National Geographic Bee
Encyclopedia
Geography
Geography is the science that studies the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth. A literal translation would be "to describe or write about the Earth". The first person to use the word "geography" was Eratosthenes...
contest sponsored by the National Geographic Society
National Geographic Society
The National Geographic Society , headquartered in Washington, D.C. in the United States, is one of the largest non-profit scientific and educational institutions in the world. Its interests include geography, archaeology and natural science, the promotion of environmental and historical...
. The bee
Bee (gathering)
A bee, as used in quilting bee, working bee or spelling bee, is an expression used together with another word to describe a gathering of peers to accomplish a task or to hold a competition. Especially in the past, the tasks were often major jobs, such as clearing a field of timber or raising a...
, held every year since 1989, is open to students in the fourth through eighth grade in participating American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
schools.
The entities represented at the national level are all fifty U.S. state
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
s, Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
, the U.S. Virgin Islands, U.S. territories in the Pacific (Northern Mariana Islands
Northern Mariana Islands
The Northern Mariana Islands, officially the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands , is a commonwealth in political union with the United States, occupying a strategic region of the western Pacific Ocean. It consists of 15 islands about three-quarters of the way from Hawaii to the Philippines...
, Guam
Guam
Guam is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States located in the western Pacific Ocean. It is one of five U.S. territories with an established civilian government. Guam is listed as one of 16 Non-Self-Governing Territories by the Special Committee on Decolonization of the United...
, and American Samoa
American Samoa
American Samoa is an unincorporated territory of the United States located in the South Pacific Ocean, southeast of the sovereign state of Samoa...
), the District of Columbia and the Department of Defense Dependents Schools
Department of Defense Dependents Schools
The Department of Defense Dependents Schools are a network of schools, both primary and secondary, that serve dependents of United States military - and other non-US - personnel outside the United States. The schools themselves are operated by the Department of Defense Education Activity...
.
The National Geographic Bee Finals is hosted by Jeopardy!
Jeopardy!
Griffin's first conception of the game used a board comprising ten categories with ten clues each, but after finding that this board could not be shown on camera easily, he reduced it to two rounds of thirty clues each, with five clues in each of six categories...
host Alex Trebek
Alex Trebek
George Alexander "Alex" Trebek is a Canadian American game show host who has been the host of the game show Jeopardy! since 1984, and prior to that, he hosted game shows such as Pitfall and High Rollers. He has appeared in numerous television series, usually as himself...
. The 2011 bee was held May 24–25, 2011, with the finals being held at Grosvenor Auditorium at the National Geographic Society in Washington D.C.
The reigning titleholder is Tine Valencic of Texas.
School competitions
The competition begins at the schoolSchool
A school is an institution designed for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is commonly compulsory. In these systems, students progress through a series of schools...
level, usually in November, December, or January. This competition requires at least 6 people entered into the competition, whether it be a homeschooled, private, or public school bee. Any number of competitors may enter these competitions; normally an overall total of five to six million enter each year. There are two major stages in these competitions: preliminary and final. The preliminary competition is further split into two parts: preliminary rounds and a semi-final or tiebreaker
Tiebreaker
In games and sports, a tiebreaker or tiebreak is used to determine a winner from among players or teams that are tied at the end of a contest, or a set of contests.-In matches:In some situations, the tiebreaker may consist of another round of play...
round, which is used only in the event of a tie at the end of the preliminary rounds.
In the preliminary rounds, the competitors are split into groups of up to twenty, and each contestant is asked one question from each of seven varying categories. Categories in the past have included cultural geography, economic geography, across-the-country, around-the-world, plant
Plant
Plants are living organisms belonging to the kingdom Plantae. Precise definitions of the kingdom vary, but as the term is used here, plants include familiar organisms such as trees, flowers, herbs, bushes, grasses, vines, ferns, mosses, and green algae. The group is also called green plants or...
s and animal
Animal
Animals are a major group of multicellular, eukaryotic organisms of the kingdom Animalia or Metazoa. Their body plan eventually becomes fixed as they develop, although some undergo a process of metamorphosis later on in their life. Most animals are motile, meaning they can move spontaneously and...
s, and geographic comparisons. For each question answered correctly, the contestant is awarded one point. At the end of the seven rounds, the players with the top ten scores advance to the finals. A player may ask for a repeat or a spelling
Spelling
Spelling is the writing of one or more words with letters and diacritics. In addition, the term often, but not always, means an accepted standard spelling or the process of naming the letters...
during these rounds, but only twice during the whole bee. A player cannot ask for a spelling or repeat in the semi-final round.
Quite often there is a tie, in which case a semi-final tiebreaker round is need. For example, if six players finished the preliminary rounds with seven points and fifteen finished with six points, the six who finished with seven points automatically advance to the final competition. The fifteen with six points move into the semi-final round where the top four are determined to fill the remainder of the seats in the finals. This is done by asking every player the same question at the same time and giving each player twelve seconds to write down the answer. Each question is automatically repeated twice. Everyone reveals their answer at the end of the twelve seconds and players are eliminated on a single-elimination basis. If, using the above example of four open seats in the finals, there is a question where eight players are left in the semi-final round and three players get the question right, those three advance to the finals. The other five who got the question wrong will continue with the single-elimination procedure to determine which competitor will take the last open seat in the finals.
