Sample Quiz

Overview

Knowledge of geography is essential to understand of World history.  After all, what is the meaning of learning about Chinese history without knowing where it is?  You will also see during this course that geography has played a crucial part throughout history.

You are asked to learn the place-names and locations of the earth’s major physical features as well as contemporary nation-states.  Though political entities come and go through history, if you know the locations and place-names of modern nation-states you will have a solid foundation of political geography to understand both history and current events. To locate places use a current map or atlas (The world map found in your textbook is not recommended).  You will need to use both a political map and physical (topographical) map.  If you can’t find certain item, use index in the atlas.  If after trying you still cannot find all the features, ask your instructor for assistance.  If you don’t know the commonly used geographical terms such as “peninsula” and “isthmus”, look them up in a dictionary.

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AFRICA

Study Maps of Africa:
With political boundaries
With rivers
With political boundaries and rivers

Be able to locate the following points on the test map and to answer MC, T/F, or matching questions based on the “Basic Geography Review (Asia)” list below. 

 

A.  Countries (current boundaries)/ Islands

Egypt Sudan Libya Tunisia Algeria Morocco Western Sahara Mauritania Mali Niger

Chad Cameroon Nigeria Benin Togo Ghana Burkina Faso Cote D'Ivoire (Ivory Coast) Liberia Sierra Leon Guinea Guinea Bissau Senegal Gambia

Eritrea Ethiopia Somalia Djibouti Kenya Uganda Rwanda Brundi Tanzania Malawi

Central African Republic Equatorial Guinea Gabon Congo Democratic Republic of Congo (former Zaire) Angola Zambia Mozambique Madagascar Zimbabwe Botswana Namibia South Africa Lesotho Swaziland

B.  The following cities and geographical features   

Nile River Niger River Congo River Zambezi River Gulf of Guinea

Lake Victoria Lake Tanganyika Lake Nyasa Lake Chad Lake Volta

Sahara Desert Sahel (Sudan) Kalahari Desert Congo Basin Atlas Mountains Ethiopian Plateau (Ethiopian Highlands) Drakensberg Mountains

Cape of Good Hope Horn of Africa Suez Canal Strait of Gibraltar Cairo Lagos Nairobi Casablanca Johannesburg Cape Town

Part II :  Basic Geography Review (Africa):   Students are expected to be familiar with these information.

1.       Africa is the second largest continent in the world.  The large area north of equator is covered by a great desert, called the Sahara.  (This word itself means “desert” in Arabic)

2.       The Nile River is the longest river in the world.  Its source stems from Lake Victoria  and pours into the Mediterranean through Sudan and Egypt. 

3.       The Suez canal connects the Red Sea and the Mediterranean Sea, allowing ships to travel between Asia and Europe without having to circumnavigate the African continent.  Constructed in the 19^th century under French supervision, the canal was controlled by the British until the mid 20th century. 

4.       By 750 CE, North Africa had been conquered by Islamic forces.  The region has remained a stronghold of Islam ever since.  Islam spread southward into West Africa through the trans-Saharan Trade (trade across the Sahara).

5.       The Sahel is a semi-arid region immediately south of the Sahara, stretching from Ethiopia to Senegal.  The region is also referred as the “Sudan.”  (The term, “Sudan” derives from the Arabic bilad as-sudan, “land of the black peoples.”)

6.       The Niger is the major river system in West Africa.  The river runs though the Sahel region of West Africa and pours into the Gulf of Guinea through Nigeria.  Several important Medieval African kingdoms, such as Mali and Songhay, flourished in this region.  The city of Timbuktu, located on the Niger was known as the center of the learning in Medieval Africa.

7.       The Horn of Africa is an area in which countries such as Somalia and Ethiopia is found. 

8.       Highlands cover much of Ethiopia.  Ethiopia flourished in ancient times due to its location on the trade route to the Red Sea (The Queen Sheba who visited King Solomon was believed to come from Ethiopia).  In the 4^th century, Ethiopia accepted Christianity.   Along with Islam, Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity remains an important religious force in Ethiopia. 

9.       Control of Africa was split among the European powers during the late 19^th to early 20^th centuries (New Imperialism).  There were only two exceptions to this European domination of Africa; Ethiopia and Liberia, a country in West Africa, founded in 1821 for freed slaves from the United States.  Although only a small minority (2.5 %), the descendants of immigrants from the US, have been the dominant political group in this country.  This disparity created conflict between Americo-Liberians and African-Liberians.

