World Geography
🔒 Log in to trackContinents, superlatives, grasslands and tribes
🔒 Log in to trackContinents — superlatives
| Feature | Answer |
|---|---|
| Largest / smallest continent | Asia / Australia |
| Highest peak | Mount Everest, 8,848.86 m (Nepal–China, 2020 joint measurement) |
| Highest peak of Africa / S America / N America / Europe / Antarctica / Australia | Kilimanjaro / Aconcagua / Denali / Elbrus / Vinson Massif / Kosciuszko |
| Longest mountain range | Andes |
| Longest river | Nile (Africa) |
| Largest river by volume | Amazon (South America) |
| Largest hot desert | Sahara; largest desert overall is Antarctica |
| Driest place | Atacama (Chile) |
| Largest lake | Caspian Sea |
| Largest freshwater lake (area) | Lake Superior (USA–Canada) |
| Deepest (and oldest) lake | Lake Baikal (Russia) |
| Highest navigable lake | Lake Titicaca (Peru–Bolivia) |
| Lowest point on land | Dead Sea shore (Jordan–Israel) |
| Largest island | Greenland |
| Largest / smallest country | Russia / Vatican City |
Temperate grasslands and savannas
| Name | Region |
|---|---|
| Prairies | North America |
| Pampas | Argentina |
| Veld | South Africa |
| Steppes | Eurasia (Ukraine–Kazakhstan) |
| Downs | Australia |
| Canterbury | New Zealand |
| Llanos | Venezuela–Colombia (tropical) |
| Campos | Brazil (tropical) |
| Savanna | Africa (tropical) |
Tribes and their homelands
Masai — Kenya/Tanzania; Bedouin — Arabian and Saharan deserts; Inuit (Eskimo) — Arctic Canada, Greenland, Alaska; Pygmies — Congo basin; San (Bushmen) — Kalahari; Maori — New Zealand; Aborigines — Australia; Sami (Lapps) — northern Scandinavia; Ainu — Japan.
Seven continents, one size ladder
There are seven continents. By area, from largest to smallest: Asia, Africa, North America, South America, Antarctica, Europe, Australia. Asia holds about 30% of the world's land and most of its people; Australia is the smallest and flattest, and with no land borders it is a 'continental country'.
Superlatives the exam repeats
| Feature | Answer |
|---|---|
| Highest peak | Mount Everest 8,848.86 m (Nepal-China border; jointly re-measured in 2020) |
| Highest by continent | Kilimanjaro (Africa), Aconcagua (S. America), Denali (N. America), Elbrus (Europe), Vinson Massif (Antarctica), Kosciuszko (Australia) |
| Longest mountain range | The Andes (about 7,000 km) - longest in the world; the Himalaya-Karakoram has the highest peaks |
| Longest rivers | Nile (about 6,650 km) usually quoted as longest; Amazon carries the largest volume of water |
| Largest desert | Sahara (hot desert, North Africa); the coldest desert is Antarctica itself |
| Largest island | Greenland (the largest island - Australia, being a continent, does not count) |
| Largest lake | Caspian Sea (salt lake); largest freshwater lake by area - Lake Superior (N. America) |
| Deepest lake | Lake Baikal (Russia) - deepest freshwater lake |
| Highest waterfall | Angel Falls (Venezuela, about 979 m) |
| Lowest land point | Dead Sea shore (about 430 m below sea level) |
| Highest plateau | Tibet; the meeting of ranges at the Pamir Knot is the 'roof of the world' |
Continent by continent - the one-liners
- Asia: Everest; the Dead Sea depression; Baikal (deepest) and the Caspian (largest lake); the Yangtze; the Sundarbans, the world's largest delta; Mesopotamia (Tigris-Euphrates); the equator crosses its islands (Indonesia).
- Africa: the 'Dark Continent'; 54 countries, the most; the Sahara; the Nile (White and Blue Niles meet at Khartoum); Kilimanjaro; Lake Victoria; the Great Rift Valley; it straddles the equator.