The final competition consists of two parts: the final round and the championship round. Each of the ten finalists starts with a clean slate. A player is eliminated after two misses and this continues until the number of contestants drops from ten to two and a third place finisher is determined. A player is not officially eliminated until the end of a series of questions, since if all but one competitor makes their second miss in that round, that player stays in the competition. Again, a player may ask for a spelling or repeat on any question, but only once per question. Early in the round, questions may either require oral answers only or written answers from all the competitors at one time. Quite often, many of the earlier questions in this round contain visuals as part of the question, such as map
Map
A map is a visual representation of an area—a symbolic depiction highlighting relationships between elements of that space such as objects, regions, and themes....
s or pictures. At the national level, they may also include items such as flag
Flag
A flag is a piece of fabric with a distinctive design that is usually rectangular and used as a symbol, as a signaling device, or decoration. The term flag is also used to refer to the graphic design employed by a flag, or to its depiction in another medium.The first flags were used to assist...
s, musical instrument
Musical instrument
A musical instrument is a device created or adapted for the purpose of making musical sounds. In principle, any object that produces sound can serve as a musical instrument—it is through purpose that the object becomes a musical instrument. The history of musical instruments dates back to the...
s, hat
Hat
A hat is a head covering. It can be worn for protection against the elements, for ceremonial or religious reasons, for safety, or as a fashion accessory. In the past, hats were an indicator of social status...
s, and even live animals. After a certain point, all the questions require individual oral answers only.
If there is a tie for the championship round or third place as mentioned above, a single-elimination, written tiebreaker procedure is used. For example, if there are four players left and three make their second miss in one round, the fourth advances to the championship round and the other three enter the tiebreaker. The moderator will ask each of the three players to answer the same question at the same time on a piece of paper, asking the question twice (players may not ask for a spelling or repeat here). If one of those three answers correctly, he or she will take the other seat in the championship round and the other two will continue in the tiebreaker until a third place winner is determined.
In the championship round, both players start with a clean slate again. The moderator asks both contestants the same question at the same time, repeated twice, and both players have fifteen seconds to write their answer. Both players then show their answers and each player who wrote a correct answer receives one point. There are three questions in the championship round. The player with the most points at the end is the champion. If both players are tied at the end, the competition enters the a tiebreaker round. The rules are the same as for the championship round, except that the first player to get a question right that his opponent misses is the champion.
Qualifying Test
The Qualifying Test is the only part of the bee that is completely written. Every winner from each school takes this test to see if he or she can qualify for the state bee.
State and national competitions
The winner of each school-level competition takes a written test, and the top one-hundred in each state or territory qualify for the state bee. The rules at the state level are same as that at the school level, except the preliminary rounds are eight in number instead of seven, and in the preliminary rounds each player is limited to two repeats or spelling for all eight rounds. Players are also limited to two repeats or spellings in the final round, if they qualify. All the state bees are held on the same date, at the same time (in early April) at all locations. State bees originally occurred for the fifty states, five U.S. territories (Guam, Puerto Rico, US Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Northern Mariana Islands), Washington D.C., and the Department of Defense Dependent Schools (DoDDS). The third place finisher from each state receives $50, the second place finisher $75, and the winner $100. The 54 state champions receive an all-expense paid trip to Washington D.C. for the national competition. In 1999 the state competitions for Guam, American Samoa, and Northern Mariana Islands were merged into one state competition known as the Pacific Territories, and since then there have only been 54 state competitions, instead of 57.The rules at the national level are the same as those at the state, except the preliminary rounds are nine in number instead of eight. The championship round may also consist of five questions instead of three. The competition is held over two days, with the preliminary rounds on the first day and the final rounds on the second. The national finals are held in late May at National Geographic Society
National Geographic Society
The National Geographic Society , headquartered in Washington, D.C. in the United States, is one of the largest non-profit scientific and educational institutions in the world. Its interests include geography, archaeology and natural science, the promotion of environmental and historical...
headquarters in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
and hosted by Alex Trebek
Alex Trebek
George Alexander "Alex" Trebek is a Canadian American game show host who has been the host of the game show Jeopardy! since 1984, and prior to that, he hosted game shows such as Pitfall and High Rollers. He has appeared in numerous television series, usually as himself...
. The ten finalists are guaranteed $500. The third-place finisher at the national level receives a $10,000 college scholarship, the second-place finisher receives a $15,000 college scholarship, and the national champion receives a $25,000 college scholarship, as well as a lifetime membership in the National Geographic Society
National Geographic Society
The National Geographic Society , headquartered in Washington, D.C. in the United States, is one of the largest non-profit scientific and educational institutions in the world. Its interests include geography, archaeology and natural science, the promotion of environmental and historical...
. For the 2009 national bee, the national champion also won a trip for two to the Galapagos Islands
Galápagos Islands
The Galápagos Islands are an archipelago of volcanic islands distributed around the equator in the Pacific Ocean, west of continental Ecuador, of which they are a part.The Galápagos Islands and its surrounding waters form an Ecuadorian province, a national park, and a...
with Alex Trebek
Alex Trebek
George Alexander "Alex" Trebek is a Canadian American game show host who has been the host of the game show Jeopardy! since 1984, and prior to that, he hosted game shows such as Pitfall and High Rollers. He has appeared in numerous television series, usually as himself...
and the Jeopardy!
