Around the Globe: South America Quiz

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. This country is the only Dutch-speaking region in the world that is not a part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands or Belgium. Which of the following is the only state outside Europe where Dutch is the official language?

Answer: Suriname

Located between Guyana and French Guiana, Suriname also shares its southern border with Brazil. The republic gained independence from the Netherlands in 1975 and it is the smallest nation in term of area in South America. Paramaribo is the country's capital and largest city.

2. The name of this nation means "little Venice" in Spanish. Which of the following became the world's first oil-exporting nation in the 1930s, and is one of the wealthiest countries in South America?

Answer: Venezuela

Officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, the country's official language is Spanish and its official religion is Roman Catholic. Caracas, the country's capital, is modern and prosperous, although like other cities in Latin America, it is surrounded by shantytowns. The continent's largest iron deposits are located in Venezuela.

3. With a name meaning "Equator" in Spanish, which nation has a charming capital that is known as the "City of Eternal Spring"?

Answer: Ecuador

The capital of Ecuador, Quito, lies only 15 miles from the Equator with an altitude of 9000 feet. The country produces one of the world's largest crops of bananas and feather-light balsa trees thanks to its hot, swampy coast. Ecuador's famous "Panama hats" are made by the straws supplied by local palms.

4. One of the world's narrowest nations, this country averages less than 150 miles in width, but is as long as the US is wide. Its Easter Island is famous for its huge stone figures of unknown origin. Which country is it?

Answer: Chile

The Republic of Chile's capital city is Santiago. Until a democratically elected Marxist was overthrown by the military in 1973, Chile had a long tradition of political freedom. Military rule ended in 1989. Chile uses four different Coordinated Universal Time Zones because of the distance between the mainland and Easter Island.

5. With neither a coastline nor adequate road, rail, or water transportation, this landlocked nation is one of South America's poorest. Which of the following has the world's highest capital city, which sits on a plateau in the Andes?

Answer: Bolivia

The Plurinational State of Bolivia is a republic with the official religion as Roman Catholic. The population is 50 percent Native American and 35 percent mestizo. Most Bolivians speak their own native languages; only the wealthy and middle classes speak Spanish, the official language. La Paz at 12,000 feet is the world's highest capital.

The country's official capital is Sucre, even though the seat of all government functions except sessions of the Supreme Court is La Paz. The country was named after Simon Bolivar, the "George Washington of South America".

6. Believing that the Gran Chaco contained oil, which of the following countries seized it from Bolivia in a costly war in 1932?

Answer: Paraguay

The Republic of Paraguay is a landlocked country divided by the Paraguay River into two dissimilar regions, the Gran Chaco to the west and the Oriental to the east. The nation has access to the Atlantic Ocean through the Paraguay and Parana Rivers. Asuncion is the national capital, and the country's official religion is Roman Catholic.

7. This nation is the continent's second-largest in size. Which of the following attempted to take the Falkland Islands, a British possession, by force in 1982, leading to its defeat and the overthrow of its military government?

Answer: Argentina

The Argentine Republic has five regions: the western Andes, the scrub forests of the Gran Chaco, agricultural Mesopotamia, the treeless, grassy plains of the Pampas, and the dry, inhospitable Patagonia. The population reflects its multinational origin: Spanish is said to be spoken with an Italian accent. Its capital, Buenos Aires, is a distinctly European city.

8. The fifth-largest nation in the world, this superpower of South America is nearly half the size of the entire continent. Which of the following is the only country in Latin America to have a strong Portuguese culture?

Answer: Brazil

The Federative Republic of Brazil is the only Portuguese-speaking nation in the Americas, making the language an important part of Brazilian national identity. Portuguese is spoken by almost all of the population. The futuristic city of Brasilia was not the only capital city planned and purposely built by a federal nation; Washington DC, USA and Canberra, Australia were also purposely built as capital cities.

9. Which of the following is the only South American country to have both Atlantic and Pacific coastlines?

Answer: Colombia

The Republic of Colombia's capital, Bogota, is the nation's cultural center while the city of Medellin is its financial and industrial center. Colombia exports 90 percent of the world's supply of emeralds, but the nation's real treasure is its fine coffee.

10. Some aspects of this South American country resemble an Asian country rather than a Latin American one. Which nation attracted foreign religious cults in the 1970s, the most famous of which ended in the Jonestown Massacre?

Answer: Guyana

The Co-operative Republic of Guyana has an Asian majority who control commerce and a black minority of 40 percent. Many coastal areas, including the capital, Georgetown, are below sea level and are protected by a network of dikes and canals, many of which were built by the Dutch over 300 years ago.

11. Which of the following was once the heart of the Inca civilization and is now the third-largest country in South America?

Answer: Peru

The Republic of Peru's capital, Lima, was the headquarters of Spain's South American empire. Over nine million Inca descendants make up the largest Native America population of any country in the Western Hemisphere. The nation's official language is Spanish and its official religion is Roman Catholic.

12. This nation is one of the few in the world to have all of its land in use in one form or another. Which of the following was such a model society that it was called the "Switzerland of South America" until the 1950s?

Answer: Uruguay

The Oriental Republic of Uruguay's capital is Montevideo. Its official language is Spanish and its official religion is Roman Catholic. Uruguay's landscape is a gentle, grassy plain.

13. BONUS QUESTION: The Amazon River flows through two different countries, originating in the Peruvian Andes and emptying into the Atlantic Ocean. Of the two countries it passes through, which contains the location of the great river's mouth?

Answer: Brazil

The Amazon River is the largest river in the world. It is also the second longest river in the world.

14. BONUS QUESTION: Which of the following country's national football (soccer) team won the FIFA World Cup in 1978 and 1986?

Answer: Argentina

The first player to be sent off in a FIFA World Cup match after the final whistle was Leandro Cufre of Argentina in 2006, when he was given a red card for fighting after the end of the Quarter Final game with Germany. Argentina lost 0-4 to Germany in the Quarter Final game of the 2010 World Cup.

15. BONUS QUESTION: Cusco, the administrative, political and military center of the Inca Empire, was located where?

Answer: Peru

Cusco, or Qusqu in written Quechua, is the historic capital of the Inca Empire. It is a major tourist destination and is designated as the Historical Capital of Peru by the Constitution of Peru.

Source: Author Hermione124

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor Pagiedamon before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.

The third installment of my Around the Globe quizzes will be just like the previous ones. If a country is the answer to one question, it won't be the answer to another unless it's a bonus question, which I will indicate. This will cover South America.

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