Mountains Quiz: Everest, Kilimanjaro, Denali and the Andes
This mountains quiz climbs the world's great peaks, from Everest and the first ascent by Hillary and Tenzing to Kilimanjaro, Aconcagua, Denali, Mauna Kea, Chimborazo, the Andes and Turkey's Mount Ararat. Ten questions, 90 seconds, answers explained.
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π― Daily Trivia Challenge β’ π§ 10 Questions β’ β±οΈ 90 Seconds
Asia
Mount Everest stands on the border between Nepal and which country?
Africa
Which Tanzanian volcano is the tallest free-standing mountain on Earth?
Americas
What is the highest mountain in the Americas?
Records
Measured from its base on the ocean floor, which mountain is the tallest on Earth?
Records
Because Earth bulges at the equator, which peak's summit is the farthest point from Earth's center?
North America
What is the highest mountain in North America?
Ranges
Which is the longest mountain range on land?
Climbing
Who were the first climbers confirmed to reach the summit of Everest, in 1953?
Turkey
Which is the highest mountain in Turkey?
Climbing
What does the Seven Summits challenge involve?
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Scroll down to see the explanation for each question.
Explanations: answer key for all 10 questions
- Q1: Mount Everest stands on the border between Nepal and which country?
Answer: China
Everest sits on the border between Nepal and the Tibet region of China. Its official height of 8,848.86 meters was agreed by the two countries in 2020.
- Q2: Which Tanzanian volcano is the tallest free-standing mountain on Earth?
Answer: Kilimanjaro
Kilimanjaro in Tanzania rises to 5,895 meters and is the tallest free-standing mountain in the world. Its summit glaciers have been shrinking for decades.
- Q3: What is the highest mountain in the Americas?
Answer: Aconcagua
Aconcagua in Argentina reaches 6,961 meters, making it the highest mountain outside Asia. Climbers can reach the top without technical rock climbing.
- Q4: Measured from its base on the ocean floor, which mountain is the tallest on Earth?
Answer: Mauna Kea
Hawaii's Mauna Kea is about 10,200 meters tall from base to peak, though most of it is underwater. Only 4,207 meters rise above sea level.
- Q5: Because Earth bulges at the equator, which peak's summit is the farthest point from Earth's center?
Answer: Chimborazo
Chimborazo in Ecuador lies near the equator, so its summit is about 2 kilometers farther from Earth's center than Everest's, even though it is much lower above sea level.
- Q6: What is the highest mountain in North America?
Answer: Denali (Mount McKinley)
Denali in Alaska rises to 6,190 meters. Its name, a Koyukon word meaning the high one, became official in 2015; in 2025 the U.S. federal government restored the name Mount McKinley, while Alaska still uses Denali.
- Q7: Which is the longest mountain range on land?
Answer: Andes
The Andes run about 7,000 kilometers along the western side of South America through seven countries. The mid-ocean ridges under the sea are even longer.
- Q8: Who were the first climbers confirmed to reach the summit of Everest, in 1953?
Answer: Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay
Hillary, from New Zealand, and Tenzing, a Sherpa from Nepal, reached the top on May 29, 1953. Mallory and Irvine disappeared on Everest in 1924.
- Q9: Which is the highest mountain in Turkey?
Answer: Mount Ararat
Mount Ararat in eastern Turkey rises to 5,137 meters and is traditionally linked to the resting place of Noah's Ark. It is a dormant volcano with a permanent ice cap.
- Q10: What does the Seven Summits challenge involve?
Answer: Climbing the highest peak on each continent
The challenge includes Everest, Aconcagua, Denali, Kilimanjaro, Elbrus, Vinson and either Puncak Jaya or Mount Kosciuszko. American Dick Bass first completed a version of it in 1985.
Mountains Quiz β Climbing the World's Great Peaks
Mountains cover about a quarter of Earth's land and are home to around one in ten people. They shape weather, feed great rivers with snowmelt and shelter plants and animals found nowhere else. For climbers and hikers, they are a lifelong goal, and for everyone else they are some of the most beautiful sights on the planet.
Most high mountains form where tectonic plates collide. The Himalayas, home to Everest and all the world's peaks above 8,000 meters, are still rising as India pushes into Asia. The Andes formed as the Pacific seafloor slid under South America, and volcanoes such as Kilimanjaro, Mauna Kea and Ararat were built by eruptions.
How we measure mountains makes a big difference. Everest is the highest above sea level, Mauna Kea is the tallest from base to top and Chimborazo's summit is the farthest from Earth's center. Each record tells us something different about the shape of our planet.
Mountaineering has its own famous history, from Hillary and Tenzing's first ascent of Everest in 1953 to the Seven Summits challenge that now attracts climbers from around the world. At the same time, glaciers on peaks like Kilimanjaro are shrinking, a visible sign of a warming climate.
This quiz covers the world's most famous peaks, their records and their stories.
Mountains are also fragile places. Melting glaciers threaten water supplies for millions of people downstream, crowds on popular peaks leave behind waste, and rare animals such as snow leopards and mountain gorillas depend on protected mountain habitats to survive.
What This Quiz Teaches
This quiz suits hikers, geography fans and anyone who dreams of standing on a summit.
- Where Everest is and how high it is
- Which peaks are highest in Africa and the Americas
- Why Mauna Kea and Chimborazo also claim records
- Which mountain range is the longest on land
- Who first climbed Everest
- What the Seven Summits are
Quick Facts About Mountains
- K2, the second-highest mountain, is considered far more dangerous to climb than Everest.
- There are 14 peaks over 8,000 meters, all in Asia.
- Air at the top of Everest has about a third of the oxygen available at sea level.
- Mount Elbrus in Russia is often counted as Europe's highest peak.
- Olympus Mons on Mars is more than twice as tall as Everest.
- December 11 is International Mountain Day.
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