Jeopardy!
Griffin's first conception of the game used a board comprising ten categories with ten clues each, but after finding that this board could not be shown on camera easily, he reduced it to two rounds of thirty clues each, with five clues in each of six categories...
Clue Crew.
International competition
There is an international competitionNational Geographic World Championship
The National Geographic World Championship is a biennial, two-day long international geography competition typically held in late July or early August. The Championship was first held in 1993, and is sponsored by the National Geographic Society...
, which is also moderated by Alex Trebek
Alex Trebek
George Alexander "Alex" Trebek is a Canadian American game show host who has been the host of the game show Jeopardy! since 1984, and prior to that, he hosted game shows such as Pitfall and High Rollers. He has appeared in numerous television series, usually as himself...
, but it is run differently. The top finishers from each country's national competition form a team representing their country and participate in an Olympics-style event which includes a team written competition and a team oral competition. The 2011 competition was held at the headquarters of Google
Google
Google Inc. is an American multinational public corporation invested in Internet search, cloud computing, and advertising technologies. Google hosts and develops a number of Internet-based services and products, and generates profit primarily from advertising through its AdWords program...
in the San Francisco
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
area.
Champions
Of the twenty-three National Geographic Bee champions, twenty-one are male and two are female. Five are from the state of Washington, four are from the state of MichiganMichigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
, two are from Kansas
Kansas
Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...
, two are from Texas, and various other states have been home to one champion each. The winner of the 2007 finals received a $25,000 scholarship, the second-place finisher received $15,000, and the third-place finisher received $10,000. Other top ten finishers received $500. Champions and other top finishers are invited to apply to the three-member U.S. team sent to the biannual National Geographic World Championship
National Geographic World Championship
The National Geographic World Championship is a biennial, two-day long international geography competition typically held in late July or early August. The Championship was first held in 1993, and is sponsored by the National Geographic Society...
.
| Year | Winner's Name | State | Grade | Final Question | Answer | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1989 | Jack Staddon |  Kansas |
Eighth | Name the flat intermontane area located at an elevation of about 10,000 feet (3,050 m) in the central Andes Andes The Andes is the world's longest continental mountain range. It is a continual range of highlands along the western coast of South America. This range is about long, about to wide , and of an average height of about .Along its length, the Andes is split into several ranges, which are separated... . |
Altiplano Altiplano The Altiplano , in west-central South America, where the Andes are at their widest, is the most extensive area of high plateau on Earth outside of Tibet... |
First Champion |
| 1990 | Susannah Batko-Yovino |  Pennsylvania |
Sixth | Mount Erebus Mount Erebus Mount Erebus in Antarctica is the southernmost historically active volcano on Earth, the second highest volcano in Antarctica , and the 6th highest ultra mountain on an island. With a summit elevation of , it is located on Ross Island, which is also home to three inactive volcanoes, notably Mount... is a volcano on which continent? |
Antarctica | First female champion |
| 1991 | David Stillman |  Idaho |
Eighth | What type of landform is commonly associated with orographic precipitation? | Mountain Mountain Image:Himalaya_annotated.jpg|thumb|right|The Himalayan mountain range with Mount Everestrect 58 14 160 49 Chomo Lonzorect 200 28 335 52 Makalurect 378 24 566 45 Mount Everestrect 188 581 920 656 Tibetan Plateaurect 250 406 340 427 Rong River... |
Had a perfect score in the finals |
| 1992 | Lawson Fite |  Washington |
Eighth | Many coastal countries have established so-called EEZs—areas extending 200 nautical miles (370 km) from shore over which countries have sovereign rights for resource exploration. What do the initials EEZ stand for? | Exclusive Economic Zone Exclusive Economic Zone Under the law of the sea, an exclusive economic zone is a seazone over which a state has special rights over the exploration and use of marine resources, including production of energy from water and wind. It stretches from the seaward edge of the state's territorial sea out to 200 nautical... |
|
| 1993 | Noel Erinjeri |  Michigan |
Eighth | Tagalog Tagalog language Tagalog is an Austronesian language spoken as a first language by a third of the population of the Philippines and as a second language by most of the rest. It is the first language of the Philippine region IV and of Metro Manila... is one of the three main native languages of which island country in Asia? |
The Philippines Philippines The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam... |
Was in the finals in 1992 |
| 1994 | Anders Knospe |  Montana |
Eighth | The Tagus River roughly divides which European country into two agricultural regions? | Portugal Portugal Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the... |
|
| 1995 | Chris Galeczka | Michigan |
Eighth | Pashtu and Dari Dari (Eastern Persian) Dari or Fārsī-ye Darī in historical terms refers to the Persian court language of the Sassanids. In contemporary usage, the term refers to the dialects of modern Persian language spoken in Afghanistan, and hence known as Afghan Persian in some Western sources. It is the term officially recognized... are the official languages of which mountainous, landlocked country in southwestern Asia? |