- North America: Denali; the Rockies and Appalachians; the Mississippi-Missouri system; the five Great Lakes (Superior, Michigan - the only one wholly in the USA - Huron, Erie, Ontario) with Niagara Falls between Erie and Ontario; the Grand Canyon on the Colorado; Death Valley; Greenland, the largest island.
- South America: the Andes; Aconcagua; the Amazon and its rainforest, the world's largest; Angel Falls; the Atacama, driest non-polar desert; the Pampas; Lake Titicaca, the highest large navigable lake; La Paz, the world's highest capital city.
- Europe: Vatican City, the smallest country; the Alps; Elbrus; the Volga (longest) and the Danube (most countries crossed); Norwegian fjords; no true desert.
- Australia/Oceania: the Great Barrier Reef; Uluru (Ayers Rock) monolith; Mount Kosciuszko; the Murray-Darling rivers; kangaroo and emu; the Great Dividing Range.
- Antarctica: coldest, driest, windiest (-89.2 degrees C at Vostok); about 98% ice sheet; no permanent population - only research stations (India: Dakshin Gangotri, Maitri, Bharati); highest peak Vinson Massif; run under the Antarctic Treaty (1959).
Grasslands of the world - by name
| Type | Region | Name |
|---|---|---|
| Tropical | East Africa | Savanna |
| Tropical | Venezuela (Orinoco) | Llanos |
| Tropical | Brazil | Campos |
| Temperate | North America | Prairies (wheat basket) |
| Temperate | Russia-Central Asia | Steppes |
| Temperate | Argentina-Uruguay | Pampas (cattle, wheat) |
| Temperate | South Africa | Veld |
| Temperate | Australia | Downs |
| Temperate | New Zealand | Canterbury |
Peoples of the world - tribe by region
Pygmies - Congo rainforest; Bushmen (San) - Kalahari; Masai - Kenya-Tanzania savanna; Bedouins - Arabia; Tuaregs and Berbers - Sahara; Inuit (Eskimo) - Arctic Canada, Greenland, Alaska; Lapps (Sami) - northern Scandinavia; Kirghiz - Central Asian steppes; Aborigines - Australia; Red Indians (Amerindians) - the Americas; Fuegians - Tierra del Fuego; Ainus - Hokkaido, Japan; Gonds and Bhils - central India.
Question types you will see
Each type: how to recognise it, the method step by step, and one question to try.
World superlatives: mountains, rivers, deserts, lakes, falls
'Longest river', 'highest peak of each continent', 'largest island/lake', 'lowest point of land', 'highest waterfall'.
Peaks: Everest (Asia, 8,848.86 m), Kilimanjaro (Africa), Denali (N. America), Aconcagua (S. America), Elbrus (Europe), Vinson (Antarctica), Kosciuszko (Australia).
Rivers: Nile longest (about 6,650 km), Amazon largest by volume; Deserts: Sahara largest hot desert; Lakes: Caspian largest, Superior largest freshwater, Baikal deepest, Titicaca highest navigable.
Extremes: Angel Falls highest (979 m), Dead Sea lowest land (about 430 m below sea level), Greenland largest island, Andes longest mountains, Tibet highest plateau.
Which is the largest island in the world?
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Greenland - about 21.6 lakh sq km; Australia is larger but counted as a continent, not an island.
Continent ↔ one-line identity
'Which continent has no desert', 'most countries', 'longest river of each continent', 'fjords', continent lists.
Africa - 54 countries, the most; the Nile (longest river) and the Sahara; the Great Rift Valley; Blue and White Nile meet at Khartoum; Lake Victoria largest African lake.
Asia - largest continent; Lake Baikal (deepest), Caspian (largest lake), Yangtze (longest Asian river), Sundarbans; Mesopotamia ('cradle of civilisation').
Europe - no hot desert; fjords in Norway; Vatican smallest country; Volga longest river of Europe; Danube passes through the most countries (10+). Australia - smallest continent; Great Barrier Reef, Uluru, Murray-Darling. Antarctica - coldest (-89.2 C at Vostok), no permanent population, 98% under ice; Antarctic Treaty 1959.