10.   The Congo River runs through Central Africa, supporting the rainforest of Congo Basin.

11.   The current political boundaries of most African nations largely reflect the boundaries of the colonial period, which started in the late 19^th and early 20^th century.  Most African nations gained their independence during the 1960s.  

12.   The Democratic Republic of Congo was formerly known as Zaire.  The area was formally under the control of Belgium (Congo Free State, Belgian Congo), whereas the Republic of Congo had formerly been under French control (also known as Middle Congo or French Congo).

13.   Located on the Gulf of Guinea, Nigeria is the most populous nation in Africa, and includes such ethnic groups as the Yoruba, Igbo, Hausa and Fulani.  About half of the population are Muslims that live mostly in the northern part of the nation.  Christians constitute approximately 40% of population and live almost exclusively in the south.  The Southern section of the nation is rich in petroleum and Nigeria is a member of OPEC (Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries.

14.   East Africa has been part of the Indian Ocean Trade network throughout history.  Since the Arabs were the principle agents of trade, a mixture of Arabic and African cultures, known as Swahili (“coast” in Arabic), emerged in East Africa.  Today, the Swahili  Language is widely used as a Lingua Franca of East Africa.  The Gujarati people from northwest India also played an important role in this area.  

15.   Madagascar is a large island located off the southeast coast of Africa in the Indian Ocean.  The Island had been colonized by Austronesian people, and the language spoken in Madagascar, Malagasy, is related to languages such as Indonesian and Malay.

16.   Since the 17^th century, the moderate climate of South Africa attracted Europeans to settle in the region since it did not have the tropical diseases that had killed so many Europeans in other parts of Africa.  The Dutch (known as Boers) who established a colony at the Cape of Good Hope controlled the region.  The area eventually came under British colonial control.  The white minority became the politically and economically dominant group and practiced a strict policy of segregation, known as Apartheid.  The Apartheid system was not abolished until the 1990s.  The area is rich in mineral deposits that include diamonds and gold.

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ASIA

Study Maps of Asia:

With political boundaries
With rivers
With political boundaries and rivers

Be able to locate the following points on the test map and to answer MC, T/F, or matching questions based on the “Basic Geography Review (Asia)” list below. 

A.  Countries (current boundaries)/ Islands

Russia China Japan Mongolia North Korea South Korea Kazakhstan Kyrgyzstan Tajikistan Uzbekistan Turkmenistan

Vietnam Laos Cambodia Thailand Myanmar Malaysia Singapore Indonesia Brunei the Philippines Taiwan

Sri Lanka India Bangladesh Bhutan Nepal Pakistan Afghanistan Georgia Armenia Azerbaijan

Iran Iraq Kuwait Saudi Arabia Qatar United Arab Emirates Oman Yemen Syria Jordan Lebanon Israel Turkey

B.  The following cities and geographical features   

Huang (Yellow) River Chang (Yangtze)  River Indus River Ganges River Tigris River Euphrates River Volga River

Caspian Sea Aral Sea Lake Baikal Lake Balkhash Red Sea Persian Gulf Indian Ocean Strait of Malacca Ural Mountains Himalayas Plateau of Tibet Hindu Kush Zagros Mountains Caucasus Mountains

Malay Peninsula Arabian Peninsula Sinai Peninsula Indian Subcontinent Asia Minor (Anatolia) Siberia Gobi Desert Rub al Kha·li / Nefud  Desert

Mecca Hong Kong Singapore Tokyo Beijing New Delhi

Part II :  Basic Geography Review (Asia):   Students are expected to be familiar with these information.

1)       Ural mountains are usually considered as the boundary that separates Asia and Europe.  That means while the majority of Russia is considered part of Asia, the rest is part of Europe.

2)       The Russian cold region east of the Ural Mountains all the way to the Pacific is known as Siberia.  The area is covered with Tundra (i.e. lichen and moss) and Taiga (subarctic, evergreen coniferous forest). 

3)       Caspian Sea, in spite of its name, is the largest LAKE in the world. 

4)       Lake Baikal found in South Eastern Russia (Siberia) is the largest freshwater lake in the world and also the deepest lake in the world. 