Afghanistan Afghanistan Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world... |
Was in the finals in 1994 |
| 1996 | Seyi Fayanju |  New Jersey |
Seventh | Name the European co-principality whose heads of state are the President of France and the Bishop of Urgel. | Andorra Andorra Andorra , officially the Principality of Andorra , also called the Principality of the Valleys of Andorra, , is a small landlocked country in southwestern Europe, located in the eastern Pyrenees mountains and bordered by Spain and France. It is the sixth smallest nation in Europe having an area of... |
Had a perfect score in the finals; presented an object in the 1994 finals, when he was the New Jersey state champion |
| 1997 | Alex Kerchner | Washington |
Seventh | Asia Asia Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population... 's most densely populated country has about three million people and an area of less than 250 square miles (402 km²). Name this country. |
Singapore Singapore Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the... |
Was in the finals in 1996 |
| 1998 | Petko Peev | Michigan |
Eighth | More than 80 million people live in the European Union European Union The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958... 's most populous member country. Name this country. |
Germany Germany Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate... |
|
| 1999 | David Beihl |  South Carolina |
Eighth (homeschooled Homeschooling Homeschooling or homeschool is the education of children at home, typically by parents but sometimes by tutors, rather than in other formal settings of public or private school... ) |
The condition characterized by unusually cold ocean temperature in the equatorial region of the eastern Pacific Ocean Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World... is known by what Spanish name? |
La Niña La Niña La Niña is a coupled ocean-atmosphere phenomenon that is the counterpart of El Niño as part of the broader El Niño-Southern Oscillation climate pattern. During a period of La Niña, the sea surface temperature across the equatorial Eastern Central Pacific Ocean will be lower than normal by 3–5 °C... |
First Home-schooled Champion |
| 2000 | Felix Peng |  Connecticut |
Eighth | Name two of the three largest sections of Denmark Denmark Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark... , which include its mainland peninsula and two largest islands |
Jutland Jutland Jutland , historically also called Cimbria, is the name of the peninsula that juts out in Northern Europe toward the rest of Scandinavia, forming the mainland part of Denmark. It has the North Sea to its west, Kattegat and Skagerrak to its north, the Baltic Sea to its east, and the Danish–German... , Sjaelland and Fyn FYN Proto-oncogene tyrosine-protein kinase Fyn is an enzyme that in humans is encoded by the FYN gene.This gene is a member of the protein-tyrosine kinase oncogene family. It encodes a membrane-associated tyrosine kinase that has been implicated in the control of cell growth... |
|
| 2001 | Kyle Haddad-Fonda | Washington |
Eighth | Below the equilibrium line of glaciers there is a region of melting, evaporation, and sublimation. Name this zone. | Zone of ablation | Rhodes Scholar, Harvard graduate; Was in the finals in 1999 |
| 2002 | Calvin McCarter | Michigan |
Fifth (homeschooled Homeschooling Homeschooling or homeschool is the education of children at home, typically by parents but sometimes by tutors, rather than in other formal settings of public or private school... ) |
Lop Nur Lop Nur Lop Lake or Lop Nur is a group of small, now seasonal salt lake sand marshes between the Taklamakan and Kuruktag deserts in the Bayingolin Mongol Autonomous Prefecture, southeastern portion of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in the People's Republic of China.The lake system into which the Tarim... , a marshy depression at the east end of the Tarim Basin Tarim Basin The Tarim Basin is a large endorheic basin occupying an area of about . It is located in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in China's far west. Its northern boundary is the Tian Shan mountain range and its southern is the Kunlun Mountains on the northern edge of the Tibetan Plateau. The... , is a nuclear test site for which country? |
China People's Republic of China China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres... (People's Republic) |
Youngest champion |
| 2003 | James Williams | Washington |
Eighth (homeschooled Homeschooling Homeschooling or homeschool is the education of children at home, typically by parents but sometimes by tutors, rather than in other formal settings of public or private school... ) |
Goa Goa Goa , a former Portuguese colony, is India's smallest state by area and the fourth smallest by population. Located in South West India in the region known as the Konkan, it is bounded by the state of Maharashtra to the north, and by Karnataka to the east and south, while the Arabian Sea forms its... , a state in southwestern India India India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world... , was a possession of which country until 1961? |
Portugal Portugal Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the... |
Also a competitor in the National Middle School Science Bowl National Middle School Science Bowl The National Middle School Science Bowl is a middle school academic competition, similar to Quiz Bowl, held in the United States. Two teams of four students each compete to answer various science-related questions... and National Science Olympiad Science Olympiad Science Olympiad is an American elementary, middle, or high school team competition which tests knowledge of various science topics and engineering ability. Over 6,200 teams from 49 U.S. states compete each year. Most teams compete in three levels of competition: regionals, states, and nationals... . |
