naming of the Americas (accept equivalents for naming; prompt on partial answers) |
| Intheextremesouthwestofthisbodyofwater,theLakshadweeparchipelagoishometoacommunity related to the Malayali people. This body of water’s island of Masirah contains wreckages of many sailing ships called dhows. The island of Socotra belongs to the Aden Governate of a country along this sea, whose ships are frequently targeted by pirates from Somalia to its west. The Persian Gulf and Gulf of Aden are both connected to, For the point, what sea of the northwest Indian Ocean that Oman and Yemen border? | Arabian Sea (prompt on Indian Ocean before said) |
| A Banksy graffiti piece in this city shows the flag of the European Union on a ferry building. The River Dour flows into this city’s harbor. The most famous tourist location in this city has a similar German counterpart in Ru¨gen and is found within the North Downs ridge; that eight-mile-long natural feature lies across a body of water from Calais. Found in the county of Kent, for the point, name this southeast English city known for its White Cliffs. | Dover |
| The Manavgat River originates in this country’s Taurus Mountains. This is the larger of two countries that contains Lake Van. The ceramic tiles from this country’s city of Izmir, once known as Smyrna, have been used extensively in its mosques. The Dardanelles separates two parts of this country on different continents. The Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia are in, for the point, what country that is home to Istanbul? | Republic of Turkey |
| One of the few non-mountainous regions of this archipelago is a peninsula named for merchant Samuel Lafone. The only surviving sailing ship from the California gold rush can be found near this island chain’s Goose Green in Darwin Harbor. A referendum on this archipelago’s sovereignty was rejected by Cristina Fern´andez de Kirchner. For the point, name this island chain whose ownership is disputed by the UK and Argentina. | Falkland Islands (or Islas Malvinas) |
| Ibn Fadlan wrote about a ship burial conducted along this river, whose basin includes Lake Seliger. A painting completed in 1873 showed barge haulers working along this river. The Oka is a tributary of this river, which flows through the Valdai Hills. This river’s Saratov Hydroelectric Station was listed as one of the Great Construction Projects of Communism. This river empties into the Caspian Sea after passing cities like Nizhny Novgorod. For the point, name this longest river of Europe found in Russia. | Volga River |
| A group of Huguenots including Pierre Joubert fled to this geographical feature in 1687. The Flying Dutchman was thought to have been lost off the coast of this feature. Cape Agulhas is southeast of this feature, which is itself south of Table Bay. In 1795, the Dutch lost a colony named for this feature to the British. It received its best known name during the 1488 voyage of Bartolomeu Dias, who was the first European to reach it. For the point, name this Cape of southern Africa. | Cape of Good Hope (do not prompt on early descriptions of “the southern tip of Africa” because it isn’t; prompt on South Africa until “feature” is said) |
| Shark fossils can be found on the shores of this body of water at the Calvert Cliffs. A bridge across the mouth of this body of water includes two tunnels, including one under the Thimble Shoals shipping channel. Rivers that flow into this body of water include the York, James, and Potomac. Oysters and blue crabs are famously harvested by skipjacks in, For the point, what bay that opens in Virginia and extends up to Baltimore, Maryland? | Chesapeake Bay |
| Marillenbrand is an apricot brandy largely produced in this nation’s Wachau [VOCK-ow] region, while its Burgenland region is famous for wines grown near Lake Neusiedl [NOY-seed-ul]. This country’s capital city boasts the oldest recipe for apple strudel in a library in the Rathaus. A veal cutlet central to this country’s cuisine is called Wiener Schnitzel [veen-er shnit-zel], named for its capital. The Caf´e Mozart is found in Salzburg in, For the point, what European country with capital Vienna? | Austria |
| The Canadian Bioscope Company was founded in this province and produced Canada’s first feature film. An Apple Blossom Festival is held yearly in this province’s Annapolis Valley. This province’s capital is known for its Victorian-style Public Gardens and a 1917 incident in which the SS Imo was struck by the SS Mont Blanc in a harbor, resulting in the largest explosion in pre-nuclear history. For the point, name this northern province of Canada with capital Halifax, whose name is Latin for New Scotland. | Nova Scotia |
| The final finisher of this event is awarded a red lantern for their persistence. In 1985, Libby Riddles became the first woman to win this event, whose record finish came in 2017 in a time of just over 8 days and 3 hours. Rainy Pass is one of the locations passed during this event, which ends in the city of Nome. The central trail of this race passes along the Bering Sea. For the point, name this 1,000-mile-long Alaskan race of sled dog teams. | Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race (accept any combination of additional words) |