5)       The Huang (Yellow) River is found in northern China.  It runs from the Kunlun Mountains into the Yellow Sea.  The river actually appears “yellow” since it carries vast amount of yellow silt (dirt) from the desert.  The earliest civilization in China flourished along this river. 

6)       Chang (Yang-tze) River is the longest river in China.   It runs through the temperate zone of China and has supported rice production throughout history.  It has also served as an important means of transportation since it runs through one of the most populated regions in the world. 

7)       One of the earliest civilizations flourished in Mesopotamia, which literally means “the area between the two rivers.”  These two are the Tigris and Euphrates rivers and found in presently Iraq.

8)       Persia is an old name for Iran. 

9)       Most of the Arabian Peninsula is covered by desert and sparsely populated. 

10)   Mecca is the Holy City of Islam, and is located in Saudi Arabia.  Muslims pilgrimage to Mecca and visit its holy shrine Ka’aba (“cube”). 

11)   The principle population groups of the Middle East (Southwest Asia) include 1) Arabs 2) Persians 3) Turks and 4) Kurds.

12)   The area in which modern day Turkey is found is known as Asia Minor or Anatolia.  Today, the Republic of Turkey is comprised of Asia Minor and Eastern Thrace (in Europe). 

13)   The area in which modern-day Israel is found is known as Palestine.  Most of people in Israel practice Judaism.   

14)   Both the Himalayas and the Tibetan Plateau are products of plate tectonics and therefore are the direct result of the collision between the Indian subcontinent and the Eurasian landmass. The Himalayas include nine of the world's ten highest peaks, including Mount Everest. 

15)   Five nations in South Asia, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, and Bhutan, comprise the Indian subcontinent (Historic India).  After the British lost control of the region, the subcontinent was divided into “Hindu” India (Over 80 percent of the population in India practices Hinduism) and “Muslim” Pakistan in 1947. (Pakistan included present-day Bangladesh until it gained its independence in 1971)  India and Pakistan have an ongoing disputed over the control of the area known as Kashimir.   

16)   One of the world’s oldest civilizations flourished in the Indus Valley.  Today the Indus River is found in Pakistan.   Hindus consider the Ganges River as the most sacred river in the world.  Hindi Devotees perform ritual cleansing in this river. 

17)   The Strait of Malacca is found between the Malay Peninsula and Sumatra (one of the major islands that constitutes Indonesia).  Being a link between the Indian Ocean and the South China Sea, the control of this strait was crucial for the spice trade. 

18)   As Arab traders took an active role in the Indian Ocean trade network, Islam spread throughout the world.  Today, the largest Muslim country, in terms of population, is Indonesia.   

19)   Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan, found south of the Caucasus Mountains between The Black Sea and Caspian Sea, are known as the Caucasus states.

20)   After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, five nations emerged in Central Asia; Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan.  The majority of people in this area speak Turkic (distinguished from “Turkish”) languages (with the exception of Tajiks who speak Persian). All practice Islam.

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EUROPE

Study Maps of Europe:
With political boundaries
With rivers
With political boundaries and rivers

Be able to locate the following points on the test map and to answer MC, T/F, or matching questions based on the “Basic Geography Review (Asia)” list below. 

A.  Countries (current boundaries)/ Islands

Iceland United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland Ireland Spain Portugal France Germany Poland

Netherlands Belgium Luxembourg Italy Switzerland Norway Sweden Finland Denmark Russia Turkey

Estonia Latvia Lithuania Belarus Ukraine Moldova Czech Republic Slovakia Austria Hungary Romania Bulgaria Greece Albania

Slovenia Croatia Macedonia Bosnia and    Herzegovina Serbia and Montenegro (Yugoslavia) Corsica Sardinia Sicily Crete

B.   The following cities and geographical features

Mediterranean Aegean Sea North Sea Baltic Sea Caspian Sea Black Sea

Danube Riv. Rhine Riv. Balkan Peninsula Italian Pen. Iberian Pen. Scandinavian Pen

Northern European Plain Strait of Gibraltar Alps Pyrenees Carpathian Mts Transylvanian Alps

Istanbul Paris London Rome / Vatican Moscow Berlin Athens

Part II :  Basic Geography Review (Europe)  Students are expected to be familiar with these information.

1.       Most of languages spoken in Europe belong to the Indo-European linguistic family.  Major branches of this language family include 1) Romantic (Latin, Italian, French, Spanish, Romanian, etc) 2) Germanic (German, English) and 3) Slavic (Russian, Polish, etc.)

