Geography can be a tricky subject, but riddles provide a fun way to test your knowledge. Here are 69 riddles about geography along with their answers to challenge yourself. From locations and landmarks, to maps and earth science, these brain teasers cover it all. How many can you get right?
Riddles about Countries
1. What country is famous for tulips, windmills and wooden shoes?
Answer: The Netherlands
2. I’m a country in Central America with a famous canal running through me. What country am I?
Answer: Panama
3. I’m an island country in the Indian Ocean known for spices like cloves, nutmeg and pepper. What country am I?
Answer: Indonesia
4. I’m the largest country in South America and home to the Amazon rainforest. What country am I?
Answer: Brazil
5. I’m a country in East Africa whose capital is Nairobi. Many people go on safaris here to see lions, elephants and other wildlife. What country am I?
Answer: Kenya
Riddles about Cities and Landmarks
6. I’m a famous city in the southwest United States nicknamed “The Big Easy”. What city am I?
Answer: New Orleans
7. I’m a city in the Canadian province of Ontario, whose most famous landmark is a tall tower next to Lake Ontario. What city am I?
Answer: Toronto
8. I’m an ancient city located near Mount Vesuvius in Italy, which was buried by ash during a volcanic eruption in 79 AD. What city am I?
Answer: Pompeii
9. I’m a city on the River Thames in England and home to Big Ben, the London Eye and Buckingham Palace. What city am I?
Answer: London
10. I’m a famous building in Paris, France that was started in the 12th century and took over 100 years to complete. What landmark am I?
Answer: Notre Dame Cathedral
Riddles about Bodies of Water
11. I’m the longest river in South America, flowing over 4,000 miles from the Andes Mountains to the Atlantic Ocean. What river am I?
Answer: Amazon River
12. I’m a large bay on the east coast of North America, named after an English explorer. What bay am I?
Answer: Hudson Bay
13. I’m a famous canal that connects the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, allowing ships to sail between them. What canal am I?
Answer: Panama Canal
14. I’m the deepest lake in the United States, plunging to depths of over 1,600 feet in Oregon. What lake am I?
Answer: Crater Lake
15. I’m the longest river in Europe, flowing from Switzerland through several major cities before emptying into the Black Sea. What river am I?
Answer: Danube River
Riddles about Deserts
16. I’m the largest hot desert in the world, covering parts of northern Africa. What desert am I?
Answer: Sahara Desert
17. I’m a desert in South America that covers parts of Peru, Chile and Bolivia. What desert am I?
Answer: Atacama Desert
18. I’m a desert in the southwestern United States known for the unique and colorful rock formations of Grand Canyon and Monument Valley. What desert am I?
Answer: Mojave Desert
19. I’m a desert in central Australia that covers much of the country’s interior. What desert am I?
Answer: Great Victoria Desert
20. I’m a cold desert in western China that contains mountains, glaciers and salt lakes. What desert am I?
Answer: Gobi Desert
Riddles about Oceans and Seas
21. I’m the body of water east of North and South America and west of Europe and Africa. What ocean am I?
Answer: Atlantic Ocean
22. I’m the ocean located entirely in the Southern Hemisphere and surround Antarctica. What ocean am I?
Answer: Southern Ocean
23. I’m a sea surrounded by Europe, Asia and Africa that connects to the Atlantic through the Strait of Gibraltar. What sea am I?
Answer: Mediterranean Sea
24. I’m the sea bordered by Iran, Oman, Yemen and Somalia. I’m named after the country at my northeast end. What sea am I?
Answer: Arabian Sea
25. I’m the body of water east of Asia and west of North America, the largest and deepest ocean in the world. What ocean am I?
Answer: Pacific Ocean
Riddles about Mountains
26. I’m the highest mountain on Earth, located in the Himalayas on the Nepal-Tibet border. What mountain am I?
Answer: Mount Everest
27. I’m a famous mountain in Tanzania and the highest point in Africa at over 19,000 feet. What mountain am I?
Answer: Mount Kilimanjaro
28. I’m a mountain range stretching along the west coast of South America with peaks over 22,000 feet high. What range am I?
Answer: The Andes
29. I’m the tallest mountain in North America, located in Alaska and climbed for the first time in 1913. What mountain am I?
Answer: Denali
30. I’m a famous four-headed volcano in the Cascade Mountains of Washington state in the Pacific Northwest. What volcano am I?
