Hey there, trivia lovers! Do you ever feel like your knowledge of US geography could use a boost? I know I did. That’s why I put together this massive collection of US geography trivia questions.

With 177+ brain-teasers covering everything from state capitals to famous landmarks, this quiz will sharpen your skills and make you the star of your next trivia night.

In this post, I’ll walk you through an amazing collection of questions ranging from easy warm-ups to real head-scratchers.

Whether you’re prepping for a quiz bowl or just want to impress your friends, these questions will give your geography knowledge a serious workout.

Let’s dive in and explore the diverse landscape of American geography together!

Interesting Facts for US Geography Trivia Night

1. What is the capital of Alaska?
A: Juneau

2. Which state capital is named after a Roman emperor?
A: Augusta, Maine (named after Augustus Caesar)

3. What’s the only US state capital without a McDonald’s restaurant?
A: Montpelier, Vermont

4. Which state capital is located at the highest elevation?
A: Santa Fe, New Mexico (7,199 feet above sea level)

5. What’s the capital of Hawaii?
A: Honolulu

6. Which state capital is known as the “Mile High City”?
A: Denver, Colorado

7. What’s the least populous state capital in the United States?
A: Montpelier, Vermont

8. Which state capital was originally named “La Ciudad de la Santa Fe de San Francisco de Asís”?
A: Santa Fe, New Mexico

9. What’s the capital of North Dakota?
A: Bismarck

10. Which state capital is the only one that borders two other states?
A: Carson City, Nevada (borders California and Oregon)

11. What’s the most populous state capital in the United States?
A: Phoenix, Arizona

12. Which state capital is located on an island?
A: Juneau, Alaska

13. What’s the capital of South Carolina?
A: Columbia

14. Which state capital is nicknamed the “Waterfall Capital of the World”?
A: Hamilton, Ohio

15. What’s the only state capital named after a US President?
A: Jackson, Mississippi (named after Andrew Jackson)

16. Which state capital has a name that means “sheltered harbor” in Hawaiian?
A: Honolulu, Hawaii

17. What’s the capital of Idaho?
A: Boise

18. Which state capital is home to the largest state capitol building by square footage?
A: Austin, Texas

19. What’s the most populous city in the United States?
A: New York City

20. Which US city is known as the “Windy City”?
A: Chicago, Illinois

21. What’s the largest city by land area in the contiguous United States?
A: Jacksonville, Florida

22. Which major US city is nicknamed “The Big Easy”?
A: New Orleans, Louisiana

23. What’s the most populous city in Texas?
A: Houston

24. Which US city is home to the Gateway Arch?
A: St. Louis, Missouri

25. What’s the largest city in the Pacific Northwest?
A: Seattle, Washington

26. Which major US city is known as the “City of Brotherly Love”?
A: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