Which continent has the largest number of independent countries?
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Africa - 54 countries. (Asia has about 48; Europe about 44.)
Grasslands by continent
'Prairies are in', 'Savanna is a grassland of', 'which grassland is in South America', match-the-column on temperate/tropical grasslands.
Tropical: Savanna (Africa), Llanos (Venezuela), Campos (Brazil), 'Downs' (Australia).
Temperate: Prairies (North America), Steppes (Eurasia/Russia), Pampas (Argentina - wheat, beef), Veld (South Africa), Downs (Australia), Canterbury (New Zealand).
Fix the four classic ones - Prairies, Pampas, Steppes, Veld - and the rest follow by elimination.
The temperate grasslands of South Africa are called:
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The Veld. (Prairies - North America, Steppes - Eurasia, Pampas - Argentina, Downs - Australia.)
Tribes and their native regions
'Bushmen live in', 'which tribe of the Congo forest', 'Masai are cattle herders of', match-the-column on tribes.
Africa: Pygmies - Congo basin; Bushmen - Kalahari; Masai - East Africa (Kenya-Tanzania); Bedouins - Arabia; Tuaregs/Berbers - Sahara.
Cold lands: Inuit (Eskimos) - Arctic Canada/Greenland/Alaska; Lapps - northern Scandinavia; Kirghiz - Central Asian steppes.
Others: Aborigines - Australia; Red Indians - North America; Fuegians - Tierra del Fuego; Ainus - Japan.
The Bushmen, famous hunters of the Kalahari desert, belong to which continent?
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Africa - the Kalahari lies in Botswana/Namibia. Pygmies are their Congo-basin counterparts.
Antarctica and the polar regions
'Antarctica is covered by', 'which country has research stations in Antarctica', 'Antarctic Treaty year', Arctic vs Antarctica.
Antarctica: about 98% under an ice sheet, average 2,000 m thick; coldest place Vostok, about -89.2 C; highest peak Vinson Massif; no permanent human population.
The Antarctic Treaty (1959, in force 1961) reserves the continent for peaceful scientific use; India runs the Dakshin Gangotri, Maitri and Bharati stations.
Arctic vs Antarctica: the Arctic is an ocean ringed by land (Inuit live there); Antarctica is land ringed by ocean.
The Antarctic Treaty, which keeps the continent for peaceful scientific activity, was signed in:
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1959 (in force 1961). India's Antarctic stations are Dakshin Gangotri, Maitri and Bharati.
Shortcuts that save time
Prairies (N America), Pampas (Argentina), Veld (S Africa), Steppes (Eurasia), Downs (Australia).
The temperate grasslands of South Africa are called?
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Veld.
Caspian largest (salt), Superior largest freshwater, Baikal deepest, Titicaca highest navigable, Dead Sea lowest.
Mistakes to avoid
Where most students lose marks on this subtopic.
Calling the Sahara the largest desert overall — Antarctica is; Sahara is the largest hot desert.
Saying the Amazon is the longest river — it carries the most water; the Nile is the longest.
Placing the Veld in South America — it is in South Africa.
Quick revision
Read this the night before the exam.
Size: Asia > Africa > N. America > S. America > Antarctica > Europe > Australia.
Everest 8,848.86 m (2020); Kilimanjaro-Africa, Aconcagua-SA, Denali-NA, Elbrus-Europe, Vinson-Antarctica.
Nile longest, Amazon biggest volume; Sahara largest hot desert; Greenland largest island.
Caspian largest lake, Superior largest freshwater, Baikal deepest; Angel Falls highest waterfall.
Grasslands: Prairies-Steppes-Pampas-Veld-Downs; tropical Savanna-Llanos-Campos.
Antarctica: coldest/driest/windiest, no permanent people; Indian stations Maitri and Bharati.
Practice: 20 questions
Sets of 10, mixed across the question types above. Every answer has a step-by-step explanation.
Topic test · 10 questions
Suggested time 3 min · wrong answers go to your mistake notebook automatically.