Question 1 of 20Towers and SkyscrapersEasy
Landmarks of the Americas quiz
From soaring towers and record-breaking bridges to ancient pyramids hidden in the rainforest, the Americas are full of extraordinary man-made wonders. How many of these 20 can you name? Every answer comes with a fact.
A free quiz from Megan Moran, author of The Mighty Geography Quiz Book.
Question 2 of 20Towers and SkyscrapersEasy
The Space Needle was built for the 1962 World's Fair in which city?
Question 3 of 20Bridges and DamsMedium
New York's Brooklyn Bridge crosses which river?
Question 4 of 20MonumentsEasy
What did the Hollywood Sign originally spell out when it went up in 1923?
Question 5 of 20Bridges and DamsMedium
Hoover Dam, completed in 1936 on the Colorado River, straddles the border between Arizona and which other state?
Question 6 of 20MonumentsHard
The Christ the Redeemer of the Andes statue, unveiled in 1904 high in a mountain pass, stands on the border between which two countries?
Question 7 of 20Historic BuildingsEasy
The Alamo, a former Spanish mission besieged for 13 days in 1836, is in which Texas city?
Question 8 of 20Historic BuildingsMedium
The turreted Château Frontenac hotel towers over the old town of which Canadian city?
Question 9 of 20Ancient SitesMedium
The ancient Maya city of Tikal, whose tallest temple rises about 70 meters, lies in the rainforest of which country?
Question 10 of 20Historic BuildingsHard
The Citadelle Laferrière, a vast mountaintop fortress armed with hundreds of cannons, is in which Caribbean country?
Question 11 of 20Ancient SitesMedium
The Pyramid of the Sun, one of the largest pyramids in the world, stands at which ancient site near Mexico City?
Question 12 of 20MonumentsEasy
The 630-foot Gateway Arch, the tallest arch in the world, stands in which city?
Question 13 of 20Ancient SitesMedium
How were Peru's Nazca Lines made?
Question 14 of 20MonumentsHard
Buenos Aires' Obelisco stands in the middle of which famously wide avenue?
Question 15 of 20Ancient SitesMedium
Which people built the cliff dwellings of Mesa Verde in Colorado, such as the Cliff Palace?
Question 16 of 20Towers and SkyscrapersEasy
Chicago's Willis Tower, the world's tallest building from 1973 to 1998, was originally named after which company?
Question 17 of 20Historic BuildingsHard
The neo-Gothic Las Lajas Sanctuary rises dramatically from the canyon of the Guáitara River. In which country is it?
Question 18 of 20MonumentsMedium
Why does the stone of the Washington Monument change shade about a third of the way up?
Question 19 of 20Historic BuildingsMedium
The grand Teatro Amazonas opera house, built with wealth from the rubber boom, is in which Brazilian city?
Question 20 of 20Ancient SitesHard
Monks Mound, the largest man-made earthen mound north of Mexico, is at Cahokia in which US state?
Answer all 20 to see your score.
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Show all the answers, with the facts behind them
- The CN Tower, the world's tallest free-standing structure from 1975 to 2007, dominates the skyline of which city? TorontoCN stands for Canadian National, the railway company behind it. On the EdgeWalk, visitors walk around the outside of its main pod, about 356 meters up.
- The Space Needle was built for the 1962 World's Fair in which city? SeattleIt was built in less than a year and is designed to withstand winds of up to 200 mph. Since 2018 it has had a revolving glass floor.
- New York's Brooklyn Bridge crosses which river? East RiverIn 1884 P.T. Barnum sent 21 elephants, led by Jumbo, across it to show it was safe. At its 1883 opening it was the world's longest suspension bridge.
- What did the Hollywood Sign originally spell out when it went up in 1923? HollywoodlandIt began as a temporary advert for a hillside housing development. The original letters were 50 feet tall, and steel replacements went up in 1978.
- Hoover Dam, completed in 1936 on the Colorado River, straddles the border between Arizona and which other state? NevadaClocks on its two intake towers show the time in each state. Arizona ignores daylight saving time, so for most of the year both clocks match.
- The Christ the Redeemer of the Andes statue, unveiled in 1904 high in a mountain pass, stands on the border between which two countries? Argentina and ChileIt celebrates the peaceful settlement of a border dispute and stands about 3,832 meters above sea level. Sculptor Mateo Alonso made the bronze figure.
- The Alamo, a former Spanish mission besieged for 13 days in 1836, is in which Texas city? San AntonioDavy Crockett and Jim Bowie were among the defenders killed. Since 2015 it has been part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site along with four other nearby missions.
- The turreted Château Frontenac hotel towers over the old town of which Canadian city? Quebec CityOpened by the Canadian Pacific Railway in 1893, it is named after the Count of Frontenac, a governor of New France.
- The ancient Maya city of Tikal, whose tallest temple rises about 70 meters, lies in the rainforest of which country? GuatemalaIts own inscriptions call the city Yax Mutal. It flourished between about AD 200 and 900 and became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1979.
- The Citadelle Laferrière, a vast mountaintop fortress armed with hundreds of cannons, is in which Caribbean country? HaitiHenri Christophe ordered it after independence to guard against a French invasion that never came. It was built between 1805 and 1820.
- The Pyramid of the Sun, one of the largest pyramids in the world, stands at which ancient site near Mexico City? TeotihuacanThe Aztecs gave the long-abandoned city its name, often translated as 'birthplace of the gods'. Its main street is known as the Avenue of the Dead.
- The 630-foot Gateway Arch, the tallest arch in the world, stands in which city? St LouisDesigned by Eero Saarinen and completed in 1965, it is exactly as wide as it is tall. A small tram in each leg carries visitors to the top.
- How were Peru's Nazca Lines made? By removing reddish surface stones to reveal paler groundCreated between about 500 BC and AD 500, they include a hummingbird about 93 meters long. The figures are best appreciated from the air.
- Buenos Aires' Obelisco stands in the middle of which famously wide avenue? Avenida 9 de JulioDesigned by architect Alberto Prebisch, it went up in 1936 to mark 400 years since the city was first founded.
- Which people built the cliff dwellings of Mesa Verde in Colorado, such as the Cliff Palace? Ancestral PuebloansThe Cliff Palace has about 150 rooms and 23 kivas. Its builders had moved away by about 1300, possibly driven out by prolonged droughts.
- Chicago's Willis Tower, the world's tallest building from 1973 to 1998, was originally named after which company? SearsIt was renamed in 2009. Glass boxes called The Ledge jut out from its 103rd-floor Skydeck, so visitors can look straight down.
- The neo-Gothic Las Lajas Sanctuary rises dramatically from the canyon of the Guáitara River. In which country is it? ColombiaBuilt between 1916 and 1949 with money from local donations, it stands about 100 meters above the canyon floor, less than 11 km from the Ecuadorian border.
- Why does the stone of the Washington Monument change shade about a third of the way up? Building paused for over 20 years, then resumed with marble from another quarryWhen finished in 1884, the 555-foot obelisk was the world's tallest structure. It kept the title until the Eiffel Tower overtook it in 1889.
- The grand Teatro Amazonas opera house, built with wealth from the rubber boom, is in which Brazilian city? ManausOpened in 1896, it used Italian marble and furnishings from France, and its dome is covered with 36,000 ceramic tiles in the colors of the Brazilian flag.
- Monks Mound, the largest man-made earthen mound north of Mexico, is at Cahokia in which US state? IllinoisIt rises about 100 feet in four terraces. Cahokia, built by people of the Mississippian culture, was at its height around AD 1100.
