National Monuments Quiz: 10 Questions That Test What You Know

This national monuments quiz visits the Statue of Liberty, Devils Tower, Muir Woods and other places protected by presidents under the Antiquities Act. Ten questions test what you know.

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🎯 Daily Trivia Challenge • 🧠 10 Questions • ⏱️ 150 Seconds

Question 1 / 10 Time: 150s

Law
Which 1906 law lets US presidents create national monuments?
Firsts
What was the first national monument, declared in 1906?
New York
The Statue of Liberty National Monument stands on which island?
Trees
Which national monument north of San Francisco protects old-growth coast redwoods?
South Dakota
Which memorial shows the faces of Washington, Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Lincoln?
Ocean
Which national monument in the Pacific is one of the largest protected marine areas in the world?
Ancient
Which national monument in New Mexico protects cliff dwellings built by Ancestral Puebloans?
Washington
The Washington Monument is shaped like what?
Change
Which national monument later became Grand Canyon National Park?
Alaska
Which Alaska national monument, created in 1978, protects a huge volcanic caldera?

Explanations: answer key for all 10 questions

Q1: Which 1906 law lets US presidents create national monuments?
Answer: The Antiquities Act
Theodore Roosevelt signed the Antiquities Act in 1906. It allows presidents to protect landmarks without waiting for Congress.
Q2: What was the first national monument, declared in 1906?
Answer: Devils Tower
Devils Tower in Wyoming is a tall rock tower that rises about 265 meters above the Belle Fourche River.
Q3: The Statue of Liberty National Monument stands on which island?
Answer: Liberty Island
Liberty Island was once called Bedloe's Island. The statue was dedicated in 1886 and became a national monument in 1924.
Q4: Which national monument north of San Francisco protects old-growth coast redwoods?
Answer: Muir Woods
Muir Woods was named after naturalist John Muir in 1908. Some of its redwoods are more than 1,000 years old.
Q5: Which memorial shows the faces of Washington, Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Lincoln?
Answer: Mount Rushmore
Sculptor Gutzon Borglum began Mount Rushmore in 1927. Each face is about 18 meters tall.
Q6: Which national monument in the Pacific is one of the largest protected marine areas in the world?
Answer: Papahānaumokuākea
Papahānaumokuākea protects the northwestern Hawaiian Islands and surrounding ocean, an area larger than all US national parks combined.
Q7: Which national monument in New Mexico protects cliff dwellings built by Ancestral Puebloans?
Answer: Bandelier
Bandelier contains homes carved into soft volcanic tuff. People lived there from about 1150 to 1550.
Q8: The Washington Monument is shaped like what?
Answer: An obelisk
At about 169 meters, the Washington Monument was the tallest structure in the world when finished in 1884.
Q9: Which national monument later became Grand Canyon National Park?
Answer: Grand Canyon National Monument
Theodore Roosevelt protected the Grand Canyon as a monument in 1908. Congress made it a national park in 1919.
Q10: Which Alaska national monument, created in 1978, protects a huge volcanic caldera?
Answer: Aniakchak
Aniakchak's caldera is about 10 kilometers wide. It is one of the least visited units of the National Park System.

National Monuments Quiz – How Monuments Are Protected

National monuments can be created by a president under the Antiquities Act or by Congress. They protect natural wonders such as Devils Tower and Muir Woods as well as historic sites, from ancient cliff dwellings to the Statue of Liberty.

More than 100 national monuments exist today. Some are managed by the National Park Service, while others belong to agencies such as the Bureau of Land Management or the Forest Service. Several famous parks, including the Grand Canyon, Zion and Acadia, began as monuments.

What This Quiz Teaches

Helpful for students of US history and visitors to national sites, this quiz explains what a monument is and why some became parks.

What the Antiquities Act allows
Which landmark was the first monument
Why the Statue of Liberty is a monument
Which parks started as monuments
How large marine monuments can be

Did You Know?

Devils Tower appeared in the 1977 film Close Encounters of the Third Kind.
Mount Rushmore was carved mostly with dynamite between 1927 and 1941.
The Statue of Liberty's torch was closed to visitors in 1916.
Joshua Tree, Death Valley and Saguaro were also national monuments first.
Some monuments protect fossils, such as Dinosaur National Monument.