United States Geography

Us Geography

344 practice questions, each with the answer and an explanation.

All 344 questions

  1. Complete the sentence about Mount Rushmore with the correct year: After Gutzon Borglum died in March ______, his son Lincoln took over as leader of the construction project.
  2. Complete the sentence about Grand Canyon with the correct year: The first European known to have viewed the Grand Canyon was García López de Cárdenas from Spain, who arrived in ______.
  3. Complete the sentence about Grand Canyon with the correct year: In a subsequent study published in the journal Science in ______, she suggested that the western part of the Grand Canyon could be as ol…
  4. Complete the sentence about Yellowstone National Park with the correct year: In ______, the administration of the park was transferred to the National Park Service, which had been created the previous…
  5. Complete the sentence about Yosemite National Park with the correct year: In ______, environmentalist John Muir led a successful movement to motivate Congress to establish Yosemite Valley and its surr…
  6. Complete the sentence about Niagara Falls with the correct year: The Native American word Ongiara means thundering water; The New York Times used it as such in ______.
  7. Complete the sentence about Niagara Falls with the correct year: In ______, an Iroquois interpreter stated that the name came from Jaonniaka-re, meaning "noisy point or portage".
  8. Complete the sentence about Niagara Falls with the correct year: Mason wrote this in his book Niagara: A Guide to the Niagara Frontier With Maps and Photographs: "The word 'Onguiaahra' appears on maps…
  9. Complete the sentence about Mount McKinley with the correct year: In ______, the State of Alaska officially renamed the mountain Denali and requested the federal government follow suit.
  10. Complete the sentence about Mount McKinley with the correct year: In ______, James Wickersham recorded the first attempt at climbing Denali, which was unsuccessful.
  11. Complete the sentence about Mount McKinley with the correct year: In ______, Frederick Cook claimed the first ascent, but this ascent is unverified and its legitimacy questioned.
  12. Complete the sentence about Mount McKinley with the correct year: In ______, Bradford Washburn pioneered the West Buttress route, considered to be the safest and easiest route, and therefore the most…
  13. Complete the sentence about Lake Superior with the correct year: The regulating structure is known as the Compensating Works and is operated according to a regulation plan known as Plan ______-A.
  14. Complete the sentence about Colorado River with the correct year: In the 1500s, Spanish explorers began mapping and claiming the watershed, which became part of Mexico upon winning its independence fr…
  15. Complete the sentence about Ohio River with the correct year: During the American Revolution in ______, militia crossed the river to take it from the British.
  16. Complete the sentence about Appalachian Mountains with the correct year: Pánfilo de Narváez's expedition first entered Apalachee territory on June 15, ______, and applied the name.
  17. Complete the sentence about Appalachian Mountains with the correct year: After the ______ expedition of Hernando de Soto, Spanish cartographers began to apply the name of the tribe to the mountains th…
  18. Complete the sentence about Sierra Nevada with the correct year: In ______, Pedro Font's map applied the name to the range currently known as the Sierra Nevada.
  19. Complete the sentence about Sierra Nevada with the correct year: Starting in ______, hikers were unable to enter the Area from May 15 through December 15, in order to protect the sheep.
  20. Complete the sentence with the correct year: As of ______, the restriction has been lifted and access to the Area is open for the whole year.
  21. Complete the sentence about Cascade Range with the correct year: Before that year, Mount Rainier held the American record for snow accumulation at Paradise in ______.
  22. Complete the sentence about Cascade Range with the correct year: In early ______, British navigator George Vancouver explored Puget Sound and gave English names to the high mountains he saw.
  23. Complete the sentence about Great Plains with the correct year: Nevin Fenneman's ______ study Physiographic Subdivision of the United States brought the term Great Plains into more widespread usage.
  24. Complete the sentence about Mojave Desert with the correct year: The oldest rocks in the area that now includes Death Valley National Park are extensively metamorphosed by intense heat and pressure an…
  25. Complete the sentence about Everglades with the correct year: British surveyor John Gerard de Brahm, who mapped the coast of Florida in ______, called the area "River Glades".