27. What’s the most populous city in Florida?
A: Jacksonville

28. Which US city is nicknamed “Motor City”?
A: Detroit, Michigan

29. What’s the largest city in California by population?
A: Los Angeles

30. Which major US city is home to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame?
A: Cleveland, Ohio

31. What’s the most populous city in Arizona?
A: Phoenix

32. Which US city is known as the “Emerald City”?
A: Seattle, Washington

33. What’s the largest city in Nevada by population?
A: Las Vegas

34. Which major US city is home to the Liberty Bell?
A: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

35. What’s the most populous city in Colorado?
A: Denver

36. Which US city is nicknamed the “Mile High City”?
A: Denver, Colorado

37. What’s the longest river in the United States?
A: Missouri River

38. Which lake is the largest freshwater lake by surface area entirely within the US?
A: Lake Michigan

39. What river forms part of the border between Texas and Mexico?
A: Rio Grande

40. Which river is nicknamed “Old Man River”?
A: Mississippi River

41. What’s the largest lake by volume in the United States?
A: Lake Superior

42. Which river flows through the Grand Canyon?
A: Colorado River

43. What’s the deepest lake in the United States?
A: Crater Lake, Oregon

44. Which river is known as “America’s River”?
A: Mississippi River

45. What’s the largest reservoir in the United States by volume?
A: Lake Mead

46. Which river forms most of the border between Kentucky and Indiana?
A: Ohio River

47. What’s the largest natural freshwater lake west of the Mississippi?
A: Flathead Lake, Montana

48. Which river is known as the “Big Muddy”?
A: Missouri River

49. What’s the largest saltwater lake in the Western Hemisphere?
A: Great Salt Lake, Utah

50. Which river forms part of the border between New York and Pennsylvania?
A: Delaware River

51. What’s the longest river entirely within Texas?
A: Brazos River

52. Which river is nicknamed the “Mother of Waters”?
A: Mississippi River

53. What’s the largest man-made lake in the United States by surface area?
A: Lake Oahe

54. Which river forms most of the border between Oregon and Washington?
A: Columbia River

55. What’s the highest mountain peak in North America?
A: Denali (formerly Mount McKinley), Alaska

56. Which mountain range runs from Alabama to Maine?
A: Appalachian Mountains

57. What’s the highest peak in the contiguous United States?
A: Mount Whitney, California

58. Which mountain range is known as “America’s Backbone”?
A: Rocky Mountains

59. What’s the most visited mountain in North America?
A: Mount Washington, New Hampshire

60. Which mountain in Washington state is an active volcano?
A: Mount Rainier

61. What’s the highest peak in Texas?
A: Guadalupe Peak

62. Which mountain range runs along California’s eastern border?
A: Sierra Nevada

63. What’s the highest point in the Appalachian Mountains?
A: Mount Mitchell, North Carolina

64. Which mountain in Hawaii is the tallest mountain on Earth when measured from its base on the ocean floor?
A: Mauna Kea

65. What’s the highest peak in Colorado?
A: Mount Elbert

66. Which mountain range is home to the Grand Teton?
A: Teton Range, Wyoming

67. What’s the highest peak in the Olympic Mountains?
A: Mount Olympus, Washington

68. Which mountain is known as “The Mountain That Was God” to Native Americans?
A: Mount Rainier, Washington

69. What’s the highest peak in New England?
A: Mount Washington, New Hampshire

70. Which mountain range is home to Pikes Peak?
A: Front Range of the Rocky Mountains

71. What’s the highest peak in New York?
A: Mount Marcy

72. Which mountain in Alaska is the third most prominent and third most isolated peak on Earth after Mount Everest and Aconcagua?
A: Mount McKinley (Denali)

73. What’s the oldest national park in the United States?
A: Yellowstone National Park

74. Which national park is home to the General Sherman Tree, the largest tree by volume on Earth?
A: Sequoia National Park

75. What’s the most visited national park in the US?
A: Great Smoky Mountains National Park

76. Which national monument features four presidential faces carved into a granite mountain?
A: Mount Rushmore National Memorial

77. What’s the largest national park in the contiguous United States?
A: Death Valley National Park

78. Which national park in Florida is primarily underwater?
A: Biscayne National Park

79. What’s the only national park in New England?
A: Acadia National Park

80. Which national monument in Arizona is known for its petrified wood?
A: Petrified Forest National Park

81. What’s the newest national park in the United States as of 2021?
A: New River Gorge National Park and Preserve

82. Which national park is home to the world’s largest concentration of geysers?
A: Yellowstone National Park

83. What’s the hottest, driest, and lowest national park in the US?
A: Death Valley National Park

84. Which national park in Utah is known for its distinctive red rock formations?
A: Arches National Park

85. What’s the deepest lake in the United States, located in a national park?
A: Crater Lake in Crater Lake National Park

86. Which national monument in New Mexico is known for its massive cave systems?
A: Carlsbad Caverns National Park

87. What’s the only national park in Alaska accessible by road?
A: Denali National Park and Preserve

88. Which national park in California is known for its giant sequoia trees and granite cliffs?
A: Yosemite National Park

89. What’s the largest national park in the United States?
A: Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Alaska

90. Which national monument commemorates the first successful powered, sustained, and controlled airplane flight?
A: Wright Brothers National Memorial