| 2004 | Andrew Wojtanik Andrew Wojtanik Andrew Wojtanik was the winner of the National Geographic Bee hosted by Alex Trebek in 2004, and the National Geographic World Championship in 2005. To get to the National Geographic Bee finals, he survived two tiebreakers to advance to the final round against 13-year-old Matthew Wells of Montana,... |
Kansas |
Eighth | Peshawar Peshawar Peshawar is the capital of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and the administrative center and central economic hub for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan.... , a city in the North-West Frontier Province North-West Frontier Province Khyber Pakhtunkhwa , formerly known as the North-West Frontier Province and various other names, is one of the four provinces of Pakistan, located in the north-west of the country... of Pakistan Pakistan Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan... , has had strategic importance for centuries because of its location near what historic pass? |
Khyber Pass Khyber Pass The Khyber Pass, is a mountain pass linking Pakistan and Afghanistan.The Pass was an integral part of the ancient Silk Road. It is mentioned in the Bible as the "Pesh Habor," and it is one of the oldest known passes in the world.... |
|
| 2005 | Nathan Cornelius |  Minnesota |
Seventh (homeschooled Homeschooling Homeschooling or homeschool is the education of children at home, typically by parents but sometimes by tutors, rather than in other formal settings of public or private school... ) |
Lake Gatún Gatun Lake Gatun Lake is a large artificial lake situated in the Republic of Panama; it forms a major part of the Panama Canal, carrying ships for of their transit across the Isthmus of Panama.... , an artificial lake that constitutes part of the Panama Canal Panama Canal The Panama Canal is a ship canal in Panama that joins the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean and is a key conduit for international maritime trade. Built from 1904 to 1914, the canal has seen annual traffic rise from about 1,000 ships early on to 14,702 vessels measuring a total of 309.6... system, was created by damming which river? |
Chagres River Chagres River The Chagres River is a river in central Panama. The central part of the river is dammed by the Gatun Dam and forms Gatun Lake, an artificial lake that constitutes part of the Panama Canal. Upstream lies the Madden Dam, creating the Alajuala Lake that is also part of the Canal water system... |
|
| 2006 | Bonny Jain |  Illinois |
Eighth | Name the mountains that extend across much of Wales Wales Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²... , from the Irish Sea Irish Sea The Irish Sea separates the islands of Ireland and Great Britain. It is connected to the Celtic Sea in the south by St George's Channel, and to the Atlantic Ocean in the north by the North Channel. Anglesey is the largest island within the Irish Sea, followed by the Isle of Man... to the Bristol Channel Bristol Channel The Bristol Channel is a major inlet in the island of Great Britain, separating South Wales from Devon and Somerset in South West England. It extends from the lower estuary of the River Severn to the North Atlantic Ocean... . |
Cambrian Mountains Cambrian Mountains The Cambrian Mountains are a series of mountain ranges in Wales, reaching from, and including, the South Wales mountains of the Brecon Beacons, north Carmarthenshire and Ceredigion, the Black Mountains of eastern Wales, to Snowdonia in North Wales... |
Placed 13th in 2006 Scripps National Spelling Bee Scripps National Spelling Bee The Scripps National Spelling Bee is a highly competitive annual spelling bee in the United States, with participants from other countries as well. It is run on a not-for-profit basis by The E. W... ; was in the finals in 2005 |
| 2007 | Caitlin Snaring | Washington |
Eighth (homeschooled Homeschooling Homeschooling or homeschool is the education of children at home, typically by parents but sometimes by tutors, rather than in other formal settings of public or private school... ) |
A city that is divided by a river of the same name was the imperial capital of Vietnam Vietnam Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –... for more than a century. Name this city, which is still an important cultural center. |
Huế Hue Hue is one of the main properties of a color, defined technically , as "the degree to which a stimulus can be describedas similar to or different from stimuli that are described as red, green, blue, and yellow,"... |
Had a perfect score in the finals; second female champion |
| 2008 | Akshay Rajagopal |  Nebraska |
Sixth | The urban area of Cochabamba Cochabamba Cochabamba is a city in central Bolivia, located in a valley bearing the same name in the Andes mountain range. It is the capital of the Cochabamba Department and is the fourth largest city in Bolivia with an urban population of 608,276 and a metropolitan population of more than 1,000,000 people... has been in the news recently due to protests over the privatization of the municipal water supply and regional autonomy issues. Cochabamba is the third-largest conurbation Conurbation A conurbation is a region comprising a number of cities, large towns, and other urban areas that, through population growth and physical expansion, have merged to form one continuous urban and industrially developed area... in what country? |
Bolivia Bolivia Bolivia officially known as Plurinational State of Bolivia , is a landlocked country in central South America. It is the poorest country in South America... |
Had a perfect score in the finals. Won the Bee on his first attempt at the school, state and national level. |
| 2009 | Eric Yang |  Republic of Texas |
Seventh | Timis County shares its name with a tributary of the Danube and is located in the western part of which European country? | Romania Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea... |
Had a perfect score in the finals |
| 2010 | Aadith Moorthy |  Florida |
Eighth | The largest city in northern Haiti was renamed following Haiti’s independence from France. What is the present-day name of this city? | Cap-Haïtien Cap-Haïtien Cap-Haïtien is a city of about 190,000 people on the north coast of Haiti and capital of the Department of Nord... |