  26. Complete the sentence about Florida Keys with the correct year: The Keys were originally inhabited by the Calusa and Tequesta people and were later charted by Juan Ponce de León in ______.
  27. Complete the sentence about Florida Keys with the correct year: The strongest hurricane to strike the U.S. made landfall near Islamorada in the Upper Keys on Labor Day, Monday, September 2, ______.
  28. Complete the sentence about Cape Cod with the correct year: The name Cape Cod, coined in ______ by Bartholomew Gosnold, is the ninth-oldest English place-name in the U.S.
  29. Complete the sentence about Cape Cod with the correct year: Since ______, most of Cape Cod has been separated from the mainland by the Cape Cod Canal.
  30. Complete the sentence about Cape Cod with the correct year: The name "Cape Cod", as it was first used in ______, applied only to the very tip of the peninsula.
  31. Complete the sentence about Outer Banks with the correct year: Tropical storms like Hurricane Irene in ______ have destroyed significant infrastructure and property.
  32. Complete the sentence about Manhattan with the correct year: The territory came under English control in ______ and was renamed "New York" after King Charles II of England granted the lands to his bro…
  33. Complete the sentence about Manhattan with the correct year: Manhattan became a borough during the consolidation of New York City in ______, and houses New York City Hall, the seat of the city's gover…
  34. Complete the sentence about Brooklyn Bridge with the correct year: Opened on May 24, ______, the Brooklyn Bridge was the first fixed crossing of the East River.
  35. Complete the sentence about Brooklyn Bridge with the correct year: The span was originally called the New York and Brooklyn Bridge or the East River Bridge but was officially renamed the Brooklyn Brid…
  36. Complete the sentence about Brooklyn Bridge with the correct year: Construction started in ______ and was overseen by the New York Bridge Company, which in turn was controlled by the Tammany Hall poli…
  37. Complete the sentence about Brooklyn Bridge with the correct year: After opening, the Brooklyn Bridge underwent several reconfigurations, having carried horse-drawn vehicles and elevated railway lines…
  38. Complete the sentence about Empire State Building with the correct year: The site of the Empire State Building, on the west side of Fifth Avenue between West 33rd and 34th Streets, was developed in __…
  39. Complete the sentence about Empire State Building with the correct year: In ______, Empire State Inc. acquired the site and devised plans for a skyscraper there.
  40. Complete the sentence about Central Park with the correct year: In ______, landscape architects Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux won a design competition for the park with their "Greensward Plan…
  41. Complete the sentence about Central Park with the correct year: Construction began in ______; existing structures and settlements, including a majority-Black settlement named Seneca Village, were seiz…
  42. Complete the sentence about Central Park with the correct year: The Central Park Conservancy, created in ______ to combat further deterioration in the late 20th century, refurbished many parts of the…
  43. Complete the sentence about White House with the correct year: Reconstruction began almost immediately, and President James Monroe moved into the partially reconstructed Executive Residence in October…
  44. Complete the sentence about White House with the correct year: Because of crowding within the executive mansion, President Theodore Roosevelt had all work offices relocated to the newly constructed We…
  45. Complete the sentence about White House with the correct year: Eight years later, in ______, President William Howard Taft expanded the West Wing and created the first Oval Office, which was eventuall…
  46. Complete the sentence about United States Capitol with the correct year: Congress convened there on November 17, ______, moving the national capital from Philadelphia to Washington, D.C..
  47. Complete the sentence about United States Capitol with the correct year: The building was partly destroyed in the ______ burning of Washington by British forces, then was fully restored within five ye…
  48. Complete the sentence with the correct year: The massive dome was completed around ______ just after the American Civil War.