| This nation’s largest lake is connected to an even larger lake by the Vuoksi River. This nation lost most of Karelia to its eastern neighbor in a war fought in the early 1940’s. A population of just 300 ringed seals endemic to this country’s Lake Saimaa remain. Like Hungary and Estonia, this nation’s primary official language is of the Uralic family. This country’s northern Lapland region is home to a significant population of Sami people. For the point, name this European country with capital at Helsinki. | Finland |
| A national forest in this state is named for its most prominent plant species, yucca brevifolia, which has a religiously-inspired common name. This state’s Badwater Basin and Furnace Creek are in a desert valley less than one hundred miles away from this state’s highest point, Mount Whitney. For the point, name this West Coast state home to Joshua Tree National Forest, the western half of the Mojave Desert, and Death Valley. | California |
| Since 1978, this city has hosted the annual O. Henry Pun Off to celebrate its former resident. This city’s Zilker Park hosts a music festival inspired by a PBS program of live concerts named for this city’s limits. A local slogan to “Keep [this city] Weird” is featured on merchandise sold at its massive film and music festival, South by Southwest. For the point, name this city where U-T students attend class about a mile from the Texas state capitol building. | Austin |
| Montane forests cover a portion of this region created after an exploding volcano collapsed on itself. One country’s portion of this region is called the Maasai Mara. The Ngorongoro Crater is found in this region, which inspired a 1994 animated film that features a wildebeest stampede. A migration involving hundreds of thousands of gazelles and zebras occurs annually in, For the point, what biodiverse region largely in Tanzania, known for its wildlife? | Serengeti |
| One river of this name in Texas contains the Buchanan Dam and passes through cities in Dawson County before emptying into Matagorda Bay. A reservoir of a larger river of this name was created after the flooding of Glen Canyon. That river of this name flows through the Black Canyon, where a dam was built that eventually led to the creation of Lake Mead. The Hoover Dam was built on, For the point, what river that flows through the Grand Canyon? | Colorado River (accept Colorado River of Texas) |
| In a May 2012 incident in this desert, the terrorist group Ansar Dine attacked a UNESCO World HeritageSite.ThevolcanoEmiKoussiisinthisdesert’sTibestiMountains.ThePolisarioFrontestablished the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic in this desert, which is at the northern end of a transition zone whose name means “coast.” The Sahel lies to the south of this desert, whose cities include Timbuktu. For the point, name this large desert in Northern Africa. | Sahara Desert |
| A peninsula that juts into this lake includes the town of Idlewild near Potawatomi State Park on the shores of Sturgeon Bay. Silver Lake State Park lies on the east coast of this lake, where sand dunes have destroyed homes in recent years. A state border runs through this lake, with Muskegon at roughly the same latitude as Milwaukee on the opposite shore. For the point, name this American Great Lake on which Chicago lies. | Lake Michigan |
| A cape along this body of water got its name from cries by natives asking European visitors to “come to [their houses]” before the Europeans were slaughtered. The Ixtoc I [ish-tok 1] explosion occurred in this body of water, which is home to Cape Catoche [kah-toe-chay]. The Bay of Campeche [cam-pay-chay] is in the south of this body of water. The 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill polluted, For the point, what body of water bounded by the Yucat´an Peninsula, the US, and a namesake country? | Gulf of Mexico |
| London’s Hyde Park inspired the design of this country’s Ayala Triangle Gardens, a park in Makati, this country’s financial center. The Pasig River cuts through this country’s capital city. Taal Volcano is found on this country’s island of Luzon, which contains the military headquarters of Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City. For the point, name this Asian country whose capital city is Manila. | the Philippines |
| This country’s Yala National Park is served by its failed Mattala Rajapaksa Airport, which recently served fewer than twenty passengers a day. Buddha is venerated at the Temple of the Tooth in Kandy, the site of a former kingdom on this island linked across the Palk Strait by Adam’s Bridge. Ceylon is the former name of, For the point, what country with largest city Colombo, just southeast of India? | Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka |
| St. Mary’s is the largest of this country’s Scilly Isles, which include the southernmost point of this country. The most climbed mountain in this nation is Snowdon, while its longest river is the Severn. Renzo Piano designed what became this nation’s tallest skyscraper in 2012, the Shard. For the point, name this country that is divided into the constituent countries of Northern Ireland, Wales, Scotland, and England. | United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (accept England until “Snowdon” is said, and anti-prompt on it thereafter; anti-prompt on Wales after Snowdon is said) |