When it comes to geography, quizzers tend to be pretty confident in their knowledge. Aside from Qwhizz, I also run some popular quiz apps, so I have a unique insight in to what people do and don't know. The following questions show a surprising gap in many peoples' knowledge of our world. That doesn't mean these questions are easy, they aren't, but they are things you might just wonder how you don't know - or have never heard of - the answer.
What is the highest mountain in the Americas?
You'd think most people might know the highest mountain in the Americas or at least the highest mountain in the Andes in South America, simply because highest mountains are pretty much bread and butter for geography buffs, and as there are only a handful of continents, it shouldn't be too difficult to learn the highest mountain on each of them. In fairness, this asks for the highest mountain in The Americas and not America (which is Denali), so that might throw some people off, and also Aconcagua isn't the easiest name for English speakers to remember.
Answer: Aconcagua
The Taj Mahal is situated on the banks of which river?
8 Million people visit the Taj Mahal in India each year, and pretty much everybody has heard about the legendary Black Taj Mahal that was planned to be built on the other side of the river. But seemingly few people stopped to ask, what river? Frustrating because it's definitely something you think you should know.
Answer: Yamuna River
What is the name of the Ice Rink in New York Central Park?
Maybe this is a tenuous geography question, but this ice rink is so iconic around the world and features in pretty much every Christmas film set in New York. But do you know the name? No? Don't worry, hardly anybody does!
Answer: The Wollman Rink
Which Brazilian city has the largest population?
Of course, most people are going to answer Rio de Janeiro, because it's probably Brazil's most famous city. If you're trying to be clever, you might say the capital city Brasilia, but actually it's São Paulo and not just by a little bit. São Paulo has 11,451,245 the next largest city Rio has a mere 6,211,423, that's a difference of more than 5 million people!
Answer: São Paulo
The Gulf of Aden links the Red Sea to which other sea?
This one takes a bit of visualisation of The Red Sea, which lies between Africa and the Middle East. But if you can follow it down in your mind, you'll realise that the Red Sea goes down and flows out up under Yemen on the Arabian Peninsula, so the answer is The Arabian Sea. Not easy though.
Answer: The Arabian Sea
What is the highest mountain in Europe?
Yes, the highest mountain in The Americas could be seen to have had a bit of trickery in the question, but the highest mountain in Europe? Weirdly, more people know the highest mountain in the Alps than Europe, perhaps because so many people visit the Alps. But Europe's highest mountain is found in the Russian Caucasuses. It's Elbrus.
Answer: Mount Elbrus
What is the largest desert in Australia?
For non-Australians, Australian geography can be a bit of a struggle, which is strange because Australia is not only one of the most familiar countries in the world, it is visited by over 9 million tourists each year. Although, understandably most visitors don't spend their time in the middle of the Great Victoria Desert.
Answer: Great Victoria Desert
What is the deepest lake in the United States?
For a country that has so many of the world's most impressive lakes, you might think you'd know the United State's deepest lake, but it seems like most people don't. Found in Oregon, it's the beautiful Crater Lake (see photo). A common answer to this question is the Great Slave Lake, sounds very American, but it's actually found in Canada.
Answer: Crater Lake
What is the longest river on the Iberian Peninsula?
This question is a bit cheeky because it asks you to know two things; where the Iberian Peninsula is and what rivers are on it. The Iberian Peninsula is the area where Spain and Portugal are located, and the Tagus flows through the Portuguese capital city Lisbon.
Answer: Tagus
Which Indian city was known as Madras until 1996?
At the end of the 20th Century India began to revert place names from the colonial-era to greater reflect local history, culture and language. Madras is still a familiar name in The West due to the curry that shares its name. Maybe it's time we started referring to it as a Channai?
Answer: Channai