Museums
The word museum comes from mouseion, meaning "seat of the Muses". What language does mouseion come from?
Greek
Which PNW volcano famously erupted in 1980?
Mount St. Helens
What type of rock art involves carving or pecking designs into stone?
Petroglyphs
Which type of large wooden structure traditionally housed multiple families in many coastal Indigenous nations?
Longhouses
The extinction event that killed most dinosaurs happened about how many million years ago?
About 66 million years ago
The National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C. is home to the world's largest deep-blue diamond. What is its name?
The Hope Diamond
Crater Lake in Oregon formed from the collapse of which volcano?
Mount Mazama
What archaeological technique uses tree-ring patterns to date wooden artifacts and structures?
Dendrochronology
Many Northwest tribes held a ceremonial gathering that involved feasting and gift-giving. What is this tradition called?
A potlatch
What is the name for the exceptionally preserved fossil deposits that record soft tissues and fine details?
Lagerstätten
Which famous piece of ancient history, featuring trilingual text, can be found in the British Museum?
The Rosetta Stone
What large earthquake-generating structure runs from Northern California through British Columbia offshore?
The Cascadia Subduction Zone
Which ancient city was preserved under volcanic ash from the 79 CE eruption of Mount Vesuvius?
Pompeii
Many nations passed down history, teachings, and moral lessons through spoken stories. What is this called?
What is the name of the massive Permian–Triassic extinction event that wiped out roughly 90% of Earth’s species?
The Great Dying
Which U.S. museum houses the iconic Tyrannosaurus rex specimen known as “Sue”?
The Field Museum of Natural History (Chicago)
The Columbia River Basalt Group (CRBG) formed from what type of volcanic eruptions?
Flood basalt eruptions
What mound-building culture created Monks Mound, the largest earthen structure in the Americas?
What traditional fish-harvesting structure used in rivers allowed people to catch salmon as they migrated upstream?
Fish weirs
What early whale ancestor had four legs and could walk on land?
Pakicetus
Which museum in Washington, D.C. displays the Apollo 11 command module Columbia?
Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum
Which USGS geologist is best known for discovering and dating Pacific Northwest “ghost forests,” helping confirm the 1700 Cascadia megathrust earthquake?
Brian Atwater
Which culture of the Pacific Northwest is known for elaborate wooden carvings, bentwood boxes, and large plank houses?
The Coast Salish, also Tlingit, Haida
Archaeological evidence shows the PNW has been continuously inhabited for how long?
At least 12,000–14,000 years (and likely longer)
What famous fossil site in British Columbia preserves soft-bodied Cambrian organisms in incredible detail?
The Burgess Shale