Q 01/05

How many states make up New England?

A) Four

B) Five

C) Six

D) Seven

Answer · why

C) Six

Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont; New York is not one of them, whatever New Yorkers say.

Q 02/05

Which English explorer coined the name 'New England' in 1616?

A) Walter Raleigh

B) Francis Drake

C) Henry Hudson

D) John Smith

Answer · why

D) John Smith

The name was made official in 1620 with the royal charter for the Plymouth Council for New England.

Q 03/05

Greater Boston holds roughly what share of New England's entire population?

A) About a tenth

B) About a quarter

C) More than half

D) Nearly all of it

Answer · why

C) More than half

Worcester, Massachusetts is the region's second-largest city.

Q 04/05

The Connecticut River, New England's longest, empties into which body of water?

A) Narragansett Bay

B) The Gulf of Maine

C) Cape Cod Bay

D) Long Island Sound

Answer · why

D) Long Island Sound

It rises in northeastern New Hampshire and roughly bisects the region from north to south.

Q 05/05

Which is the largest body of fresh water in New England?

A) Moosehead

B) Winnipesaukee

C) Champlain

D) Sebago

Answer · why

C) Champlain

It forms part of the Vermont-New York border; Moosehead and Winnipesaukee come next.