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Name a Valid U.S. State Capital

Can you name a U.S state capital that falls under each category?
Quiz by WolfCam
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Last updated: November 4, 2021
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First submittedOctober 19, 2019
Times taken47,188
Average score72.2%
Rating4.84
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Name a state capital that ...
Answers
Begins with L
Lansing | Lincoln | Little Rock
Borders the Atlantic Ocean
Annapolis | Boston | Providence
Has an elevation over 5000 feet
Santa Fe | Cheyenne | Denver
Was settled by Europeans before 1630
Santa Fe | Albany | Boston
Whose name ends with "city"
Carson City | Jefferson City | Oklahoma City | Salt Lake City
Gets less than 12 inches of annual precipitation
Phoenix | Carson City | Helena | Boise
Gets more than 55 inches of annual precipitation
Juneau | Baton Rouge | Tallahassee
Is more than 800 miles from the sea
Pierre | Cheyenne | Des Moines
Starts with the same letter as its state
Dover | Honolulu | Indianapolis | Oklahoma City
Has hosted the Summer or Winter Olympics
Atlanta | Salt Lake City
Has a population under 20,000
Montpelier | Pierre | Augusta
Is named for a U.S. President
Lincoln | Jackson | Jefferson City | Madison
Gained over 150,000 residents
from 2000–2020
Austin | Phoenix | Columbus | Raleigh |
Oklahoma City | Denver
Borders another state
Carson City | Trenton
Whose name comes from French
Baton Rouge | Boise | Des Moines | Juneau |
Montpelier | Pierre
Whose name ends with "polis"
Annapolis | Indianapolis
On the Mississippi river
Baton Rouge | St. Paul
More than 500 miles from any other state capital
Honolulu | Juneau
40 Comments
+8
Level 65
Oct 19, 2019
This has been the most fun valid quiz so far :)
+1
Level 74
Jan 29, 2020
+1
+6
Level 83
Nov 2, 2019
Are you counting the Great Lakes as the "sea"? Because if not, there are a lot more capitals further than 800 miles from the ocean. If you ARE counting them, a note to clarify would make sense.
+1
Level 85
Nov 4, 2019
Similarly, you must be counting the Chesapeake Bay as part of the Atlantic Ocean, with Annapolis being included, even though it's more than 100 miles from the open sea.
+1
Level 63
Dec 24, 2021
The clue says 800, not 100. Annapolis is well within 800 miles of the sea.
+1
Level 85
Nov 28, 2023
Wrong clue. I was referring to the "Borders the Atlantic Ocean" clue, which doesn't specify a distance.

As QM says below, he considers the Chesapeake Bay to be part of the Atlantic Ocean. (Marylanders would disagree, but it's his site, so we follow his rules.)

+1
Level 62
Jan 4, 2024
I wonder where the line is drawn. Bays or gulfs seem reasonable to lump in with their corresponding oceans in my opinion though. Rivers and lakes not so much.
+3
Level ∞
Jan 9, 2020
Chesapeake Bay is part of the sea. The Great Lakes are not.
+1
Level 65
Jan 28, 2020
but Hudson Bay is I assume?
+3
Level ∞
Jun 17, 2023
Yes of course
+3
Level 73
Nov 2, 2019
Happy with 12 out of 18, as a Brit. Some tricky ones on there for us non Americans. Fun though.
+1
Level 57
Jan 9, 2020
There are a lot more capitals 800 miles from the sea than you list. Can you please clarify!
+1
Level ∞
Jan 9, 2020
Such as?
+1
Level 67
Jan 20, 2020
Lincoln and Bismarck maybe?
+1
Level 78
Jan 28, 2020
They're just under the wire. Lincoln clocks in at around 780 miles from the Gulf of Mexico, and Bismarck is about the same distance from Hudson Bay.
+1
Level 48
Dec 24, 2021
Correct.

The closest point from Lincoln to the Gulf of Mexico is in Tirana Bay, at 764.09 miles (1,229.68 km).

The closest point from Bismarck to the Hudson Bay is at the mouth of the Hayes River, at 795.28 miles (1,279.88 km).

So, that summarizes that Lincoln and Bismarck are NOT valid.

+1
Level 75
Jan 28, 2020
Los Angeles hasn't hosted the Summer Olympics?
+9
Level 77
Jan 28, 2020
Los Angeles is not the state capital of California...Sacramento is the capital.
+1
Level 44
Jan 28, 2020
Detroit was a French fur trading outpost.
+7
Level 45
Jan 28, 2020
That's true Detroit means "strait" in French. Its named that because the French explorers originally called it "le detroit du Lac Erie". Or the strait of Lake Erie.

However Lansing is the capital of Michigan so Detroit doesn't belong on the quiz!

+2
Level 66
Dec 24, 2021
I have occasionally joked to people that Detroit is actually pronounced "De twrah" because it comes from French. I am inadvertently right?
+2
Level 81
Jan 28, 2020
Surprised that Carson City has more than 20,000 people in it. I got tricked in to going to some dumb time share sales pitch there and it seemed tiny. Also surprised that it's considered to border another state. It borders Lake Tahoe, which is shared between Nevada and California.
+1
Level 45
Aug 1, 2020
Carson City is actually pretty decently sized with a population of about 55k
+1
Level 48
Dec 24, 2021
My hometown, Denver, has 720k residents.
+1
Level 57
Nov 29, 2023
I agree, Carson City doesn't technically border another state. the city doesn't extend half way through Lake Tahoe.
+2
Level 51
Jan 28, 2020
How are we defining "borders another state"? Does that mean the city limits of the city literally butt up against the border?

Reason I ask is because when we talk about metro areas, there are a couple state capitals that are part of larger metro areas that include cities from other states (Tallahassee come to mind, but I'm sure there are others).

+1
Level 72
Oct 25, 2021
Probably according to a factoid on Wikipedia. The city limits of Carson City, NV do not touch the California state border (which, unlike the city boundary, runs through Lake Tahoe), but:

Carson City is one of two state capitals that border another state, the other being Trenton, New Jersey.

+1
Level 60
Jan 28, 2020
tbh harder than i thought, good game btw
+1
Level 74
Jan 29, 2020
Good quiz! Just a suggestion. Some clues begin with a singular verb has, gets, borders, was... others with a plural border, have... I wonder if there is a correlation with the fact that two of the three least guessed answers begin with a plural verb... Bad joke.
+2
Level 67
Feb 1, 2020
Neither Carson nor Jefferson work for the capitols that end in City.
+3
Level 44
Mar 23, 2020
Saying Carson City is on state line, is like saying Dover, Delaware is on a state line. It's very close, but it's not on it. The California line runs through the middle of Lake Tahoe, and there's mountains in between Carson and the Lake.
+3
Level 74
Nov 28, 2023
If you go by city limit borders, Carson City (and the county equivalent) do border California via the Lake Tahoe water border. Just as Trenton has a water border via the Delaware River with Pennsylvania.
+1
Level 66
Dec 24, 2021
Man, these questions are hard to answer when you are reading the wrong one.
+1
Level 80
Dec 24, 2021
Fun quiz. The clue for bordering another state should read "borders" not "border."
+1
Level 67
May 23, 2022
Minneapolis??? shouldn't that count for cities that end in polis?
+3
Level 68
May 24, 2022
Capital is Saint Paul, not Minneapolis
+1
Level 51
Sep 28, 2022
Could use just a little bit more time perhaps
+1
Level 62
May 18, 2023
16/18
+2
Level 28
May 30, 2023
I am so dumb,
+1
Level 43
Nov 30, 2023
I guessed Little Rock for half the question but I didn't guess it for "Begins with L." 🤦