Won the bee the first year he came to the National Level. |
| 2011 | Tine Valencic | Republic of Texas |
Seventh | Thousands of mountain climbers and trekkers rely on Sherpas to aid their ascent of Mount Everest. The southern part of Mount Everest is located in which Nepalese national park? | Sagarmatha National Park Sagarmatha National Park Sagarmāthā National Park is a protected area in the Himalayas of eastern Nepal containing the southern half of Mount Everest. The park was created on July 19, 1976 and was inscribed as a Natural World Heritage Site in 1979... |
Had a perfect score in the finals |
2011 state champions
| State | Winner's Name | School | City/Town | Grade | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Alabama |
Daniel Picard | Berry Middle School | Hoover Hoover, Alabama Hoover is a city in Jefferson and Shelby Counties in north central Alabama, in the United States. The largest suburb of Birmingham, the population of the city was 62,742 as of the 2000 census and 81,619 in the 2010 census. Hoover is part of the Birmingham-Hoover, AL MSA and is also included in the... |
6th | |
 Alaska |
Andrew Hull | Rogers Park Elementary | Anchorage Anchorage, Alaska Anchorage is a unified home rule municipality in the southcentral part of the U.S. state of Alaska. It is the northernmost major city in the United States... |
5th | Top 10 finalist (10th) |
 Arizona |
Luke Hellum | Sunrise Middle School | Scottsdale Scottsdale, Arizona Scottsdale is a city in the eastern part of Maricopa County, Arizona, United States, adjacent to Phoenix. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, as of 2010 the population of the city was 217,385... |
8th | Top 10 finalist (7th) |
 Arkansas |
Christian Boekhout | Hot Spring Intermediate School | Hot Springs Hot Springs, Arkansas Hot Springs is the 10th most populous city in the U.S. state of Arkansas, the county seat of Garland County, and the principal city of the Hot Springs Metropolitan Statistical Area encompassing all of Garland County... |
5th | |
 Atlantic Territories |
Jamon Fisk | St. Croix Country Day School | Kingshill, U.S. Virgin Islands | 8th | |
 California |
Tuvya Bergson-Michelson | The Nueva School | Hillsborough Hillsborough, California Hillsborough is an incorporated town in San Mateo County, California, in the San Francisco Bay Area. Hillsborough is one of the wealthiest communities in America and has the highest income of places in the United States with populations of at least 10,000... |
4th | Top 10 finalist (9th) |
 Colorado |
Isabella Contolini | Dunstan Middle School | Lakewood Lakewood, Colorado Lakewood is a Home Rule Municipality that is the most populous city in Jefferson County, Colorado, United States. Lakewood is the fifth most populous city in the State of Colorado and the 172nd most populous city in the United States. The United States Census Bureau estimates that in April 1, 2010... |
7th | |
| Connecticut |
Michael Borecki | Middlesex Middle School | Darien Darien, Connecticut Darien is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. A relatively small community on Connecticut's "Gold Coast", the population was 20,732 at the 2010 census. Darien was listed at #9 at CNN Money's list of "top-earning towns" in the United States as of 2011... |
6th | |
 Delaware |
Sophia Marianiello | Newark Charter School Newark Charter School Newark Charter School is a public charter school located in Newark, Delaware that serves children from kindergarten to eighth grade. As of June 2010, 1286 students were enrolled in the school. The school uses the Core Knowledge curriculum.... |
Newark Newark, Delaware Newark is an American city in New Castle County, Delaware, west-southwest of Wilmington. According to the 2010 Census, the population of the city is 31,454. Newark is the home of the University of Delaware.- History :... |
7th | |
 Department of DefenseDodds Dodds may refer to:*Dodds, Ohio, a US unincorporated place*Dodds Township, Jefferson County, Illinois, US*DoDDS *Dodds , people with the surname Dodds... |
Gavin Moulton | Naples American Middle School | Naples Naples Naples is a city in Southern Italy, situated on the country's west coast by the Gulf of Naples. Lying between two notable volcanic regions, Mount Vesuvius and the Phlegraean Fields, it is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples... , Italy Italy Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and... |
7th | |
 Washington, D.C. |
Nathaniel Burrows | Maret School | Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution.... |
6th | |
| Florida |
Martin Konstantinov | Lake Mary Preparatory School | Lake Mary Lake Mary, Florida Lake Mary is a city in Seminole County, Florida, United States. The population was 11,456 at the 2000 census. As of 2009, the population recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau is 15,230... |
6th | |
 Georgia (U.S. state) |
Nilai Sarda | The Westminster School | Atlanta | 7th | 2nd Place |
 Hawaii |
Andrew Anderton | Hawaii Technology Academy | Waipahu | 6th | |
| Idaho |
Dylan Smith | Taylorview Junior High School | Idaho Falls Idaho Falls, Idaho Idaho Falls is a city in and the county seat of Bonneville County, Idaho, United States, and the largest city in Eastern Idaho. As of the 2010 census, the population of Idaho Falls was 56,813, with a metro population of 130,374.... |
8th | |
| Illinois |
Anne Ulrich | Lake County Homeschoolers | Grayslake Grayslake, Illinois Grayslake is a village in Lake County in the U.S. state of Illinois. It is located in the Chicago metropolitan area, about north of Chicago’s downtown, west of Lake Michigan, and south of the Wisconsin border.... |
8th | |
 Indiana |
Kevin Mi | Creekside Middle School | Carmel Carmel, Indiana Carmel is a city in Hamilton County, Indiana, United States located immediately north of Indianapolis, Indiana. The population was 79,191 at the 2010 census, and is one of the most affluent communities in the Midwest.... |
8th | Top 10 finalist (8th) |
