Physical Geography
The easternmost portion of this mountain range is known as the Aures, which is the home of a Berber ethnic group called the Chaoui, and the northernmost point of this range is known as the Rif. The rain shadow of this mountain range helped form the Sahara Desert. Mount Toubkal is the highest peak of, for the point, what mountain range in Africa that stretches from Tunisia to Morocco, named for a mythical Titan who held the sky on his back?
Atlas Mountains
This region's chief goddess is Mari, whose consort is the dragon Sugaar. Two of this region's constituent provinces are Álava and Gipuzkoa. This region's indigenous language is Euskara [[yoo-SKAH-rah]]. This region's capital is Vitoria-Gasteiz, and this region's city of Guernica was subjected to a bombing campaign by the Condor Legion. For the point, name this autonomous region of northwestern Spain, which is home to a notable language isolate.
Basque Country (or Basque Autonomous Community; or Euskadi; or País Vasco; or Euskal Autonomia Erkidegoa; or EAE; or Comunidad Autónoma del País Vasco; or CAPV)
This city's largest suburb is Matola, and its Independence Square contains a statue of Samora Machel [[MAH-shel]]. This city's namesake bay receives the Great Usutu River and is bound by Inhaca Island, and this city is known for its train station whose dome is often mistakenly credited to Gustave Eiffel. This city was known as Lourenço Marques [[lohREN-soh MAR-kess]] until 1976, when it was renamed under a newly formed socialist state. For the point, name this capital of Mozambique.
Maputo
While not independent yet, a narrow strip of territory from this modern-day country was ceded to Afghanistan's Badakhshan Province. Recent conflicts with this country’s neighbor, Kyrgyzstan, erupted over water scarcity in the Transoxania Region. Other recent conflicts with China over this country’s Pamir region have weakened their international cooperation. For the point, name this Central Asian country whose capital city is Dushanbe.
Tajikistan
The discovery of this city's oil field occurred at Alamitos oil well, which is located in Signal Hill. This city shares its name with a barrier island in New York that is located just east of the Rockaway Peninsula. The Walter Pyramid and Villa Riviera are attractions in this city, whose port contains the RMS Queen Mary and forms the busiest shipping complex in the U.S. with Los Angeles. For the point, name this California port and epicenter of the 2021 supply chain crisis
Long Beach
This sea's islet of Sveti Stefan was converted into a luxury hotel from a fishing island by connecting it to Budva Municipality via tombolo. This sea's inlets include the Bay of Kotor and Gulf of Trieste, and this sea is used as a vertical datum to measure peaks of the Dinaric Alps. Said to contain its "pearl" at Dubrovnik, for the point, what is this sea between Italy and the Balkans?
Adriatic Sea - Accept "Pearl of the Adriatic"
This U.S. state's town of Blaine contains one half of the Peace Arch Park and has a shoreline on the Strait of Georgia. This state has its southeastern border formed by the Snake River, and this state, home to some of the snowiest places in the continental U.S. at Mount Baker and Mount Rainier, also contains Tacoma. For the point, name this state which is home to Olympia and the Seattle Space Needle.
Washington
This city contains the largest Pontic Greek community in its country, called the Greeks of Priazovye [[pree-ah-ZOHV-yeh]], and this city also contains the Illich Steel and Iron Works factory. This city is claimed as the largest port of a "people's republic" declared by Denis Pushilin, and this city, where a theatre and maternity hospital were targeted in 2022 airstrikes, is officially part of the Donetsk Oblast. For the point, name this Ukrainian port on the Sea of Azov, which has been besieged by Russia
Mariupol
This country is home to the Hlane Royal National Park, and this country's flag, displaying a black and white shield flanked by a staff and two spears, was designed by Sobhuza II. His son, Mswati III, is the "lion-king" of this country and rules with the "SheElephant" queen, or Ndlovukati [[nnd-loh-voo-KAH-tee]]. With capitals at Lobamba, known for its reed dance ceremony, and Mbabane, for the point, what is this country between Mozambique and South Africa?
Eswatini
Tikaboo Peak provides the best vantage point to see this site in Lincoln County. This site, officially known as Homey Airport or Groom Lake, is served by the exclusive Janet Airlines, which also serves China Lake and Tonopah from Harry Reid Airport. In 2019, over 2 million people signed a proposal to "raid" this site, although only a few thousand congregated on the Extraterrestrial Highway. For the point, name this secretive military facility in Nevada, associated with UFO conspiracy theories.
Area 51
This island, which is inhabited by the indigenous Batak and Minangkabau [[MEEnahng-KAH-bao]] peoples, contains the Toba supervolcano in its Barisan Mountains. The northern and westernmost province, Aceh [[AH-cheh]], is located at the tip of this island, whose largest cities include Palembang and Medan. The Sunda Strait separates Java from the southern coast of, for the point, what other Indonesian island, located across the Strait of Malacca from the Malay Peninsula?
Sumantra
This province's McArthur River uranium mine is the world's largest. Lloydminster and Moose Jaw are cities in this province that doesn't observe Daylight Savings Time and which has completely rectangular borders. Reindeer and Athabasca are both lakes in this province that borders North Dakota and the Northwest Territories. Regina [[ree-JY-nah]] is the capital of, for the point, what province bordering Manitoba, home to Saskatoon?
