Geography Quests at Blog, She Wrote

This post contains affiliate links. Thanks for the support.

A few weeks ago I announced that I would be starting a weekly Geography Quest here at Blog, She Wrote. Today is the first day of August and I thought we’d get started. After today I’ll be posting a new Geography Quest every Tuesday.

Each Geography Quest will feature a challenge within the various areas of geography using a few readily available resources. I’ll be reporting on our progress during the week and sharing it with everyone. For this first quest, I will share answers and activities on Tuesday. Once each month, the Geography Quest will be a treasure hunt. Let’s get started!

Geography Quest Treasure Hunt August 1, 2013

Follow the clues below to find this week’s country of focus.

• The answer to the clue is the subject of the next clue, so you must go in order.
• If you print a map of the world, you can mark the spots you travel through on your treasure hunt.
• Have fun! My thanks to E14 who came up with this week’s treasure hunt. He’s eager to make more.

Clue 1: This is the smallest country in the world. ____________

Clue 2:  ______ is the most densely populated country in the world. What is the least densely populated country in the world? _________

Clue 3: The Mongols in the middle ages were infamous for capturing European travelers and ambassadors traveling to the Orient for spices. Marco Polo was one such famous captive. What country was he from? __________

Clue 4: Throughout the Middle Ages, Rome and the Pope were constantly at odds with the kings of this nearby country. _____

Clue 5: During the Age of Discovery, Spain, England, France, and Portugal all sought out and colonized new lands. Spain and Portugal settled much of South America. In the end Portugal was left with only one country in South America. Which one is it? ______

The answer to the last clue is our country of focus this week.

Rather than give all the answers today, I’ll give you some time to try it out. On Tuesday I will post the answers to the treasure hunt and give you some activities to go with the country of focus.

Resources for the Geography Quest Treasure Hunt:

• Atlas– I really like the Young Explorer’s Atlases from National Geographic
• Google Earth– for a fun look at world geography and our alternative to the standard globe.
• WonderMaps– map software from Bright Ideas Press. Love the multiple layers of overlay I can make on the maps. It’s a fun way to customize the maps for your homeschool.