 Iowa |
Ian Klopfenstein | Franklin Middle School | Cedar Rapids Cedar Rapids, Iowa Cedar Rapids is the second largest city in Iowa and is the county seat of Linn County. The city lies on both banks of the Cedar River, north of Iowa City and east of Des Moines, the state's capital and largest city... |
7th | |
| Kansas |
Stefan Petrovic | South Junior High School | Lawrence Lawrence, Kansas Lawrence is the sixth largest city in the U.S. State of Kansas and the county seat of Douglas County. Located in northeastern Kansas, Lawrence is the anchor city of the Lawrence, Kansas, Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Douglas County... |
7th | Was a finalist in 2010 3rd Place |
 Kentucky |
Nivedita Khandkar | Meyzeek Middle School | Louisville Louisville, Kentucky Louisville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kentucky, and the county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's population at the 2010 census was 741,096... |
8th | |
 Louisiana |
James Anthony Stoner | Christian Brothers School | New Orleans | 7th | |
 Maine |
Benjamin MacLean | York Middle School | York York, Maine York is a town in York County, Maine, United States at the southwest corner of the state. The population in the 2000 census was 12,854. Situated beside the Atlantic Ocean on the Gulf of Maine, York is a well-known summer resort. It is home to three 18-hole golf clubs, three sandy beaches, and... |
7th | |
 Maryland |
Neel Lakhanpal | Severn School | Severna Park Severna Park, Maryland Severna Park is a census-designated place in Anne Arundel County, Maryland, United States. The population was 28,507 at the 2000 census.-History:Robinson House was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2009.-Geography:... |
7th | |
 Massachusetts |
Karthik Karnik | King Philip Middle School | Norfolk Norfolk, Massachusetts Norfolk is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States with a population of 10,460 people in 2,818 households at the 2000 census. Formerly known as North Wrentham, Norfolk broke away to become an independent town in 1870.-History:... |
7th | Top 10 finalist (5th) |
| Michigan |
Jacob Tanner | Saline Middle School | Saline Saline, Michigan Saline is a city in Washtenaw County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 8,810.The city is popular for its annual Celtic Festival, which attracts people from all over the United States and its sister cities Brecon, Wales and Lindenberg, Germany... |
8th | |
| Minnesota |
William Bogenschultz | Ramsey Junior High School | St. Paul | 7th | |
 Mississippi |
Luke Eckstein | St. Aloysius High School | Vicksburg Vicksburg, Mississippi Vicksburg is a city in Warren County, Mississippi, United States. It is the only city in Warren County. It is located northwest of New Orleans on the Mississippi and Yazoo rivers, and due west of Jackson, the state capital. In 1900, 14,834 people lived in Vicksburg; in 1910, 20,814; in 1920,... |
8th | |
 Missouri |
Joshua Vogel | Trinity Lutheran School | Cape Girardeau Cape Girardeau, Missouri Cape Girardeau is a city located in Cape Girardeau and Scott counties in Southeast Missouri in the United States. It is located approximately southeast of St. Louis and north of Memphis. As of the 2010 census, the city's population was 37,941. A college town, it is the home of Southeast Missouri... |
8th | |
| Montana |
Claire Hinther | Target Range School | Missoula Missoula, Montana Missoula is a city located in western Montana and is the county seat of Missoula County. The 2010 Census put the population of Missoula at 66,788 and the population of Missoula County at 109,299. Missoula is the principal city of the Missoula Metropolitan Area... |
8th | |
| Nebraska |
Sean Lynch | St. Wenceslaus School | Omaha Omaha, Nebraska Omaha is the largest city in the state of Nebraska, United States, and is the county seat of Douglas County. It is located in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about 20 miles north of the mouth of the Platte River... |
7th | |
 Nevada |
Asimwe Oben-Nyarko | Schofield Middle School | Las Vegas Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous... |
8th | |
 New Hampshire |
Isaac Ozer | Windham Middle School | Windham Windham, New Hampshire Windham is a town in Rockingham County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 13,592 at the 2010 census.- History :The area was initially home to the Pawtucket Native Americans. Scottish immigrants began to settle in the area in 1719. The region was known as “Nutfield” and included what... |
8th | |
| New Jersey |
Kevin Pang | Stewartsville Middle School | Stewartsville Stewartsville, New Jersey Stewartsville is an unincorporated area within Greenwich Township in Warren County, New Jersey, United States. The area is served as United States Postal Service ZIP code 08886.... |
7th | |
 New Mexico |
Zachary Ward | Albuquerque Area Home Educators | Albuquerque Albuquerque, New Mexico Albuquerque is the largest city in the state of New Mexico, United States. It is the county seat of Bernalillo County and is situated in the central part of the state, straddling the Rio Grande. The city population was 545,852 as of the 2010 Census and ranks as the 32nd-largest city in the U.S. As... |
8th | |
 New York |
Matthew Wigler | Great Neck North Middle School | Great Neck Great Neck (village), New York Great Neck is a village in the town of North Hempstead in Nassau County, New York, in the U.S., on the North Shore of Long Island. It sits on the New York City / Nassau County border... |
8th | |
 North Carolina |
Alex Pinder | St. Leo the Great Parish School | Winston-Salem Winston-Salem, North Carolina Winston-Salem is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina, with a 2010 population of 229,617. Winston-Salem is the county seat and largest city of Forsyth County and the fourth-largest city in the state. Winston-Salem is the second largest municipality in the Piedmont Triad region and is home to... |
6th | |
 North Dakota |