91. Which state is known as the “Sunshine State”?
A: Florida

92. What state is nicknamed the “Lone Star State”?
A: Texas

93. Which state is called the “Garden State”?
A: New Jersey

94. What’s the nickname of Alaska?
A: The Last Frontier

95. Which state is known as the “Volunteer State”?
A: Tennessee

96. What state is nicknamed the “Golden State”?
A: California

97. Which state is called the “Peach State”?
A: Georgia

98. What’s the nickname of Hawaii?
A: The Aloha State

99. Which state is known as the “Keystone State”?
A: Pennsylvania

100. What state is nicknamed the “Empire State”?
A: New York

101. Which state is called the “Granite State”?
A: New Hampshire

102. What’s the nickname of Michigan?
A: The Great Lakes State

103. Which state is known as the “Show Me State”?
A: Missouri

104. What state is nicknamed the “Beaver State”?
A: Oregon

105. Which state is called the “Buckeye State”?
A: Ohio

106. What’s the nickname of Wisconsin?
A: The Badger State

107. Which state is known as the “Green Mountain State”?
A: Vermont

108. What state is nicknamed the “Land of Enchantment”?
A: New Mexico

109. In which city is the Statue of Liberty located?
A: New York City (technically in New Jersey waters)

110. What’s the name of the famous bell in Philadelphia that symbolizes American independence?
A: Liberty Bell

111. Which historic fort in Baltimore is known for inspiring the US national anthem?
A: Fort McHenry

112. What’s the name of the famous prison island in San Francisco Bay?
A: Alcatraz Island

113. Which historical landmark in South Dakota features carved faces of US Presidents?
A: Mount Rushmore

114. What’s the name of the famous battlefield in Pennsylvania where a crucial Civil War battle was fought?
A: Gettysburg

115. Which historical landmark in Boston is known as the “Cradle of Liberty”?
A: Faneuil Hall

116. What’s the name of the famous bridge connecting San Francisco to Marin County?
A: Golden Gate Bridge

117. Which historical landmark in Washington D.C. honors Abraham Lincoln?
A: Lincoln Memorial

118. What’s the name of the famous arch in St. Louis, Missouri?
A: Gateway Arch

119. Which historical landmark in Virginia was home to Thomas Jefferson?
A: Monticello

120. What’s the name of the famous clock tower in Philadelphia that houses the Liberty Bell?
A: Independence Hall

121. Which historical landmark in New York City was the tallest building in the world from 1931 to 1970?
A: Empire State Building

122. What’s the name of the famous plantation home of George Washington?
A: Mount Vernon

123. Which historical landmark in Charleston, South Carolina, is known as the site where the Civil War began?
A: Fort Sumter

124. What’s the name of the famous theater in Washington D.C. where Abraham Lincoln was assassinated?
A: Ford’s Theatre

125. Which historical landmark in San Antonio, Texas, is remembered as the site of a famous battle?
A: The Alamo

126. What’s the name of the famous suspension bridge connecting Brooklyn to Manhattan?
A: Brooklyn Bridge

127. Which state borders the most other states (8)?
A: Tennessee and Missouri (tie)

128. What’s the only state that borders just one other state?
A: Maine (borders New Hampshire)

129. Which two states are not contiguous with any other US state?
A: Alaska and Hawaii

130. What state has borders with both the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico?
A: Florida

131. Which four states meet at a single point known as the “Four Corners”?
A: Colorado, Utah, Arizona, and New Mexico

132. What’s the only state to border both Canada and Mexico?
A: Alaska (maritime border with Mexico in the Pacific Ocean)

133. Which state shares its name with a Canadian province?
A: New Mexico (shares name with Mexico, which is not a Canadian province but a country)