  49. Complete the sentence about Lincoln Memorial with the correct year: In ______, Daniel Chester French designed the large interior Abraham Lincoln statue, which was carved in marble by the Piccirilli br…
  50. Complete the sentence about Lincoln Memorial with the correct year: Dedicated on May 30, ______, it is one of several memorials built to honor an American president.
  51. Complete the sentence about Lincoln Memorial with the correct year: In ______, Congress passed the first of many bills incorporating a commission to erect a monument for the sixteenth president.
  52. Complete the sentence about Washington Monument with the correct year: At Washington's death in ______, he was the unchallenged public icon of U.S. military and civic patriotism.
  53. Complete the sentence about Alcatraz Island with the correct year: In ______, the island was converted into a federal prison, Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary.
  54. Complete the sentence about Alcatraz Island with the correct year: The prison closed on March 21, ______, leaving the island a major tourist attraction today with nearly 1.4 million people visiting th…
  55. Complete the sentence about Alcatraz Island with the correct year: In ______, Alcatraz was transferred to the Department of Interior to become part of Golden Gate National Recreation Area.
  56. Complete the sentence about Alcatraz Island with the correct year: Yerba Buena Island was labeled on Ayala's ______ chart of San Francisco Bay as "Isla de Alcatraces".
  57. Complete the sentence about Hoover Dam with the correct year: The winning bid to build the dam was submitted by a consortium named Six Companies, Inc., which began construction in early ______.
  58. Complete the sentence about Hoover Dam with the correct year: Nevertheless, the dam was turned over to the federal government on March 1, ______, more than two years ahead of schedule.
  59. Complete the sentence about Great Smoky Mountains National Park with the correct year: The park was chartered by the United States Congress in ______ and officially dedicated by President Franklin D.
  60. Complete the sentence about Mesa Verde National Park with the correct year: By ______ BCE, the Basketmaker culture emerged from the local Archaic population, and by 750 CE the Ancestral Puebloans had…
  61. Complete the sentence about Carlsbad Caverns National Park with the correct year: In ______, a teenager named Jim White explored the cavern with a homemade wire ladder.
  62. Complete the sentence about Mammoth Cave National Park with the correct year: The park was established as a national park on July 1, ______, after oft-contentious eminent domain proceedings whose cons…
  63. Complete the sentence about Crater Lake with the correct year: The commemorative Oregon State Quarter, which was released by the United States Mint in ______, features an image of Crater Lake on its r…
  64. Complete the sentence about Great Salt Lake with the correct year: In ______, it was observed, apparently independently, by Jim Bridger and Etienne Provost.
  65. Complete the sentence about Mount St. Helens with the correct year: The mountain's eruption on May 18, ______, is the most economically destructive volcanic event in U.S. history.
  66. Complete the sentence about Mount Rainier with the correct year: In ______, the United States Board on Geographic Names declared that the mountain would be known as Rainier.
  67. Complete the sentence about Mount Rainier with the correct year: Following this in ______, the Pacific Forest Reserve became the Mount Rainier Forest Reserve, and the national park was established thr…
  68. Complete the sentence about Pikes Peak with the correct year: Zebulon Pike, a commissioned officer serving for the United States Army, received an order in ______ by Thomas Jefferson to explore the Lo…
  69. Complete the sentence about Pikes Peak with the correct year: The first successful documented hike was by the geologist and botanist Edwin James during his expedition on July 15, ______.
  70. Complete the sentence about Pikes Peak with the correct year: In ______, the visiting professor and poet Katharine Lee Bates taught a summer course in western Colorado.
  71. Complete the sentence about Pikes Peak with the correct year: Bates, who had been suffering from depression, was inspired to write "America the Beautiful", initially titled "Pikes Peak", soon after sc…
  72. Complete the sentence about Mount Whitney with the correct year: In ______, King returned to climb what he believed to be Whitney, but having taken a different approach, he actually summited nearby Mo…
  73. Complete the sentence about Old Faithful with the correct year: Harry Woodward first described a mathematical relationship between the duration and intervals of the eruptions in ______.
