International Geography Puzzles
Rolf Palmberg
Age Range: 11 and over
These geography puzzles provide teachers with motivating introductions to lessons dealing with time zones and/or international borders. The first one is about time zones:
GEOGRAPHY PUZZLE I
You are travelling along a European road. It’s 2 o’clock in the afternoon. About 10 kilometres to the west, in a neighbouring country, it’s 3 o’clock. About 10 kilometres to the east, in another neighbouring country, it’s 4 o’clock.
What time is it in Madrid, Spain?
The second one is about international borders:
GEOGRAPHY PUZZLE II
You are standing on the Dutch-French border.
What is the name of the nearest international airport?
Solution to Puzzle I:
You are on the road that leads from the Norwegian town of Kirkenes south to the Finnish-Norwegian-Russian tripoint, i.e. the place where the borders of Finland, Norway and Russia meet. Since Norway and Spain are in the same time zone, it’s 2 o’clock in Spain, too.
Solution to Puzzle II:
The answer is Princess Juliana Airport on Sint Maarten, which is the Dutch half of the divided Dutch-French island in the Caribbean. The French part of the island is called Saint-Martin, but it has no international airport. Both Sint Maarten and Saint-Martin are integral parts of their respective homelands, so the Dutch-French border does exist. But it is not in Europe, as one might expect. It is in the Americas.
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