134. What two states are separated only by the Delaware River?
A: New Jersey and Pennsylvania

135. Which state has the most counties (254)?
A: Texas

136. What’s the smallest state by land area?
A: Rhode Island

137. Which two states are divided by the Continental Divide?
A: Montana and Idaho

138. What state has the longest coastline?
A: Alaska

139. Which state borders Lake Michigan but doesn’t border any other Great Lake?
A: Indiana

140. What’s the only state to border both the Pacific Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico?
A: None (Alaska borders the Pacific, and several states border the Gulf, but no single state borders both)

141. Which state shares borders with the most Canadian provinces (4)?
A: Montana (borders British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba)

142. What’s the westernmost state in the contiguous United States?
A: Washington

143. Which state is bordered by Nebraska to the north and Oklahoma to the south?
A: Kansas

144. What’s the easternmost state in the United States?
A: Alaska (some of the Aleutian Islands cross the 180th meridian)

145. Which US city is known as the birthplace of jazz?
A: New Orleans, Louisiana

146. What state is famous for its bourbon production?
A: Kentucky

147. Which region of the US is known as “New England”?
A: The northeastern states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut

148. What city hosts the annual South by Southwest (SXSW) festival?
A: Austin, Texas

149. Which state is known for its lobster industry?
A: Maine

150. What’s the largest city in the Midwest?
A: Chicago, Illinois

151. Which US territory is known for its carnival celebrations?
A: Puerto Rico

152. What state is famous for its maple syrup production?
A: Vermont

153. Which city is considered the capital of country music?
A: Nashville, Tennessee

154. What state is known for its Amish communities?
A: Pennsylvania

155. Which city hosts the annual Mardi Gras celebration?
A: New Orleans, Louisiana

156. What state is famous for its cheese production?
A: Wisconsin

157. Which region is known as the “Rust Belt”?
A: The Midwest and parts of the Northeast, including states like Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Michigan

158. What state is known for its peach production?
A: Georgia

159. Which city is home to the famous Hollywood Walk of Fame?
A: Los Angeles, California

160. What state is famous for its barbecue style?
A: Texas

161. Which region is known as “The Deep South”?
A: The southeasternmost states, including South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana

162. What state is known for its Cajun and Creole cultures?
A: Louisiana

163. What’s the state bird of California?
A: California Quail

164. Which state has the bison as its state mammal?
A: Wyoming

165. What’s the state flower of Texas?
A: Bluebonnet

166. Which state has adopted the peach as its state fruit?
A: Georgia

167. What’s the state tree of Vermont?
A: Sugar Maple

168. Which state has the cardinal as its state bird?
A: Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, North Carolina, Ohio, Virginia, and West Virginia

169. What’s the state gem of Montana?
A: Sapphire

170. Which state has adopted milk as its state beverage?
A: Wisconsin

171. What’s the state insect of New Mexico?
A: Tarantula Hawk Wasp

172. Which state has the rainbow trout as its state fish?
A: Colorado

173. What’s the state fossil of South Dakota?
A: Triceratops

174. Which state has adopted the honeybee as its state insect?
A: Utah

175. What’s the state reptile of Florida?
A: American Alligator

176. Which state has the black bear as its state animal?
A: Louisiana

177. What’s the state dance of South Carolina?
A: The Shag

178. Which state has adopted the peony as its state flower?
A: Indiana

179. What’s the state fruit of New York?
A: Apple

180. Which state has the white-tailed deer as its state animal?
A: Several, including Arkansas, Illinois, Michigan, Mississippi, Nebraska, New Hampshire, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and South Carolina

Conclusion

I hope this trivia challenge has been as fun for you as it was for me to put together.

From sea to shining sea, we’ve covered it all – from bustling cities to majestic mountains and everything in between.

So, how did you do? Whether you aced it or learned something new, remember that geography is more than just facts – it’s the story of our nation.

Why not use this newfound knowledge to plan your next adventure or impress your friends at trivia night?

And hey, if you enjoyed this quiz, why not share it with others who might appreciate a good geography brain teaser?

Keep exploring, learning, and, most importantly, having fun with geography!