Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, November 15, 1993 TAG: 9311160041
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE:
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
Virginia Tech geographer Susan Brooker-Gross provides this all-encompassing definition: "Geography is not only where things are but why they're there. It can be roads, it can be culture, it can be soil, it can be mountains, it can be religion." In short, geography is anything that involves "an understanding of locational patterns." Even figuring out why fast-food restaurants are located where they are is geography.
"We get our noses in a lot of different things, and people accuse us of being lots of things - economists and geologists and social scientists."
National and international division
Questions provided by Virginia Tech geographer Bob Morrill
1. What three countries bordering the Baltic Sea were annexed by the former USSR in 1940 and regained their independence in 1991?
2. What are three areas that were gained by Israel in the 1967 War and continue to be occupied by Israeli forces?
3. What are the three most populous metropolitan areas in the United States - in descending order?
4. The independence movement in the northern region of the former Soviet Republic of Georgia is a source of conflict between Russia and Georgia. What's the name of this region?
5. The traditional homelands of the Kurdish nation extend over areas of several countries including parts of the former Soviet Union and Iraq. Name two of the three other countries in which traditional Kurdish homelands are found.
6. After the disintegration of the USSR, former foreign minister Eduard Shevardnadze, became the president of one of the former republics. What's the name of this transcaucasian country?
7. Japan and the former USSR, and now Russia, are trying to improve their political and economic relationships. One stumbling block is a dispute over the ownership of a group of small islands north of Hokkaido - which Russia seized at the end of World War II. What is the island chain to which this group of islands belongs?
8. This enclave of Russia fronts on the Baltic and was once under German control. What's the enclave and the two countries which it borders?
9. The former Yugoslavia has a mountain chain consisting of ridges that parallel the coast and range from 2500 to 7000 feet in height. What's the name of this mountain system?
10. Although this country achieved its independence from France in 1804, poverty and authoritarian rule have characterized much of its history. What is the name of this Caribbean country? 11. This Caribbean country shares the territory of the island of Hispaniola and is the site of many activities related to the 500th anniversary of the encounter between Columbus and the peoples of the Americas. What is this country, whose second largest city is Santiago?
12. In 1884, the Dominican Republic gained its independence. What is the nation from which the Dominican Republic separated?
13. This European city was founded as an outpost of the Roman Empire on a small island in the Seine River. What is the modern French city which grew from that site?
14. This oil-producing country was a British mandate after World War I, became independent in 1932, and continues to experience uprisings by ethnic minorities including the Kurds. What is this country?
15. As a result of population changes in the United States from 1980-1990, eight states gained more representatives in Congress. What are two of the three states that gained the most congressional seats?
16. As a result of population changes in the United States from 1980-1990, thirteen states lost representatives in Congress. What state lost more congressional seats than any other?
17. In all but two countries of South America the primary language is Spanish. Portuguese is spoken in Brazil. What country is predominantly English speaking?
18. Most of the 13 longest rivers in the world are in Asia but two are in North America. One of them is the Mississippi-Missouri. What's the other one?
19. This Central Asian sea has shrunk by nearly 50 percent since 1950 and is the site of one of the world's great environmental disasters? What is this body of water?
20. The former Soviet Union contained five Muslim republics in Central Asia. Name three of the now independent states.
\ Virginia division
The first ten questions are from Hugh Smith, a retired geographer at Virginia Western Community College. The rest come from our own crack staff of geography buffs, Dwayne Yancey and Ed Shamy.
1. What is the greatest straight line distance in Virginia? (Hint, it runs from Southwest Virginia to the Eastern Shore).
2. How many states have a common border with Virginia?
3. What geographic feature of Virginia has been one of the most used migration routes since prehistoric times?
4. There is a gorge in Virginia that has been called the "Grand Canyon of the East." What is it, where is it and what river flows through it?
5. What is the name of the geographic feature that was responsible for the siting of Richmond and Petersburg?
6. Based on geological and biological characteristics, Virginia has been divided into five geographic provinces. The smallest of these is the Alleghany Plateau. What are the other four?
