CLUE: At less than 5,000 square miles, The Gambia is this continent’s smallest mainland country.
This World Geography question first aired on May 29, 1997. The country of Gambia is located on the continent of Africa. More specifically, it’s located in West Africa and is completely surrounded by the country of Senegal. The country’s name comes from its position along the Gambia river, and it’s internationally famous for the town of Juffureh being featured in Alex Haley’s book Roots. It’s a relatively small country bordering the Atlantic ocean – its widest point is only about 30 miles or so.
CLUE: This sea is known as the Salt Sea in The King James Bible.
Alex Trebek asked this Biblical Geography question on January 26, 2012. The Salt Sea in the Bible is known as the Dead Sea in modern times. Located largely in modern-day Israel, it’s the lowest place on earth – a remarkable 1269 feet below sea level! As the Biblical name suggests, this sea is full of salt. It has so much salt, in fact, that it’s pretty much impossible to swim in. All you can do is lie on your back and float.
CLUE: This rhyme refers to what country, “Come visit Mongo /Not far from the Congo /Tibesti mountains are not that bad /Yes, we’re talking, talking ’bout…”
On the first of June 2016, this Geography in Rhyme question was asked. Chad is the fifth-largest country in Africa. It’s also one of the poorest. Located in North Central Africa, it’s a land-locked country of over 15 million people who mostly speak French and Arabic. The Tbesti Mountains in the rhyme are northeast of the capital city of N’Djamena, in the Saharan region. The “Congo” in the rhyme refers to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which is two countries south of Chad.
CLUE: In the Errol Flynn film named after this New Mexico Trail, Ronald Reagan played George Custer.
Alex Trebek asked this Movie Geography question on the February 26, 1998 episode of Jeopardy! The Western film Santa Fe Trail came out in 1940 and featured Errol Flynn, Olivia de Haviland, and Ronald Reagan (among others). The film is about John Brown’s campaign against slavery. Ronald Reagan plays General Armstrong Custer, a real-life (and really controversial) figure in the American Civil War and the American Indian Wars. Santa Fe Trail did remarkably well at the box office (one of the highest grossing films of the year).
CLUE: This ocean is the smallest and shallowest ocean on earth.
This Geography Class question was asked on the November 22, 2013 episode of Jeopardy! Of the five oceans on earth – the Pacific, the Atlantic, the Indian, the Southern, and the Arctic – it’s the last one that is the smallest and shallowest. The Arctic Ocean is a little more than 14 million km2, whereas the Pacific Ocean (the largest ocean) is more than 165 million km2. Furthermore, the Arctic ocean is about 17,800 feet at its deepest, and the Pacific Ocean is more than 36,000 feet at its deepest.
CLUE: The port city of Auckland was once the capital of this country.
On November 11, 1994, this geography question was aired. The port city of Auckland was the capital of New Zealand from 1841 to 1865. After that, the capital moved to the more central location of Wellington. Nowadays, Wellington the city has about 217,000 people and the Greater Wellington region has about 547,000. As the world’s southernmost capital, it acts as both the government capital of New Zealand and its cultural capital with plenty of museums, theaters, music, and more.
CLUE: The king of Denmark in Shakespeare’s Hamlet killed Fortinbras’ father, the king of this nearby country.
In late October 1999, this Shakespearean History question aired on Jeopardy!. William Shakespeare wrote the tragedy Hamlet in the early 17th century. In it, the King of Denmark gets into a duel with the King of Norway and ends up killing him. The son, Fortinbras, wants to avenge his father’s death. This is the same thing that Hamlet, son of the King of Denmark, wants to do for his father. However, instead of dealing with Fortinbras, he wants to do away with his uncle, who killed his father.
CLUE: Cozumel, Isla Mujeres, and Cancun are on the northeast tip of this peninsula.
On June 13, 2019, this Mexican Geography question was featured on Jeopardy! Although Cancun, Isla Mujeres, and Cozumel are in the state of Quintana Roo, they’re on the Yucatan peninsula. This peninsula contains the states of Quintana Roo, Yucatan, and Campeche. Alongside its famous resort towns, beaches, and Mayan ruins, the Yucatan is also where a meteor crashed 65 million years ago to end the dinosaur age. Although the Mayan civilization isn’t as dominant as it was hundreds of years ago, there are still plenty of Mayan people around.
CLUE: This lake, the largest in Wyoming, is located in the middle of a national park.
In early September 2001, host Alex Trebek asked this “colorful geography” question. The title “colorful” hints at the answer. Yellowstone Lake is the largest high-elevation lake (above 7,000 feet) in all of North America. It’s 390 feet deep, has 110 miles of shoreline, and has 136 square miles of surface area. Inside Yellowstone Lake, there are cutthroat trout, redside shiners, longnose suckers, and quite a few other species of fish. However, due to overfishing concerns, fishing at the fishing bridge is not allowed.
CLUE: The fictional town of Pawnee in “Parks and Recreation” is located in this Midwestern state.
On May 12, 2009, this TV Geography question was asked on Jeopardy!. The show Parks and Recreation ran from 2009 to 2015. It tells the story of a cast of characters who work at the Parks and Recreation Department in Pawnee, Indiana. Although Indiana plays a big role in it, the writers of the show did a great deal of research on California politics and city planning to create a realistic effect. The show did remarkably well over the years – winning Time magazine’s 2012 show of the year.
