Q 01/05

Which ancient city in Jordan did the Nabataeans carve into rose-coloured sandstone cliffs?

A) Palmyra

B) Petra

C) Persepolis

D) Babylon

Answer · why

B) Petra

Petra's Treasury, Al-Khazneh, played the entrance to the Holy Grail's resting place in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.

Q 02/05

What is the highest mountain on Earth above sea level?

A) K2

B) Kangchenjunga

C) Everest

D) Lhotse

Answer · why

C) Everest

Everest's most recent survey, in 2020, put it at 8,848.86 metres; it is called Sagarmatha in Nepal and Qomolangma in Tibet.

Q 03/05

Peak XV now bears the surname of Sir George, a Briton who had held which post?

A) Surveyor General

B) Viceroy

C) Governor of Bengal

D) Royal Society President

Answer · why

A) Surveyor General

Sir George, a former Surveyor General of India, opposed the honour, saying his name could not be written in Hindi or pronounced by Indians.

Q 04/05

Which beekeeper first topped the world's highest peak alongside Tenzing Norgay?

A) George Mallory

B) Edmund Hillary

C) Reinhold Messner

D) Chris Bonington

Answer · why

B) Edmund Hillary

Edmund Hillary and Tenzing summited on 29 May 1953, and the news broke in London on the morning of Queen Elizabeth II's coronation.

Q 05/05

Which lake is the deepest in the world, holding around 22-23% of Earth's fresh surface water?

A) Caspian Sea

B) Lake Baikal

C) Lake Tanganyika

D) Lake Superior

Answer · why

B) Lake Baikal

Lake Baikal is a rift lake in southern Siberia, slightly larger than Belgium and 1,642 metres deep at most.