Answer: Mount St. Helens
Riddles about Climate and Weather
31. I’m the region around the equator that gets intense sunlight year-round and heavy rainfall. What region am I?
Answer: The tropical zone
32. I’m a seasonal wind that blows from the Sahara Desert across the western Atlantic Ocean. What wind am I?
Answer: Harmattan
33. I’m a rare weather event where thunder and lightning occurs during a heavy snowfall. What phenomenon am I?
Answer: Thundersnow
34. I’m a hot, dry wind that blows down the mountain slopes of Southern California in the fall. What wind am I?
Answer: Santa Ana winds
35. I’m a cold climate region where the ground is frozen year-round known as permafrost. What region am I?
Answer: The tundra
Riddles about Maps and Exploration
36. I’m circular lines around a globe or map that measure latitude. What am I?
Answer: Parallels
37. I’m the imaginary lines on a map running from north to south that measure longitude. What am I?
Answer: Meridians
38. I’m the point where the Prime Meridian and equator intersect, considered the center of the world map. What point am I?
Answer: Greenwich, England
39. I’m a map projection centered on one point, allowing accurate measurements from that point. What type of projection am I?
Answer: Azimuthal projection
40. I’m the first European to sail to the Americas, landing in the Bahamas in 1492. Who am I?
Answer: Christopher Columbus
Riddles about US Geography
41. I’m the state located near the Great Lakes region with cities like Detroit and Grand Rapids. What state am I?
Answer: Michigan
42. I’m the southernmost state that borders Mexico and the Gulf of Mexico. My capital is Austin. What state am I?
Answer: Texas
43. I’m a US state made up entirely of islands, including the Big Island, Maui and Oahu. What state am I?
Answer: Hawaii
44. I’m a Midwestern state called “The Cornhusker State” with a capital of Lincoln. What state am I?
Answer: Nebraska
45. I’m a New England state that borders Canada and contains the Green Mountains. What state am I?
Answer: Vermont
Riddles about World Geography
46. I’m the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, located south of Italy. What island am I?
Answer: Sicily
47. I’m the world’s driest inhabited continent with deserts and dry interior plains. What continent am I?
Answer: Australia
48. I’m an island nation made up of over 7,000 islands including Luzon, Mindanao and Palawan. What country am I?
Answer: The Philippines
49. I’m the smallest country on the Arabian Peninsula, located on the Persian Gulf. What country am I?
Answer: Bahrain
50. I’m a country in northern Europe famous for fjords, midnight sun and Northern Lights. What country am I?
Answer: Norway
Riddles about Explorers
51. I was an Italian explorer who completed four voyages across the Atlantic, establishing routes to the Americas. Who am I?
Answer: Christopher Columbus
52. I was the first European to sail around Cape Horn at the southern tip of South America. Who am I?
Answer: Ferdinand Magellan
53. I was a Portuguese explorer who established a route from Europe to India around the Cape of Good Hope. Who am I?
Answer: Vasco da Gama
54. I was an English explorer who helped colonize Newfoundland and mapped the Hudson Bay region. Who am I?
Answer: Henry Hudson
55. I was an Italian explorer who traveled through Asia to China and was the first European to enter Beijing. Who am I?
Answer: Marco Polo
Riddles about Geography Terms
56. I’m the boundary between two geological plates underneath the Earth’s crust. What am I?
Answer: Fault line
57. I’m the movement of tectonic plates that build mountains and cause volcanic eruptions. What am I?
Answer: Plate tectonics
58. I’m a narrow strip of land connecting two larger landmasses. What am I?
Answer: An isthmus
59. I’m a tract of land that extends into a body of water, like a cape or peninsula. What am I?
Answer: A headland
60. I’m a steep rock face usually formed by erosion or faulting. What am I?
Answer: A cliff
Riddles about US Geography
61. I’m the largest US state by area that contains Denali and extends into the Arctic. What state am I?
Answer: Alaska
62. I’m a US territory located in the Caribbean Sea east of Puerto Rico. What territory am I?
Answer: US Virgin Islands
63. I’m a US state on the Gulf Coast known for French heritage and the annual Mardi Gras celebration. What state am I?
Answer: Louisiana
64. I’m the smallest US state located in New England. My capital is Montpelier. What state am I?
Answer: Vermont
65. I’m a Midwestern state nicknamed the “Corn State”. My capital is Des Moines. What state am I?
Answer: Iowa
Riddles about World Capitals
66. I’m the capital of Australia, located in the country’s southeast on the coast. What city am I?
Answer: Canberra
67. I’m the capital and largest city of South Africa, known for landmarks like Table Mountain. What city am I?
Answer: Cape Town
68. I’m the capital of Argentina, located along the Río de la Plata. What city am I?
Answer: Buenos Aires
69. I’m the capital of Japan, home to the Emperor’s Palace and temples like Sensoji. What city am I?
Answer: Tokyo
Conclusion
How did you do with these geography riddles? Riddles provide a fun and challenging way to test your knowledge about locations, landscapes, cities, countries and explorers. Geography covers so many topics, from climate and vegetation to culture and history. Keep solving riddles to build your mental map of the world!