2.       Ireland is politically and religiously divided into Northern Ireland (part of U.K) and the Republic of Ireland.  Today, Protestants dominate Northern Ireland, while Roman Catholicism dominates rest of Ireland.

3.       This body of water east of British Isles has the largest oil and natural gas reserve in Europe and is called the North Sea.

4.       The peninsula on which Spain and Portugal are located is called the Iberian Peninsula.  From the 8^th century until the end of the 15^th century, the region was under Islamic control, with its most famous monument, the Alhambra castle.  After the “Reconquesta” in 1492, the area has been a stronghold of Catholicism.

5.       The Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg are known as the Low Countries because of their low elevation, which includes areas below sea level.

6.       The “breadbasket” of Europe is the Northern European Plain, which extends from Northern Germany into Russia.

7.       Rome is the capital city of Italy.  The Vatican (AKA the Holy See) is an independent country located within city of Rome and is residence of Pope.

8.       Two islands lay west of the Italian Peninsula.  The island in north, called Corsica, is a French territory (Famous French Emperor, Napoleon was from Corsica) while the island to the south, called Sardinia, is Italian territory. 

9.       Greece is located at the tip of Balkan Peninsula, which is characterized by rugged terrain.  The peninsula was under control of Islamic Ottoman Empire until 19^th century, and as a result, there are significant Muslim presence in this region, especially in Albania and part of Yugoslavia, called Kosovo. 

10.    Yugoslavia means “nation of southern (=Yugo) Slavs.”  Today, Yugoslavia consists of only Serbia and Montenegro, but before its breakup in 1991-1992, the country included, Slovenia, Croatia, Macedonia; Bosnia and Herzegovina (Bosnia and Herzegovina are commonly referred to as “Bosnia”). 

11.    The Serbian and Croatian languages are oftentimes considered as one language, Serbo-Croatian.  The only real difference being that Serbian uses the Cyrillic alphabet while Croatian uses the Roman alphabet.  This difference stemmed from the division of the Roman Empire into Western and Eastern halves by a border known as “Diocletian‘s Line.  While Roman Catholicism is the dominant religion for Croatians, the Serbians are primarily Eastern Orthodox.

12.    The area in which the nations of Norway, Sweden, Finland and Denmark are found is known as Scandinavia.

13.    Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania became independence from the Soviet Union in 1991.  These nations are known as the Baltic nations. 

14.    The Estonian language is closely related to Finnish.  Both Estonian and Finnish language belong to the Ural-Altaic language family which include Turkish, Mongolian, Korean and Japanese.

15.    Belarus is also known as Belorussia or “White Russia.”

16.    Moldova was one of the many nations that emerged after the breakup of the USSR.  Once controlled by Romania, the Moldovan language is virtually same as the Romanian language.

17.    The Danube River, is a major river system that runs through Central and Southeastern Europe.  Many important cities line its banks, including Vienna (Austria), Budapest (Hungary), and Belgrade (Serbia).  The river eventually empties into the Black Sea.

18.    Turkey is divided by the Bosporus and Dardanelles straits between the Aegean and Black Seas.   These straits also separate Europe and Asia.  

19.    Istanbul is located on the Bosporus Strait, in the European part of Turkey.  Historically important, this Turkish city started as a Greek colony, called Byzantium (founded in the 7^th century BCE), then renamed as Constantinople by the Roman Emperor Constantine, who made it his capital in 330CE.  Constantinople remained the capital of the Byzantine Empire (Eastern Roman Empire) until it was taken by the Turks in 1453.  The city was officially renamed as “Istanbul” in 1930 and is now the largest city in the Republic of Turkey.

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LATIN AMERICA

Study Maps of Latin America:
With political boundaries
With rivers

With political boundaries and rivers

 

Be able to locate the following points on the test map and to answer MC, T/F, or matching questions based on the “Basic Geography Review ” list below. 

