Map Puzzles Quiz
Which Is Further North? Eight Geography Questions That Beat Intuition
Eight comparisons where the obvious answer is wrong, and the reason is almost always the same: maps distort, and mental maps distort more.
Almost everyone carries a mental map, and almost every mental map is wrong in the same three ways.
The first is projection. Any flat map of a round planet distorts something, and the most familiar projections stretch high latitudes enormously — which is why Greenland looks comparable to Africa and is roughly fourteen times smaller.
The second is climate. We infer latitude from weather, and weather is driven by ocean currents and prevailing winds as much as by distance from the equator. Britain sits at the same latitude as parts of Canada that are frozen for months.
The third is orientation. Countries are remembered as roughly rectangular blocks pointing north, and very few of them are.
Eight comparisons below. Answer first, then check.
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Eight comparisons. Answer before you check, and notice which ones you were confident about.
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1 Which is further north: Venice or Montreal?
Venice sits at about 45.4 degrees north, Montreal at about 45.5. They are almost identical, which is itself the surprise — Italy feels southern and Canada feels northern.
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A. Venice — Venice sits at about 45.4 degrees north, Montreal at about 45.5. They are almost identical, which is itself the surprise — Italy feels southern and Canada feels northern.
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2 Which is further south: Cape Town or Sydney?
Sydney is at roughly 33.9 degrees south and Cape Town at about 33.9 as well, but Sydney edges it slightly. Both are considerably closer to the equator than most people assume.
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B. Sydney — Sydney is at roughly 33.9 degrees south and Cape Town at about 33.9 as well, but Sydney edges it slightly. Both are considerably closer to the equator than most people assume.
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3 Which is closer to the equator: Athens or Tokyo?
Tokyo is at about 35.7 degrees north, Athens at about 38. Tokyo is the more southerly of the two, despite Greece being firmly associated with a Mediterranean climate.
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B. Tokyo — Tokyo is at about 35.7 degrees north, Athens at about 38. Tokyo is the more southerly of the two, despite Greece being firmly associated with a Mediterranean climate.
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4 Which is further west: Edinburgh or Liverpool?
Liverpool sits around 3 degrees west, Edinburgh around 3.2 degrees west — so Edinburgh is actually marginally further west. This one is a genuine coin-flip for most people and worth checking on a map.
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B. Liverpool — Liverpool sits around 3 degrees west, Edinburgh around 3.2 degrees west — so Edinburgh is actually marginally further west. This one is a genuine coin-flip for most people and worth checking on a map.
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5 Which country is furthest east: Australia, Japan or New Zealand?
New Zealand extends furthest east of the three, sitting close to the International Date Line, which is why it is among the first inhabited places to see each new day.
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C. New Zealand — New Zealand extends furthest east of the three, sitting close to the International Date Line, which is why it is among the first inhabited places to see each new day.
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6 Which is larger in area: Africa or the combined area of China, the United States, India and most of Europe?
Africa is large enough to contain all of those with room to spare. Standard Mercator-style maps shrink equatorial regions dramatically relative to high latitudes, which is why this comparison surprises almost everyone.
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A. Africa — Africa is large enough to contain all of those with room to spare. Standard Mercator-style maps shrink equatorial regions dramatically relative to high latitudes, which is why this comparison surprises almost everyone.
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7 Which is further north: the southernmost point of mainland Australia, or the northernmost point of New Zealand's North Island?
The top of New Zealand's North Island reaches around 34 degrees south; the southern tip of mainland Australia at Wilsons Promontory is around 39 degrees south. New Zealand reaches further towards the equator than the bottom of Australia.
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B. Northern New Zealand — The top of New Zealand's North Island reaches around 34 degrees south; the southern tip of mainland Australia at Wilsons Promontory is around 39 degrees south. New Zealand reaches further towards the equator than the bottom of Australia.
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8 Travelling directly south from Detroit, which country do you reach first?
Detroit sits north of Windsor, Ontario, because of the way the Detroit River and the Canadian border bend. Heading due south from Detroit takes you into Canada.
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B. Canada — Detroit sits north of Windsor, Ontario, because of the way the Detroit River and the Canadian border bend. Heading due south from Detroit takes you into Canada.
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Where this came from
- Geographic coordinates and country data — CIA World Factbook
- Map projections and their distortions — United States Geological Survey
- Geographic reference — Encyclopaedia Britannica
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