Explorer Trivia Questions and Answers

Are you ready to embark on a journey of discovery with our Explorer Trivia quiz questions and answers? Test your knowledge about the brave explorers who ventured into the unknown with these fascinating trivia questions and answers.

Explore the world of famous explorers and their incredible feats of exploration and discovery. Challenge yourself or compete with friends to see who knows the most about the adventurers who shaped our understanding of the world.

Get ready to dive into history and uncover exciting facts about the intrepid men and women who dared to explore the uncharted territories of our planet.

Early Explorer Trivia Quiz

1. Who is credited with being the first person to circumnavigate the world?
Answer: Ferdinand Magellan

2. Which Italian explorer is famous for discovering America?
Answer: Christopher Columbus

3. Who was the first European explorer to reach India by sea?
Answer: Vasco da Gama

4. Which Chinese explorer led seven maritime expeditions during the 15th century?
Answer: Zheng He

5. Who is known for discovering the sea route from Europe to India around the Cape of Good Hope?
Answer: Bartolomeu Dias

6. Which Viking explorer is believed to have reached North America around the year 1000?
Answer: Leif Erikson

7. Which Portuguese explorer was the first to sail around the southern tip of Africa?
Answer: Bartolomeu Dias

8. Who is credited with the discovery of the Pacific Ocean?
Answer: Vasco Núñez de Balboa

9. Which English explorer made three voyages to the Pacific Ocean, including the discovery of Australia?
Answer: Captain James Cook

10. Who was the first European explorer to set foot on the Antarctic continent?
Answer: Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen

Explorers of the New World

11. Who led the first successful expedition to reach the North Pole?
Answer: Robert Peary

12. Which explorer is famous for discovering the "New World" of the Americas?
Answer: Christopher Columbus

13. Who is known for circumnavigating the globe and claiming the Philippines for Spain?
Answer: Ferdinand Magellan

14. Which Spanish conquistador conquered the Inca Empire in Peru?
Answer: Francisco Pizarro

15. Who is credited with discovering the Mississippi River?
Answer: Hernando de Soto

16. Which French explorer is known for exploring the Great Lakes and the Mississippi River?
Answer: René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle

17. Who discovered the Hudson River and Hudson Bay in North America?
Answer: Henry Hudson

18. Which Portuguese explorer is believed to have reached Brazil in 1500?
Answer: Pedro Álvares Cabral

19. Who was the first European explorer to reach the Pacific coast of the Americas?
Answer: Vasco Núñez de Balboa

20. Which Spanish conquistador conquered the Aztec Empire in Mexico?
Answer: Hernán Cortés

Exploration of Africa and Asia

21. Who is famous for discovering the source of the Nile River?
Answer: John Hanning Speke

22. Which Scottish explorer is known for his expeditions in Africa, including the search for the source of the Nile?
Answer: David Livingstone

23. Who discovered the ancient city of Petra in modern-day Jordan?
Answer: Johann Ludwig Burckhardt

24. Which British explorer led an expedition to find the lost city of Timbuktu in Africa?
Answer: Mungo Park

25. Who was the first European explorer to reach China by land?
Answer: Marco Polo

26. Which Italian explorer is known for his travels along the Silk Road to China?
Answer: Niccolò and Maffeo Polo (Marco Polo's father and uncle)

27. Who is credited with discovering the ruins of the ancient city of Troy?
Answer: Heinrich Schliemann

28. Which British explorer is famous for his travels in the Middle East, including the discovery of the lost city of Ubar?
Answer: Sir Ranulph Fiennes

29. Who discovered the ruins of the ancient city of Machu Picchu in Peru?
Answer: Hiram Bingham

30. Which Dutch explorer is known for his travels in Southeast Asia and his role in establishing the Dutch East India Company?
Answer: Jan Pieterszoon Coen

Polar Explorers

31. Who was the first person to reach the South Pole?
Answer: Roald Amundsen

32. Which British explorer led an ill-fated expedition to the South Pole, known as the Terra Nova Expedition?
Answer: Robert Falcon Scott

33. Who was the first person to reach the North Pole?
Answer: Robert Peary

34. Which American explorer led the first successful expedition to the North Pole by airship?
Answer: Richard E. Byrd

35. Who was the first person to cross Antarctica on foot?
Answer: Sir Ernest Shackleton

36. Which Norwegian explorer was the first to reach both the North Pole and the South Pole?
Answer: Roald Amundsen

37. Who led the British Trans-Antarctic Expedition and became the first person to reach the South Pole overland since Scott?
Answer: Sir Vivian Fuchs

38. Which American explorer led the first successful expedition to the North Pole by submarine?
Answer: Dr. Frederick Albert Cook

39. Who was the first woman to reach the North Pole?
Answer: Ann Bancroft

40. Which British explorer is known for his attempt to cross Antarctica solo, unsupported, and unaided?
Answer: Sir Ranulph Fiennes

Modern-Day Explorers

41. Who was the first person to reach the deepest point in the ocean, the Mariana Trench?
Answer: Jacques Piccard and Don Walsh

42. Which American astronaut was the first person to walk on the moon?
Answer: Neil Armstrong

43. Who was the first woman to reach the summit of Mount Everest?
Answer: Junko Tabei

44. Which Swedish explorer and mountaineer was the first person to reach the summit of Mount Everest without supplemental oxygen?
Answer: Göran Kropp

45. Who is known for his solo, non-stop, and unassisted circumnavigation of the globe in a sailboat?
Answer: Robin Knox-Johnston

46. Which American aviator was the first person to fly solo non-stop across the Atlantic Ocean?
Answer: Charles Lindbergh

47. Who is known for his solo, non-stop circumnavigation of the globe in a hot air balloon?
Answer: Bertrand Piccard

48. Which Canadian explorer and filmmaker is known for his expeditions to the Arctic and underwater discoveries?
Answer: James Cameron

49. Who became the youngest person to reach the summit of Mount Everest?
Answer: Jordan Romero

50. Which American astronaut holds the record for the most cumulative days spent in space?
Answer: Peggy Whitson

Explorers have always fascinated us with their courage, determination, and thirst for discovery. From the early explorers who set sail into the unknown to the modern-day adventurers who push the limits of human capability, their remarkable feats have expanded our understanding of the world.