A.  Countries (current boundaries)/ Islands

Mexico Guatemala Belize El Salvador Honduras Nicaragua Costa Rica Panama

Cuba Jamaica Haiti Dominican Republic Puerto Rico

Brazil French Guiana Suriname Guyana Venezuela Columbia Ecuador

Peru Bolivia Paraguay Uruguay Argentina Chile Falkland Islands Tierra del Fuego Hispaniola

B.  The following cities and geographical features   

Atlantic Ocean Pacific Ocean Caribbean Sea Gulf of California Gulf of Mexico Strait of Magellan Cape Horn Isthmus of Panama Yucatan Cannel

Amazon River Rio Grande (Mexico) Rio de la Plata Lake Titicaca Amazon Basin (Rainforest)

Pampas Patagonia Mexico City Buenos Aires Havana Sao Paulo

Yucatan Peninsula Baja California Mexican Plateau  Andes Mts. Brazilian Highlands Guiana Highlands

Part II :  Basic Geography Review (Latin America)  Students are expected to be familiar with these information.

1.        The North and South American Continents are commonly known as the “New World” as against the “Old World” which consisted of Africa, Europe and Asia.  These terms are a misnomer since there were people living in the Americas long before Columbus “discovered” them.  The alternative terms the Western Hemisphere and Eastern Hemisphere are also Euro-centric, since they locate the continents based on their location relative to Europe. 

2.        Much of the Native American population was decimated by Old World diseases (such as smallpox) to which the Native population lacked immunity.  Slaves from Africa were brought to the Western Hemisphere to work on plantations.  This influx of slaves and European immigrants, along with their diseases, caused a significant demographic change in the Western Hemisphere.

3.        As a result of demographic redistribution and intermarriage, a complex racial identity was developed. For example, while people with mixed ancestry of European and Native American decent are known as Mestizos, while people with mixed ancestry of European and African decent are known as Mulattos. 

4.        Columbus landed on an island now known as “Hispaniola,” which became the base of Spanish territorial expansion.  The Spaniards conquered two Native American Empires, the Aztec Empire in Mexico and the Inca Empire in the Andes Mountains.  Today, Spanish is dominant language in “Latin America,” with a major the exception being found in Brazil, whose dominant language is Portuguese.

5.        Mesoamerica (Meso = Middle) is one of the great centers of American Civilization.  Mayan civilization (c. 300 – 900 CE) flourished in the rainforest of the Yucatan Peninsula, where they established a series of city states, such as Palenque, Tikal, Copan, Chichén Itza, etc.

6.        The Amazon River, which possesses the highest water carrying capacity in the world, supports a vast rain forest.  The river runs from the Andes into the Atlantic.  The Rainforest surrounding the river is by far the largest in the world, covering over 2,500,000 square miles.

7.        The Andes Mountains, run through the entire continent vertically on the Pacific side, and are the backbone of South America.  The Inca civilization established its capital in Peru and flourished throughout the Andes Mountains.  

8.        Tierra del Fuego (“Land of Fire”) is an archipelago found off the tip of the South America.  It is separated from the mainland by the Strait of Magellan (which is named after famous explorer, Ferdinand Magellan).  The Largest island in the chain is divided between Chile and Argentina.

9.        The Patagonia is a semi-arid plateau region found in Argentina.

10.     Grasslands, called Pampas in South America, are mainly found in Argentina and Uruguay.  The Pampas are famous for the Gauchos or “Cowboys,” and form the major pastoral and agricultural region in South America.

11.     Most of Latin America became independent from Spanish control by 1830.  A revolutionary leader, named Simon Bolivar, dreamed of a confederation of former Spanish colonies, but his dream was never realized.  The current political boundaries of Latin American nations largely reflect the provinces of Former Spanish Empire.

12.     The Panama Canal cuts through the Isthmus of Panama, connecting the Atlantic and the Pacific Oceans.  The construction of this manmade waterway was started by the French in 1881 and was completed by the United States.  It opened to traffic in 1914 and the United States administered the Canal Zone until 1979.  Panama gained full sovereignty over the region (including the canal itself) on December 31, 1999.

13.     The legacies of colonization (of “New imperialism”) are still visible in the Western Hemisphere.  For example, many islands in the Caribbean are still under American, British (e.g. Virgin Islands), French (e.g. Guadeloupe, Martinique)  or Dutch (e.g. Aruba) control.

14.     French Guiana, as the name indicates is still under the control of France. 

15.     The Falkland Islands, consisting of the two major islands, called West and East Falklands, and a group of smaller islands, are located in the South Atlantic, east of the Strait of Magellan.  These islands are under British administration and have caused territorial disputes between Great Britain and Argentina.  One notable case was the Falklands War of 1982 when Britain and Argentina fought a small scale war over control of the islands.