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U.S. Geography with Native American Names on a Map

Using the map and key, guess these places with names from Native American languages.
Also including native languages of the non-contiguous states
Quiz by overtired
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Last updated: December 19, 2021
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First submittedDecember 8, 2021
Times taken20,399
Average score64.9%
Rating4.99
10:00
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States
Alabama
Mississippi
Alaska
Missouri
Arizona
Nebraska
Arkansas
New Mexico
Connecticut
North Dakota
Hawaii
Ohio
Illinois
Oklahoma
Iowa
South Dakota
Kansas
Tennessee
Kentucky
Texas
Massachusetts
Utah
Michigan
Wisconsin
Minnesota
Wyoming
 
State Capitals
Cheyenne
Tallahassee
Honolulu
Topeka
Oklahoma City
 
Cities (250K+)
Chattanooga
Chesapeake
Chicago
Kansas City
Miami
Milwaukee
Minneapolis
Mobile
Omaha
Seattle
Spokane
Tacoma
Tampa
Tucson
Tulsa
Wichita
Rivers
Arkansas
Chattahoochee
Connecticut
Gila
Klamath
Mississippi
Missouri
Mobile / Alabama /
Coosa
Ohio
Pecos
Potomac
Savannah
Susquehanna
Tennessee
Wabash
Willamette
Yukon
Reservations (50K+)
Cherokee Nation
Chickasaw Nation
Choctaw Nation
Muscogee Nation
Navajo Nation
Osage Reservation
 
Lakes and Bays
Chesapeake Bay
Lake Erie
Lake Huron
Lake Michigan
Lake Ontario
 
Mountains
Mount Denali
Mauna Kea
+18
Level 63
Dec 8, 2021
Simply WOW!
+2
Level 75
Dec 18, 2021
Awesome.
+10
Level 63
Dec 8, 2021
I have never seen any quiz more deserving of my nomination.
+14
Level 90
Dec 8, 2021
Idaho is not Native American. The person who suggested it claimed it was Shoshone, but it appears he just made it up.
+8
Level 84
Dec 8, 2021
Interesting, thanks. I'll remove it!
+2
Level 67
Feb 15, 2022
Also, doesn't Arizona stem from Spanish meaning dry or arid? Should that be included? I can only assume New Mexico is included because Mexico refers to a local name that got used as a template for the Spanish word for it? Truly I don't know, but my limited understanding of these names makes me think Arizona isn't based on a Native American word or name.
+7
Level 84
Feb 16, 2022
The misconception that the state's name purportedly originated from the Spanish term Árida Zona ("Arid Zone") is considered a case of folk etymology.

The state's name appears to originate from an earlier Spanish name, Arizonac, derived from the O'odham name alĭ ṣonak, meaning "small spring". To the European settlers, the O'odham pronunciation sounded like Arissona. The area is still known as alĭ ṣonak in the O'odham language.

From the Arizona Wikipedia page.

+1
Level 56
Feb 9, 2023
:(
+2
Level 84
Dec 8, 2021
This is excellent! I've thought many times about making a Native American U.S. Geography quiz, but nothing I pictured comes close to this. Of course, there are many other places you could add, but I think you have a good representation.
+3
Level 84
Dec 8, 2021
Thanks dug! Glad you like it, though would have been great to see your version. Do still make it if you want. I was surprised it hadn't been done already to be honest.

Wasn't sure what to include or not so good to hear that. Can always add to it if I'm missing anything big. Felt like a bit of a shame that more of the major mountains don't officially go by their Native American names like Denali. Though Rainier's other name, Tacoma, is already an answer.

