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Where Knowledge Junkies Get Their Fix
The United States is indeed a land o’ lakes. Expect a moderate score on today’s quiz, as it may prove difficult for all but the most seasoned geography buffs. Your goal? Name as many of the 20 largest U.S. lakes as you can in seven minutes. Natural, artificial, saltwater, freshwater, doesn’t matter. We’re just looking for the ones that cover the most area.
Take the Quiz: Land o’ Lakes
Comments (7)
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After the great lakes and great salt, I was totally lost.
posted by Zach on 7-21-2009 at 11:45 am
Lake Pontchartrain is spelled wrong in the quiz.
posted by Steve on 7-21-2009 at 12:11 pm
You’re right, Steve, my bad. The quiz was bumped up a day so I didn’t do my usual double-check of the spelling. Thanks for the heads up!
And Zach, I have a feeling a lot of folks will feel the same way. I may have guessed at a few of them, but that’s part of why I wrote the quiz — I was disappointed that, after seeing the list, I knew so few of them. I’d heard of most of the names, but other more famous lakes that I thought would be on the list actually weren’t.
posted by Sandy Wood on 7-21-2009 at 12:45 pm
I guess I discounted Lake of the Woods, as most of it resides outside the US. The Great Lakes would still have considerable surface area inside the US, but I thought the US portion of Lake of the Woods would be way down the list.
also, I was always under the impression Red Lake was 2 lakes, Upper Red and Lower Red, that are connected, cuz that’s how they’re always referred to on a map. I’ve never seen a “Red Lake” on a MN map. (I tried Upper Red and Lower Red)
still, got 9 right plus Pontchartrain and my Red Lake snafu woulda been 11.
posted by Jonny on 7-21-2009 at 12:52 pm
Shouldn’t Lake Mead be on the list?
This one was tough, I got 7, 8 if Lake Mead should’ve been there, and I never even heard of a few of the others.
posted by Wayne on 7-21-2009 at 1:12 pm
Mind you, Land o’ Lakes name doesn’t refer to the United States, but to a specific part of it — Minnesota, which carries the nickname “Land of 10,000 Lakes”. Indeed, four of the lakes on the list are at least partly in Minnesota.
I got 12 out of 20. Of the remainders, I kicked myself for St Clair. I knew it was on the list, and I was picturing its shape on a map, but just couldn’t for the life of me come up with its *name*.
Jonny — Red Lake is indeed considered one lake, but has two major sections, which are usually designated “upper” and “lower” on maps.
posted by Calli Arcale on 7-21-2009 at 2:09 pm
I got nine (though I had to look up how to spell Pontchartrain) and gave up to find that I had never heard of the other eleven.
posted by Miss Cellania on 7-21-2009 at 8:09 pm