Saskatchewan
This city's tallest building is the Aspire Tower, while its artificial island complex The Pearl is the only place in its country where foreigners can own property. This city's Museum of Islamic Art was designed by I.M. Pei, and this city's Hamad International Airport is the hub of an airline whose logo sports an Arabian oryx. Al Jazeera has its headquarters in this city, whose Khalifa Stadium will be the main venue of the 2022 World Cup. For the point, name this capital of Qatar.
Doha
This country, which controls the Pescadores archipelago and Pratas Island, is home to a company that once unintentionally dumped 30 thousand rubber ducks into the Pacific Ocean, the movements of which were used to study ocean currents. That company, Evergreen, is headquartered in Taoyuan, and operated the ship that blockaded the Suez Canal for a week in 2021. Kaohsiung [[KOW-SHYUNG]] and Taipei are ports in, for the point, what country, separated by the Formosa Strait from mainland China?
Taiwan (accept Chinese Taipei, Republic of China, ROC, or Formosa before mentioned; do not accept "PRC" or "People's Republic of China" under any circumstances; prompt on "China")
The Indian state of Sikkim has distributed water bottles made from this plant to prevent plastic pollution. An archaic form of torture allegedly placed shoots of this plant under the fingernails, and this plant was often used to make reed pens. This plant can grow at speeds of up to 1.5 inches per hour, making it the world's fastest-growing plant. For the point, name this Asian plant that is the main source of food for the giant panda.
Bamboo
This island, governed from Flying Fish Cove, is mainly inhabited by Peranakans, or Straits Chinese. Exmouth is the mainland town closest to this island which hosts the westernmost of its country's immigration detention facilities. The world's only "crab bridge" is located on this island, which is 600 miles to the east of the Cocos, or Keeling, Islands. For the point, name this Australian island named for the day it was first sighted, December 25.
Christmas Island
In this region, which gained its popular name in 1971, a four-story building nicknamed "The Spaceship" is located at 1 Infinite Loop in Cupertino. This region's town Palo Alto is home to the garage where Hewlett-Packard was founded. This region, which is named after the fourteenth element of the periodic table, has its largest city at San Jose. For the point, name this "Valley" in the Bay Area of California known for its technology sector.
Silicon Valley
This city is home to the tallest Orthodox church in the world, the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour. This city's Central Park of Culture and Leisure is more commonly known as Gorky Park. Multi-colored onion domes sit atop this city's Saint Basil's Cathedral. The seat of government in this city is the Kremlin. Home to the historic Red Square, for the point, what is this capital and largest city of Russia?
Moscow
Near this nation’s region Cayo, Mennonites originating from the Vistula River inhabit Barton Creek. The remains of Fort Mundy are located in this country's Orange Walk, located near Ambergris Caye. This nation and the Mopan River make a portmanteau to form its capital’s name. For the point, name this majority English-speaking Central American nation once known as British Honduras.
Belize
A Turkish example of one of these territories contains the Tomb of Suleyman Shah, and one of these territories called Campione d'Italia formerly contained Europe's largest casino. The breakaway Republic of Artsakh is an example of one of these territories within Azerbaijan, one of which formerly included West Berlin. San Marino and Lesotho [[leh-SOOtoo]] are national examples of, for the point, what type of territory completely surrounded by foreign country?
Exclaves
The opening of a cable railway on this mountain was commemorated with the song "Funiculì, Funiculà." This mountain's peak is contained within the Gran Cono, formed from the collapse of a structure called Mount Sommo. An observatory on this mountain monitors the Phlegraean Fields as part of the Campanian volcanic arc, and this mountain destroyed Herculaneum. For the point, name this volcano that overlooks Naples and buried Pompeii in 79 AD
Mount Vesuvius
This region's ports include Saint-Malo and Lorient, and the Romance Gallo language is spoken in this region's east. The Ploumanac'h [[PLOO-mah-nahk]] Lighthouse is located on this peninsula's Pink Granite Coast, and the Loire (+) River empties into the Atlantic Ocean from this peninsula. Brest, Nantes, and Rennes are cities (*) located in, for the points, what peninsula, the westernmost region of mainland France?
Brittany
This city, which was formerly served by Stapleton International Airport, is now home to the largest airport by area in the U.S. That airport is known for an ominous series of murals and an imposing Blue Mustang statue. This city on the South Platte River includes suburbs such as Aurora, Lakewood, and Boulder and is the largest city that is permanently in Mountain Time. For the point, name this "Mile High City," the capital of Colorado.
Denver (Accept Denver International Airport)
This country's salient Grand-Popo is an important center of voodoo and takes its name from the Yoruba word for "west." This country's W National Park is located at its northern extremity on the banks of the Niger [[nee-ZHEHR]] River. Fon is the primary language in this country within which the historical Kingdom of Dahomey was located. With its capital at Porto-Novo, for the point, what is this country which is home to Cotonou?
Benin
This national park's Castle Mountain was home to an interment camp used to hold Ukrainian settlers during World War One, and this national park contains the southern portion of the Icefields Parkway. This national park shares the Kicking Horse Pass with Yoho National Park, and the Bow River flows through this national park's town of Lake Louise. For the point, name this national park in the Canadian Rockies, 100 miles southeast of Jasper National Park and west of Calgary.
Banff National Park (do not accept or prompt on "Jasper National Park")