+1
Level 75
Dec 21, 2021
A fair few mountain ranges are, though. The Klamaths (already an answer), but also the Ouachitas, the Wasatches, the Uintas are close to the front of my mind.
+4
Level 70
Dec 9, 2021
Wow, another great quiz! I do like the rendering -clean and accurate as always -and the topic it is based on. Very well executed and nominated of course!
+1
Level 84
Dec 9, 2021
Thanks Elboy :)
+3
Level 89
Dec 9, 2021
Apalachicola should be accepted for the Chattahoochee because that's the name of the river after the Flint River joins it in Florida.
+1
Level 84
Dec 9, 2021
Thanks, will add it.
+1
Level 91
Dec 9, 2021
Some leniency on spelling would be nice. Chocktaw, e.g.
+1
Level 84
Dec 9, 2021
Sure, will add that. There's lots of leniency on spelling but happy to add any other suggestions.
+9
Level 75
Dec 9, 2021
I really think that Native American heritage and tradition needs to be taught more in schools. I got all the non-reservations, but when it came to things that I would only know from learning native American culture and geography, I only got one of three reservations. As an American, and as a member of the Delaware-Lenape tribe, thank you.
+3
Level 78
Dec 10, 2021
As a Brit not too ashamed of 40 on my first go. Good quiz! As states are in alphabetical order please swap round Wisconsin and Wyoming. I spent a long time trying to figure out what state could possibly come after Wyoming.
+1
Level 84
Dec 10, 2021
Thanks, will do.
+2
Level 52
Dec 15, 2021
your quiz is a masterpiece, i play all your quizzes because i know they are made with care and love
+2
Level 78
Dec 10, 2021
And why no Delaware? As this is a Native American tribe surely its name must be also??
+11
Level 84
Dec 10, 2021
The Lenape tribe's common name Delaware is not of Native American origin. English colonists named the Delaware River for the first governor of the Province of Virginia, Thomas West, 3rd Baron De La Warr. The English then began to call the Lenape the "Delaware Indians".
+3
Level 78
Dec 10, 2021
Thanks for the clarification
+1
Level 65
Dec 10, 2021
the osage reservation looks like the whole osage county lol
+4
Level 84
Dec 10, 2021
It is. As per wikipedia - "The county is coextensive with the Osage Nation Reservation."
+1
Level 82
Dec 10, 2021
Some possible additions: Appalachians, Adirondacks (to make up for the lack of peaks), Manhattan, Sioux Falls and maybe other smaller but notable cities, Yosemite and other national parks, Hawaiian and Aleutian islands.
+2
Level 84
Dec 10, 2021
Great suggestions, about an hour too late unfortunately. I've just made some corrections which caused stats to be reset and I told Quizmaster I wouldn't be making more changes that cause further resets. I'd have liked to include the Appalachians and Yosemite as those areas of the map aren't too crowded.
+2
Level 84
Dec 10, 2021
Unless QM thinks it's worth adding them.
+1
Level 82
Dec 10, 2021
Sorry, I fell asleep last night before posting them 😃😃
+1
Level ∞
Dec 10, 2021
I don't think the quiz should be changed again.
+1
Level 84
Dec 10, 2021
Cool, didn't think so.
+6
Level 88
Dec 10, 2021
Actually, it's pronounced "Milliwaukay," which is Algonquin for "The Good Land." ;)
+11
Level 84
Dec 10, 2021
Does this guy know how to party or what?!
+1
Level 88
Dec 11, 2021
Leave it to Detroit scholars like Alice Cooper to throw a great need bash.
+2
Level 75
Dec 10, 2021
Hello,

Nice quiz, but how Mineapolis is native american name ?

POLIS is the greek word for city.

for example:

Indianapolis -> Indian - city

Naples/Napoli -> New - City

+9
Level 84
Dec 10, 2021
Its name is derived from the Sioux word minne, meaning “water”.

You could say the same thing about the "City" in Kansas City :)

+1
Level 95
Dec 11, 2021
This quiz was pretty fun, and especially well made. Would love for you to do a Canadian one too! This was a challange, but a welcome one.
+1
Level 80
Dec 11, 2021
Isn't Delaware a Native American word? And what about the Monongahela River?
+1
Level 84
Dec 11, 2021
No, Delaware isn't a Native American word, it's from a French name. See above. There are lots of other rivers, cities etc that could be included. Had to stop somewhere.
+1
Level 54
Dec 11, 2021
hawaiians arent native americans, theyre polynesian. i read the caveat but it still doesnt make sense why theyre considered native americans in this quiz. theyre not native to the americas.
+5
Level 84
Dec 14, 2021
They aren't considered native to the Americas by the quiz. They are included as extra answers as per the caveat, as native languages associated with US geography.
+1
Level 68
Dec 12, 2021
Really cool quiz!
+1
Level 70
Dec 13, 2021
The etymology of these are always interesting. Some of the original meanings are just guesses.
+1
Level 84
Dec 13, 2021
I guess "Muskogee" is too unrelated to count for "Muscogee". A corruption of the original name maybe? Thanks for nothing, Merle!
+1
Level 84
Dec 13, 2021
Happy to add that.
+1
Level 65
Dec 18, 2021
How many new numbers will we have to invent to rate your quizzes? Amazing!!