  74. Complete the sentence about Old Faithful with the correct year: After the Borah Peak earthquake in central Idaho in October ______, the eruption intervals of Old Faithful were noticeably lengthened.
  75. Complete the sentence about Bryce Canyon National Park with the correct year: The Kanarra Cattle Company began grazing cattle there in ______.
  76. Complete the sentence about Redwood National and State Parks with the correct year: In recognition of the rare ecosystem and cultural history found in the parks, the United Nations designated them a W…
  77. Complete the sentence about Hawaii with the correct year: Hawaii is the most recent state to join the union, on August 21, ______.
  78. Complete the sentence about Alaska with the correct year: The area went through several administrative changes before becoming organized as a territory on May 11, ______.
  79. Complete the sentence about Alaska with the correct year: Ben Potter, the University of Alaska Fairbanks archaeologist who unearthed the remains at the Upward Sun River site in ______, named this new…
  80. Complete the sentence about Texas with the correct year: The lone star design was originally flown in ______ during the Long Expedition, an early attempt to liberate Texas from Spanish imperial rule.
  81. Complete the sentence about Texas with the correct year: The territory became part of Mexico after its independence from Spain in ______.
  82. Complete the sentence about California with the correct year: The area became a part of Mexico in ______, as a result of its successful war for independence.
  83. Complete the sentence about California with the correct year: Following the U.S. conquest of California, part of the Mexican-American War, California was ceded to the United States in ______.
  84. Complete the sentence about California with the correct year: The California gold rush started in ______ and led to social and demographic changes, including the California genocide.
  85. Complete the sentence about Florida with the correct year: In ______, Spanish explorer and conquistador Juan Ponce de León became the first European to make landfall in the region.
  86. Complete the sentence about New York with the correct year: England seized the colony from the Dutch in ______, renaming it the Province of New York.
  87. Complete the sentence about Pennsylvania with the correct year: Pennsylvania was founded in ______ through a royal land grant to William Penn, the son of the commonwealth's namesake.
  88. Complete the sentence about Pennsylvania with the correct year: On December 12, ______, Pennsylvania was the second state to ratify the U.S.
  89. Complete the sentence about Ohio with the correct year: Following American independence, Ohio was organized as part of the Northwest Territory and achieved statehood in ______.
  90. Complete the sentence about Illinois with the correct year: Following U.S. independence in ______, which made the Mississippi River the national boundary, American settlers began arriving from Kentuck…
  91. Complete the sentence about Illinois with the correct year: Illinois was soon part of the United States' oldest territory, the Northwest Territory, and in ______, it achieved statehood.
  92. Complete the sentence about Illinois with the correct year: By ______, the growth of industrial jobs in the northern cities and coal mining in the central and southern areas attracted immigrants from…
  93. Complete the sentence about Michigan with the correct year: The area was part of the larger Northwest Territory; the Michigan Territory was organized in ______.
  94. Complete the sentence about Georgia with the correct year: By ______, Georgia had transitioned into a British royal colony, making it the last and southernmost of the original Thirteen Colonies.
  95. Complete the sentence about Georgia with the correct year: On January 2, ______, Georgia became the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution.
  96. Complete the sentence about Georgia with the correct year: Georgia declared its secession from the Union on January 19, ______, joining the ranks of the original seven Confederate States.
  97. Complete the sentence about North Carolina with the correct year: On November 21, ______, North Carolina became the 12th state to ratify the United States Constitution.
  98. Complete the sentence about North Carolina with the correct year: Following the Civil War, the state was restored to the Union on July 4, ______.
  99. Complete the sentence about Virginia with the correct year: In ______, the London Company established the Colony of Virginia as the first permanent English colony in the New World, leading to Virginia…
  100. Complete the sentence about Virginia with the correct year: Virginia's state legislature is the Virginia General Assembly, which was established in July ______, making it the oldest extant law-making…

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