Geography Game

[rhombus]

Istanbul is the largest city in Turkey and is its most important cultural and economic center.  It is one of the few cities in the world to be transcontinental, with part of its population living in Europe and the other residing in Asia.  The city was founded as Constantinople by the Emperor Constantine to be the capital of what became known as the Byzantine Empire or Eastern Roman Empire.  The city more commonly became know as Istanbul after its conquest by the Ottomans in 1453.

[The Chronicler]

Lagos - A massive city in the African country of Nigeria. With a population estimate of at least 12 million, it is the largest city in all of Africa and seventh largest in the world. It's name comes from the Portuguese word for "lakes". It was also the capital of Nigeria from 1914 to 1991.

[rhombus]

South Dakota is the 40th state to gain admission to the union.  It is a relatively sparsely populated state, ranking 46th in population despite being ranked 17th in land area.  It has the fifth lowest domestic product of any state in the United States, with much of its economic production coming from the service industry, agriculture, and tourism.  It has numerous tourist attractions including Deadwood, Mount Rushmore, and several state and national parks.

[The Chronicler]

Agadez - The largest city in northern Niger, with a population over 88,000. The city saw significant violence in 2007 due to the Second Tuareg Rebellion. This severely limited travel to the region and essentially destroyed the local tourist industry.

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Zambia is a country in southern Africa.  Zambia was a British protectorate from the late 1800s to 1964 when it went under the name of Northern Rhodesia.  It existed as a single-party state from the 1970s to the early 1990s when the United National Independence Party was the only legal political party.  Thereafter a period of governmental liberalization and economic growth took place during a time of growth in the mining industry and an increase in global copper prices.

[The Chronicler]

Alaska - Largest state in the U.S. at 663,268 sq mi, as well as the least densely populated at just 1.25/sq mi. It was first settled by the Russians in the 18th century. Russia later sold the territory to the U.S. in 1867 for $7.2 million, just 2 cents per acre. It became the 49th state on January 3, 1959.

[rhombus]

Albuquerque is the most populous city in New Mexico.  It is a center of education, culture, and science in the southwestern United States.  It contains the University of New Mexico and Central New Mexico Community College.  In terms of culture, it is the site of Albuquerque Botanical Gardens, Albuquerque Biological Park, Albuquerque Museum of Art and History, and the its Museum of Natural History and Science.

[The Chronicler]

(Mount) Erebus: The second highest volcano in Antarctica (12,448 ft) and the southernmost active volcano in the world. Located on Ross Island, it has been continuously active since at least 1972. It is also where Air New Zealand Flight 901 encountered whiteout conditions and crashed on November 28, 1979, killing all 257 people aboard. Debris from the crash on the flanks of the volcano can still be seen from the air to this day.

[rhombus]

St. Louis is one of the most important ports on the Mississippi River.  Its population has declined since the 1950s, but it still has 319,000 residents as of 2013, with nearly 3,000,000 in its metropolitan area.  It is home to four major sports teams, with only basketball not being represented in its sports franchises.  It is also a cultural and tourist center for the Midwest, with the city serving as the home of the St. Louis Symphony, the Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, Fox Theatre, the Saint Louis Art Museum, and the Missouri History Museum.  One of the city's most famous attractions is the Gateway Arch which was built as a monument to the westward expansion of the United States.

[The Chronicler]

South Sudan - A country in Africa that used to be part of Sudan until gaining independence on July 9, 2011, making it the most recently independent country in the world. The current capital is Juba, the largest city in the country, though plans are underway to move the capital to Ramciel, which is closer to the geographical center of the country. In the short time since independence, this new country has sadly seen a lot of internal conflict.

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Nicaragua - is a country situated in the Central American Isthmus.  Since gaining independence from Spain in the 1820s, it has undergone many periods of political unrest.  It has had twelve constitutions (depending on what you want to consider a constitution) since its independence.  Currently, the country is also attempting to construct a canal to rival the Panama Canal, although several logistical challenges remain.

[The Chronicler]

Alps - A major mountain range in central Europe that stretches along Italy's land borders and reach as far north as southern Germany. The range has about a hundred peaks that are at least 4000m (13,123ft) tall, including the Matterhorn and Mount Blanc (the tallest at 4810m or 15,781ft). The name is believed to be derived from an ancient Celtic word that means "high mountains". These mountains formed over the last tens of millions of years from the collision of the Eurasian and African tectonic plates. This region has also been the site of ten Winter Olympic Games, with the most recent being Torino, Italy in 2006.

[aabicus (LettuceBacon&Tomato)]

Sioux is an unincorporated community located in the town of Bayview, Bayfield County, Wisconsin, United States.

[The Chronicler]

Xylokastro - A town in Greece located on the northern coast of the Peloponnese, along the Gulf of Corinth. It has a population of 5715, and likely got its name from a wooden castle that was built in the 13th century, known as Solo Castro.

[aabicus (LettuceBacon&Tomato)]

Ohio - The state in which I now live after the Fire Marshall kicked me, my wife, and our roommate out of our San Francisco apartment because it was a 2-person apartment and said roommate wasn't on the lease.

[rhombus]

Ontario is the most populous province in Canada.  It had a population of over 12,000,000 people as of the last census.  The province itself is named after Lake Ontario, which in turn come from the word "Ontar“:io" meaning 'Great Lake'.

[The Chronicler]

Ouagadougou - Capital of the West Africa nation of Burkina Faso. It is by far the largest city in the country (as is the case with most African nations and their capitals) with a population of nearly 1.5 million. The spelling of the name is due to the country being a former French colony (if it had been English, the city's name would be spelled "Wagadugu").

[aabicus (LettuceBacon&Tomato)]

Ulan Batarr is the capital and largest city of Mongolia. An independent province at this time and one of the most populated cities in the Middle East,  it remains one of the oldest continually-populated cities in the world.

[rhombus]

Rangoon (also called Yangon) is the formal capital of Burma.  It was replaced as capital with the planned city of Naypyidaw in 2006, though it still remains the largest city in the country and its most important economic center.

[The Chronicler]

Netherlands - A small but densely populated country in western Europe. It's name literally means "low country", which is an accurate description of its geography. Much of the land actually lies below sea level, having been reclaimed from the sea over the last few centuries. Only 50% of the country has a land elevation of more than just one meter above sea level.