2010 Geography Monstrosity 2: Driving Directions to Iqaluit Round 4 Packet by Bobby Dorigo Jones, Chris “Frozen Shirt” Wolfe, Tanay Kothari, Phillip Yakushev, Nikhil Desai, and John Cherian

2010 Geography Monstrosity 2: Driving Directions to Iqaluit

Round 4

Packet by Bobby Dorigo Jones, Chris “Frozen Shirt” Wolfe, Tanay Kothari, Phillip Yakushev, Nikhil Desai, and John Cherian
Moderator's note: this set features 20-point superpowers (bold text before (*)) and 15-point powers (text before ► ). Some more difficult tossups are 15 (in extreme cases, 20) points all the way through. There are no minus-fives.
1. Its Granitic Group contains over 40 granite islands, including Silhouette Island, Aride Island, and the home of the coco-de-mer, Praslin Island. The rest of the islands that make up this island group’s Inner Group are Bird Island and Denis Island. James Mancham was overthrown in a coup in this nation that made socialist France Rene a single-party ruler. This chain’s most populous island, ► Mahe, is home to a capital city. For 10 points, name this group of islands once colonized by both France and Great Britain, located in the Indian Ocean northeast of Madagascar.
ANSWER: Seychelles
2. The cities of Dubasari and Ribnita lie on the longest river running through this polity. The Kozak Memorandum would have resulted in the absorbtion of this polity, whose creation was inspired by the example of nearby Gagauzia. A short war over this region saw attempts to cross the Lunga bridge foiled by soldiers trained by the 14^th Army. This polity claims the city that was the site of the kalabalik, even though that city, Bender, is located within the historic borders of (*) Bessarabia. It is currently led by President Igor Smirnov from its capital of Tiraspol. The ► Dniester River forms the western border of, for 10 points, what autonomous region of Moldova?
ANSWER: Transnistria
3. This geographic feature shares its name with Clark Gable’s first talkie, a movie in which he played ex-criminal Rance Brett. The Crystal Forest and Rainbow Forest are found in this desert, whose characteristic rocks erode easily due to the qualities of the (*) Chinle formation. The Church Rock uranium mill spill occurred in the Puerco River, which flows into this desert. Its western end is located near the city of ►Flagstaff, and this desert borders Petrified Forest National Park. For 10 points, identify this desert in Arizona named for its many colors.
ANSWER: Painted Desert
4. A novella by A. C. Greene recounts the ruin of this island. Notable clubs here include Space, Pacha, Privilege, Amnesia, and DC10. Its name may derive from a Phoenician god of music and dance, and under Arab rule, it developed close ties with Denia, a port on the nearby (*) Costa Blanca. A threatened species of Podarcis wall lizard lives on this largest island in a group called the Pitiusas, or Pine Islands, which were attacked during the Norwegian crusade. Hugh Grant's character in About a Boy claims that every man is an island, and he is bloody this one, home to a legendary “port” district that attracts shoppers from northern Europe. The larger neighbor of ►Formentera is, for 10 points, what third largest of the Balearics?