Tanner Carlson | Grimsrud Elementary | Bismarck Bismarck, North Dakota Bismarck is the capital of the U.S. state of North Dakota and the county seat of Burleigh County. It is the second most populous city in North Dakota after Fargo. The city's population was 61,272 at the 2010 census, while its metropolitan population was 108,779... |
6th | |
 Ohio |
Narayan Sundarajan | Shaker Heights Middle School | Shaker Heights Shaker Heights, Ohio Shaker Heights is a city in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States. As of the 2010 Census, the city population was 28,448. It is an inner-ring streetcar suburb of Cleveland that abuts the city on its eastern side.-Topography:Shaker Heights is located at... |
8th | |
 Oklahoma |
Soorajnath Boominathan | Deer Creek Middle School | Edmond Edmond, Oklahoma Edmond is a city in Oklahoma County, Oklahoma, United States, and a part of the Oklahoma City metropolitan area in the central part of the state. As of the 2010 census, the population was 81,405, making it the sixth largest city in the state of Oklahoma.... |
8th | |
 Oregon |
Harish Palani | Findley Elementary | Portland Portland, Oregon Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States... |
5th | |
  Pacific Territories |
Caleb Skvaril | Bishop Baumgartner Memorial Catholic School | Guam Guam Guam is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States located in the western Pacific Ocean. It is one of five U.S. territories with an established civilian government. Guam is listed as one of 16 Non-Self-Governing Territories by the Special Committee on Decolonization of the United... |
8th | |
| Pennsylvania |
Alexander Kozitzky | Indian Crest Middle School | Souderton Souderton, Pennsylvania Souderton is a borough in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. The population was 6,618 at the 2010 census.Souderton hosts the end of the annual Univest Grand Prix, a professional bicycle race.- Geography :Souderton is located at .... |
8th | |
 Rhode Island |
Chase Boni | North Cumberland Middle School | Cumberland Cumberland, Rhode Island Cumberland is a town in Providence County, Rhode Island, United States, incorporated in 1746. The population was 33,506 at the 2010 census.-History:... |
8th | |
| South Carolina |
Krish Patel | Pinewood Preparatory School | Summerville Summerville, South Carolina Summerville is a town in the U.S. state of South Carolina situated mostly in Dorchester County with small portions in Berkeley, and Charleston counties. It is part of the Charleston-North Charleston-Summerville Metropolitan Statistical Area as designated for statistical purposes by the U.S. Office... |
5th | |
 South Dakota |
Alex Kimn | George S. Mickelson Middle School | Brookings Brookings, South Dakota Brookings is a city in Brookings County, South Dakota, United States. Brookings is the fourth largest city in South Dakota, with a population of 22,056 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Brookings County, and home to South Dakota State University, the largest institution of higher... |
8th | Top 10 finalist (4th) |
 Tennessee |
Arunabh Singh | Schilling Farms Middle School | Collierville Collierville, Tennessee Collierville is a town in Shelby County, Tennessee, United States, and a suburb located in the Memphis metropolitan area. The town had a population of 43,965 at the 2010 census.... |
8th | |
| Republic of Texas |
Tine Valencic | Colleyville Middle School | Colleyville Colleyville, Texas Colleyville is a city in northeast Tarrant County, Texas, United States. Located roughly from Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, the population was 22,807 at the 2010 census. Emerging from a number of small, rural settlements along the Cotton Belt Route, Colleyville was established in the... |
7th | 2011 Champion |
 Utah |
Anthony Cheng | Midvale Middle School | Midvale Midvale, Utah Midvale is a city in Salt Lake County, Utah, United States. It is part of the Salt Lake City, Utah Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 27,029 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Midvale is located at .... |
7th | Was a finalist in 2010 Top 10 finalist (6th) |
 Virginia |
Patrick Hammes | Herndon Middle School | Herndon Herndon, Virginia Herndon is a town in Fairfax County, Virginia, in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area of the United States. The population was 21,655 at the 2000 census, which makes it the largest of three towns in the county.-History:... |
7th | |
 Vermont |
Sparsh Bhardwaj | Fredrick H. Tuttle Middle School | South Burlington South Burlington, Vermont -Economy:CommutAir, a regional airline, is headquartered in the city, by the airport. The Magic Hat Brewing Company, one of the United States's larger craft breweries, is located here.One measure of economic activity is retail sales... |
7th | |
| Washington |
Arjun Kumar | Beavar Lake Middle School | Issaquah Issaquah, Washington Issaquah is a city in King County, Washington, United States. The population was 30,434 at the 2010 census.Based on per capita income, Issaquah ranks 25th of 522 areas in the State of Washington to be ranked.... |
7th | |
 West Virginia |
Abel Abraham | St. Francis de Sales Central Catholic School | Morgantown Morgantown, West Virginia Morgantown is a city in Monongalia County, West Virginia. It is the county seat of Monongalia County. Placed along the banks of the Monongahela River, Morgantown is the largest city in North-Central West Virginia, and the base of the Morgantown metropolitan area... |
8th | |
 Wisconsin |
Robert Rosner | Phelps School | Phelps Phelps, Wisconsin Phelps is a town in Vilas County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 1,350 at the 2000 census. The unincorporated community of Phelps is located in the town.-Geography:... |
8th | |
 Wyoming |
Dwaine Kenney | Big Piney Middle School | Big Piney Big Piney, Wyoming Big Piney is a town in Sublette County, Wyoming, United States. The population was 408 at the 2000 census.-History:Big Piney is the oldest settlement in Sublette County. It was founded in 1879, when rancher Daniel B... |
8th |