7. What's an easy way to locate Virginia on an unmarked map of the United States?
8. Which two of the following cities are directly south of Roanoke? Charlotte, Charleston, Myrtle Beach, Columbia, Savannah, Jacksonville, Miami.
9. How many natural lakes are there in Virginia, what are their names and where are they?
10. What famous geographic feature is located at Virginia's southwestern tip?
11. What's the highest point in Virginia?
12. Before it was determined that the answer to No. 11 was the state's highest point, Virginians thought another mountain was its tallest peak. Which one was that?
13. During the Revolutionary War, George Washington vowed that, if necessary, he would retreat into a certain portion of Virginia to make a last stand. Which one was he thinking of?
14. When it rains in Craig County, where does the water that runs off the mountains end up?
15. What two counties in the Shenandoah Valley aren't in Virginia?
16. Where is the geographic center of Virginia?
17. How many counties and cities are there in Virginia?
18. What county of Virginia is closer to seven other state capitals than to Richmond?
19. Why are Virginia's caves found only in Western Virginia?
20. Where was Virginia's first coal mine?
21. In the mid-1980s, the state was embroiled in a political fight over whether to allow mining of what mineral in Pittsylvania County?
22. What Virginia community is so isolated that some of its inhabitants still speak with an Elizabethan accent?
23. After the Civil War, Virginia went to court, demanding that West Virginia return two counties it had taken. The Supreme Court deadlocked on the issue, so West Virginia got to keep the two counties in question. Which two are they?
24. What was in those two counties that caused West Virginia to want them in the first place?
25. What do Roanoke, Clifton Forge and Buena Vista have in common?
26. What do Roanoke and Saltville have in common?
27. What natural phenomena made Southwest Virginia a target during the Revolutionary War?
28. What natural phenomena made Southwest Virginia a target during the Civil War?
29. There are two tunnels on Interstate 77 in Bland County. What are their names?
30. Why did so many of the early inhabitants in the Shenandoah valley come from Pennsylvania?
31. Virginia's southwestern tip is farther west than what major Midwestern city?
32. What was Virginia's second largest city at the beginning of the Civil War?
33. What is Virginia's youngest county?
34. What used to be the relationship between Arlington and the District of Columbia?
35. What community has the shortest growing season in Virginia?
36. What tree was considered the king of the Appalachian forest before it was wiped out by a blight in the early 20th century?
37. Which of the Peaks of Otter is the tallest?
38. Which is longer, the James River or the Roanoke River?
39. National Geographic magazine once ran a photograph of the precise point where the James River and the Potomac River watersheds diverge. What county is it in? What community? And what manmade feature marks the site?
40. What's so remarkable about State Street in Bristol?
41. How did the Giles County town of Narrows get its name?
42. How many states - or parts of states - were formed from territory once owned by Virginia?
43. What river flows through Goshen Pass?
44. Natural Bridge is located in Rockbridge County. But there's a similar geological feature in Scott County. What is it?
45. What's unusual about the New River?
46. Three states are involved in monitoring the water quality in the Chesapeake Bay. Two of those are Virginia and Maryland. What's the third - and why is it involved?
47. What mountain overlooks the town of Buchanan from the west? Hint: Its name has religious overtones.
48. Rockfish Gap is atop which mountain?
49. There used to be a small town just outside of Christiansburg. It's since been annexed out of existence, although many old-timers still refer to this part of Christiansburg by its former name. What is it?
50. When Interstate 64 was routed through Charlottesville and Staunton in the 1960s, what route was rejected?
51. Virginia has 13 commercial airports. Which one has the highest elevation?
52. What percentage of the nation's population lives in Virginia?
53. Where's the "golden crescent"?
54. When Botetourt County was formed in 1769, what was its western border?
55. Seventy percent of the rail freight in Virginia is devoted to a single product. What is it?
For the answers, see page 6.
by CNB