ANSWER: Ibiza

5. Clark, Gruber, and Company minted coins with an inaccurate depiction of this mountain on the reverse. Its namesake highway made the mountain famous in the movie Climb Dance, where the main character drove to the top. A popular trail leading to the top is the Barr Trail. The first man to climb it was the botanist to the Stephen Long expedition, Edwin James. The view from this mountain made of pink potassium-feldspar granite inspired (*) Katherine Lee Bates to write “America the Beautiful”. Its ► namesake tried to scale it, but got only as far as Mount Rosa before snow forced him to turn back and he was then imprisoned in Santa Fe. For 10 points, identify this Colorado mountain, whose summit is a National Historic Landmark named for explorer Zebulon.
ANSWER: Pikes Peak
6. Archaeological remains near this city include the stone obelisk found at Shengavit and a cuneiform inscription from King Argishti I of Urartu, who established a fortress on this site. The Dashnak party established a short-lived Democratic Republic in this city on the banks of the river that drains Lake Sevan, the (*) Hrazdan River. Districts in this city, such as Nork Marash, Malatya, and Arabkir, were named after the former homes of refugees who fled to this city from a 20th-century ► genocide. For 10 points, name this city northeast of the Ararat Plain, the capital of Armenia.
ANSWER: Yerevan
7. The crater lake of Yak Loum is found in the northeast of this country which is also the site of the Kirirom National Park. The controversial “khting vor,” or spiral-horned ox, may or may not be found in this country. A better-known ungulate from this nation is the endangered kouprey, or forest ox of this country. This country's highest point is a peak called Kravanh in the (*) Cardamon Mountains, and some of its larger cities are Kompong Cham and Battambang. A lake forming the southern border of this nation's Siem Riep province, ► Tonle Sap, is the largest freshwater lake in Southeast Asia. For 10 points, King Norodom Sihamoni rules what country bisected by the Mekong and home to Angkor Wat?
ANSWER: Cambodia
8. The Meren Glacier, which once existed on this mountain, has vanished due to global warming. Current glacial fields on its summit include the Northwall Firn and the Wollaston Glacier. Although the Grasberg open-pit copper mine operates just below this peak, those wishing to scale it have to trek from a base camp at Timika. It was first climbed by Heinrich Harrer, the man depicted in Seven Years in Tibet. Its usual English name derives from the captain of the Pera, who was ridiculed for being the first to report its glaciers, but it was later renamed after Sukarno and then as “glorious mountain.” For 20 points, what summit 1200 feet taller than Mount Wilhelm is the highest peak on the island of New Guinea?
ANSWER: Carstenz Pyramid (or Puncak Jaya)
9. This island's coat of arms is a ram carrying a yellow and red banner. A ship named for this island was the first submarine to use air-independent propulsion. This island's site of Ajvide was a camp for Mesolithic people who hunted harp seals until they were driven out by early farmers of the Pitted Ware culture. Valdemar Atterdag suppressed a peasant rebellion on this island which ended with a battle at (*) Visby, this island's Hanseatic trading port. Occupied by the Teutonic Knights until the late 1400s, this island was then sold to Eric of Pomerania. It was given to its current owner in the Treaty of Bromsebro. For 15 points, what Swedish island is the largest in the Baltic?
ANSWER: Gotland
10. Massif Decou Decou, Mount Saint-Marcel, and Mount Itoupe are smaller mountains in this polity. Most of this polity’s borders are formed by rivers, including the Oyapock, Lawa, and Maroni rivers. Its largest body of water is formed by a hydroelectric dam and is named Barrage de Petit Saut. In the 19^th century, it fought with (*) Brazil over Counani, a small short-lived independent state, and in the 1970s this nation was home to refugees from Laos, prompted by the ► French government. The prison where Alfred Dreyfus was held, Devil's Island, is just offshore of this polity. For 10 points, Cayenne is the capital of what French overseas department?
ANSWER: French Guiana
11. An Egyptian statue of Queen Arsinoe is among the highlights of an I.M. Pei-constructed building located beside this body of water. Its southern basin is the location of the Awazu Shell Mound, while the city of Otsu, which lies on its shores, was the site of an attempt to assassinate Tsar Nicholas II. The freshwater (*) pearl mussel is among the species that only exist in this body of water that suffers from severe eutrophication. This source of the Seta River sits near the Miho Museum in Shiga Prefecture. For 15 points, name this largest lake in Japan.
ANSWER: Lake Biwa (or Pipa or Omi)
12. An earthquake in 363 AD destroyed its Colonnaded Street that was discovered by Walter Bachmann, and the Qasr al-Bint is located here. An important artifact associated with it is a rotated zodiac discovered at the Khirbet et-Tannur temple. This site that was once named for Hadrian is accessible through a passage called the (*) Siq that runs through the Valley of Moses. The central building in this city that was also called Rekem is the treasury of Al-Khazneh. John William Burgon won the Newdigate Prize for describing this city in a sonnet whose last line calls it “a ► rose-red city half as old as time.” Swiss explorer Johann Burckhardt discovered, for 10 points, what center of the Nabataean civilization in modern-day Jordan?
ANSWER: Petra
13. The northern third of this country is known as the “Oesling,” and it is dominated by hills and low mountains, especially Kneiff Mountain near Wilwerdange, its highest point. The southern two-thirds is known as “Gutland,” contains cities like Esch-sur-Alzette and Dudelange. An abbey founded by St. Willibrord, Echternach, is located in this nation, as is the city of Vianden, which was attacked by the 5^th Parachute Division during the Battle of the (*) Bulge. This nation's capital served as the headquarters of Patton's Third Army, which defeated the German attack over the Sauer, Our, and ► Moselle Rivers that form its eastern borders. For 10 points, name this nation in the Ardennes Forest between Germany, Belgium, and France.
ANSWER: Luxembourg
14. This island is home to Isulukati Waterfall, which flows into the Crayfish River, and its sole World Heritage Site, Morne Trois Pitons National Park, contains Boiling Lake and Emerald Pool. A road connecting its towns of Vielle Case and Marigo provides access to its Melville Hall airport, which lies near the Morne Diablotina. Its northernmost point, sometimes named for the Jaco (*) parrot, borders its namesake passage separating it from Marie-Galante Island, and its national bird, the Sisserou, is displayed on its flag. Formerly named Waitikubuli, it had its capital at Portsmouth until a 1760 malaria outbreak moved it to the current location. It elected the first female Prime Minister in the ► Caribbean, Dame Eugenia Charles, and it is currently led by Nicholas Liverpool from a city that is the birthplace of author Jean Rhys. For 10 points, name this northernmost of the Windward Islands, a nation in the Lesser Antilles that has its capital at Roseau.