I'm quite happy that I got 69/77.

+2
Level 31
Dec 18, 2021
"this beats or equals 11.3% of the test takers" damm that hurts
+3
Level 51
Dec 18, 2021
Next quizz Idea : Same but for French heritage ! 😉⚜️
+2
Level 84
Dec 18, 2021
Good idea, I'll see what I can do...
+1
Level 71
Dec 18, 2021
Nice quiz!
+1
Level 77
Dec 18, 2021
Isn't Juneau from Tlingit language?
+1
Level 84
Dec 18, 2021
Nope, it's named after Joe Juneau, a French-Canadian miner and prospector who founded the city with Richard Harris (not the one who played Dumbledore).
+2
Level 78
Jul 18, 2022
Ah, you man the guy in A Man Called Horse?
+1
Level 70
Dec 18, 2021
Super pissed off I wasn't in time to nominate :)

Top-tier quiz!!

+1
Level 62
Dec 18, 2021
Quick note, Yukon is considered a state instead of a river when you finish.
+1
Level 84
Dec 18, 2021
Thanks
+1
Level 62
Dec 18, 2021
Well made quiz!
+1
Level 56
Dec 19, 2021
Wow. This is beautiful!
+2
Level 39
Dec 19, 2021
We need more quizzes like this map! This was an awesome quiz.
+2
Level 71
Dec 21, 2021
I'd love to see one done for Canada. Might do it myself if I have any time to! ;-)
+1
Level 90
Dec 23, 2021
I hope I'm not asking for too much but it would really cool in the answers to have a blurb on the language and meaning of the origin. Like Oklahoma - Choctaw for land of the red people and Texas - Caddo for friend
+2
Level 64
Jan 29, 2022
This is the first quiz I've seen where it's not the quiz itself that is the coolest thing every, but the SVG. That is just incredible.
+1
Level 58
Feb 17, 2022
Probably the Best Quiz in terms of quality I've ever seen, while it probably isn't the one with the most effort, it definitely has the most quality in a quiz.
+1
Level 69
Feb 19, 2022
navajo is not from "native american" language it is spanish for knife and the diné people do not call themselves navajo
+3
Level 84
Feb 19, 2022
Navajo isn’t Spanish for knife. Miriam-Webster for example says it’s comes via Spanish “probably from Tewa (Pueblo Indian language of northern New Mexico) navahu·, literally, arroyo with planted fields.”
+2
Level 81
Apr 4, 2022
Knife in Spanish is cuchillo.
+1
Level 40
May 11, 2022
Incredible quiz. I loved it. Missed Arkansas, which I'm very annoyed with. I got 61/77
+1
Level 60
Jun 17, 2022
Hawaii is not native America. It is not part of the same tectonic plate as North America nor are the people native Americans. They are polynesian and so is their language and heritage. Just because they are part of arbitrary American borders doesn't mean they should be lumped in as native American. it's misleading.
+5
Level 84
Jun 17, 2022
How is the caveat misleading?
+1
Level 40
Jul 2, 2022
No.
+1
Level 63
Nov 2, 2023
How is it arbitrary? It's just as much a state as California or Texas.
+1
Level 77
Jul 7, 2022
I got Chickasaw but somehow forgot about Navajo. wow.
+1
Level 65
Jul 11, 2022
This is great, would love more quizzes like this in the U.S. and global context!
+1
Level 60
Sep 23, 2022
So I think you may have forgotten Sioux City in Iowa/Sioux Falls in South Dakota, which are both named after the Sioux tribe.
+2
Level 84
Sep 23, 2022
This isn’t an exhaustive list. It would be a very cluttered map if it was.
+1
Level 72
Feb 5, 2023
Wow, this is amazing.
+1
Level 46
May 9, 2023
Please add Delaware as a river and state! The Delaware Indian Nation could use some recognition here!
+3
Level 84
May 10, 2023
The Lenape tribe's common name Delaware is not of Native American origin. English colonists named the Delaware River for the first governor of the Province of Virginia, Thomas West, 3rd Baron De La Warr. The English then began to call the Lenape the "Delaware Indians".