CLUE: Baan Chang Elephant Park is located in Chiang Mai, a city in this country.
Former Jeopardy Host Alex Trebek asked this “geography class” question back in late November of 2013. The city of Chiang Mai is located in Northern Thailand. Among many other things, it’s home to the Baan Chang Elephant Park. This family-run elephant park has been around for more than 30 years. The older generation often teaches the younger generation how to care for the elephants and how to provide eco-friendly tours for tourists. Baan Chang provides their elephants with a high quality of life.
CLUE: The Division 1-A team from this capital city was the only undefeated team in the 2006-07 season.
On May 13, 2008, this College Football Geography question aired on Jeopardy! If you weren’t able to answer it correctly, don’t feel too bad – football questions are notoriously difficult for Jeopardy! contestants. That being said, the Boise State Broncos football team had an incredible year in 2006-2007. They won every single game they played, including a very close 43-42 final game against the Oklahoma Sooners. After tying the game with only seven seconds left, they went into overtime and won by a single point.
CLUE: This Italian island and Corsica are only about seven miles apart.
This European Geography question aired on Jeopardy! on March 12, 2004. The island of Sardinia (owned by Italy) is located about seven miles or so from Corsica (owned by France). It’s also the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea (after Sicily). It’s a beautiful island where people have lived for thousands of years. Nowadays, most of the economy is devoted to tourism as well as agriculture. The island is also known for all its centenarians (people over 100 years old).
CLUE: Both the capital of the country and the country itself share the same name and it lies 12 miles or so from the Adriatic coast of Italy.
This European geography question was asked on July 24th, 2017. San Marino is a European microstate surrounded by Italy. It’s a country within a country that is both one of the tiniest countries on earth and one of the oldest republics. The mountainous capital of San Marino is a walled medieval city that has been around for hundreds of years. Although there are no airports or train stations in San Marino, it’s easy enough to fly into Italy and take a bus or drive a car.
CLUE: This region of Argentina is called “big feet” in Spanish, perhaps due to the large boots locals Indians used to wear
The May 8, 2002, Jeopardy! the episode saw this Tough Geography question asked. The correct answer is Patagonia. It’s a region in southern Argentina that’s world-famous for its natural beauty. That natural beauty includes rainforests, glaciers, fjords, lakes, and more. Patagonia nowadays centers around sheep farming, gas/oil extraction, and, of course, tourism. It’s also famously known for being the eco-friendly clothing brand that took its name after the region. The owner, Yvon Chouinard, enjoys spending a lot of time in the picturesque region.
CLUE: This small South American country can be spelled with an “e” or without an “e”.
Alex Trebek asked this World Geography question back in late March of 1996. At the time, Suriname had only been an independent country for a little more than 20 years. It used to be called Dutch Guiana but changed to Suriname (or Surinam) shortly after it gained independence. Modern-day Suriname is a diverse place with roughly 575,000 people. Many native Surinamese people are the descendants of slaves from India, Indonesia, Africa, and other Dutch colonies. The Dutch language is still widely spoken, but so is English.
CLUE: This Alberta lake honors the daughter of Queen Victoria.
On March 12, 2018, this question aired on Jeopardy!. Queen Victoria ruled the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 1837 until her death in 1901. Her 63-year reign was one of the longest in British history. Queen Victoria had a total of nine children, Louise was her sixth. When she grew up, she became the Governor General of Canada. Lake Louise, a glacial lake in the Banff National Park in Alberta, Canada was named in her honor. It’s famous for its turquoise color.
CLUE: Jefferson Davis High is located in this Alabama city – also known as the first Confederate capital.
This “high school geography” question was asked on February 5th of 2013. Jefferson Davis High is a high school in Montgomery, Alabama. It’s named after Jefferson F. Davis, President of the Confederate States during the American Civil War of the mid-19th century. Although a controversial figure in modern times, he still has a few buildings named after him. Alongside being known as the “Cradle of the Confederacy” (hence, Jefferson High), Montgomery is also known as the “Birth Place of the Civil Rights Movement.”
CLUE: This man penned the famous poem “Harlem” (also known as “A Dream Deferred”).
This poetic geography question was asked in late May 2019. As part of his Daily Double, James Holzhauer bet $11,022 on the question and won. The poet Langston Hughes wrote “Harlem” in 1951. As you might have guessed from the name, it was about Harlem. More specifically, about the African American experience in Harlem during the early part of the 20th century. Hughes was a big part of the “Harlem Rennaissance,” a creative moment centered around Harlem in the 1920s and 1930s.
CLUE: The Pacific Ocean is touched by how many US states.
Alex Trebek asked this final jeopardy question way back in December of 1984. The correct answer is five states. In alphabetical order, they are Alaska, California, Hawaii, Oregon, and Washington. Alaska represents both the northernmost and westernmost touching points, and Hawaii represents the southernmost. The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest ocean on earth. It stretches from the Americas all the way to Asia and Australia, and touches the Arctic Ocean up north and the Southern Ocean down south. Its deepest point is Mariana’s Trench at about 36,000 feet.