ANSWER: Dominica
15. This state is home to both Ashtamudi Lake and Sasthamkotta Lake, which sit near its city of Karnagappalli. The Pamba River flows through this state’s Travancore region, which includes an ancient trade center now called Kollam. Its largest seaport is home to the International Pepper Exchange, the only such market in the world, while its capital city was referred to by (*) Mahatma Gandhi as the “evergreen city”, and is home to a space station named after the father of India’s space program. The traditional dance style known as kathakali originated in this state which contains the aforementioned cities of Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram. This state borders Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. For 15 points, name this Malayalam-speaking state in South India, the setting of Arundhati Roy’s The God of Small Things.
ANSWER: Kerala
16. Tributaries of this lake include the Poplar and the Bloodvein Rivers. In 1690, Henry Kelsey became the first European to sight it, and he adopted the Cree language name for the lake meaning “muddy waters.” Settlements on the banks of this lake include Victoria Beach, Lester Beach, and Gimli, the latter of which was founded by Icelandic settlers in the New Iceland area around this lake. The current lake is actually a remnant of the prehistoric Lake (*) Agassiz. The Dauphin River drains much of the water of this lake, and a namesake river drains Rainy Lake and the Lake of the Woods. The ►Red River Colony would use the current name of this lake for their most important city. For 10 points, name this neighbor of Lake Manitoba, which shares its name with that province's capital.
ANSWER: Lake Winnipeg
17. A namesake palace located here was renovated by Joseph-Eugène Lacroix and was the setting of an orangutan escape. The Hôtel de Crillon is located here, and it served as the setting of the 1855 Universal Exposition. To its east is a locale once named the Place (*) Louis XV, while at its west is the Place Charles de Gaulle. However, it is more popular today for the collection of luxury showrooms that stretch from the ► Tuilieres Palace on one side to the Arc de Triomphe on the other. For 10 points, name this historic Parisian street, the terminus of the final stage of the Tour de France.
ANSWER: Champs-Élysées
18. This polity disputes the Sool district with its western neighbor; the failure of deyr rains to arrive in late September may cause renewed fighting from food shortages here. Its state of Maakhir was supposedly out of this polity before Abdullahi Jama moved it back into this polity. Under the (*) Farole Administration, the first “100 Days in Office” promoted transparency in its government, which controls cities like Galcaio and Garowe, but Sharif Ahmed is working to keep it in his country. Its name derives from a land that was a source of ebony and incense, at least according to some reliefs at Deir-el-Bahri that record Hatshepsut's trading voyages to the southeast. For 15 points, name this breakaway region of northeastern Somalia.
ANSWER: Puntland (accept land of Punt)
19. The river named for this city flows into the Nechi River and contains the Porce III Dam. Its Berrío Square is home to the Church of Our Lady of Candelaria of Aná as well as a Franciscan college that is now the University of (*) Antioquia, one of the largest in its country and the namesake of this city’s region. Its economic growth was first a result of a burgeoning textile industry led by Coltejer but was later a result of this city’s control by a group that murdered Luis Carlos Galán and was led by ► Pablo Escobar. That group, this city’s namesake cartel, led to its label as the world’s most dangerous city for much of the late 1900s. For 10 points, name this second most-populous city in Colombia.
ANSWER: Medellín
20. Traditional stories about this mountain state that a large king named Gayo Nakan lives at its base. A giant earthworm named for it lives around nearby Paka Cave. Laban Rata is the most prominent stopping point for hikers attempting to scale this mountain, which begins at Timophon Gate. The Kadazandusun culture reveres this peak for its importance to their mythology, and its name means “the revered place of the dead”. Its highest part is ironically named Low’s Peak after the first man to scale it. This mountain is a major site of hill farming, and its products are sold in nearby Kundasang city. This peak is located in (*) Sabah state in a namesake national park. For 15 points, name this mountain located in the Malaysian half of Borneo, the tallest mountain on that island.
ANSWER: Mount Kinabalu
TB. The Chemainus River runs through the southern section of this island, while its northern section is home to Sproat Lake. Its Comox Valley contains Courtenay, one of its largest cities, while a city often dubbed the “Salmon Capital of the World”, Port (*) Alberni, lies near Mount Arrowsmith. Its highest point, The Golden Hinde, sits in Strathcona Provincial Park, originally home to the Nuu-chah-nulth First ► Nation. Its largest city became a home for prospectors during the Cariboo Gold Rush and is now the capital of its nation’s westernmost province. The Strait of Georgia separates mainland British Columbia from, for 10 points, what island, the site of Victoria?
ANSWER: Vancouver Island