Paris 2024 Olympic Firsts Quiz

The Summer 2024 Olympics in Paris ended a little while ago on Sunday, August 11th. Congratulations to all athletes who came to these Olympics and competed fairly and to the best of their ability! This GeoFact of the Day quiz highlights medal winners representing countries — and an athlete valiantly competing for the Refugee Team — that have not won a medal previously or have not won a gold medal until Paris 2024. Three Caribbean island countries, three African countries, one European country, one Central American country, and the Refugee Olympic Team are all represented in this post. Quiz answers are listed below — enjoy and good luck!

1)      GRENADA earned bronze medals in men’s javelin throw and men’s decathlon. 2024 is the first Olympic year in which Grenada won more than one medal. Which name is not one of the athletes who won these medals?
A — Lindon Victor
B — Anderson Peters
C — Timothy Conch

2)      BOTSWANA celebrates its first ever gold medal, which was won by Letsile Tebogo. Letsile also earned a silver medal as a teammate on the men’s ___________ team.
A — badminton
B — 4 x 400 meter relay
C — football

3)      ____________ is the home country of Cindy Ngamba, the women’s 75 kg boxer who earned the first ever medal (bronze) on the Refugee Olympic Team.
A — CAMEROON
B — SOMALIA
C — YEMEN

4)      True or false: EL SALVADOR is the Central American country winning its first ever gold medal.

5)      Track athlete Julien Alfred won a gold medal in the women’s 100 meter dash and a silver medal in the women’s 200 meter dash at the Paris 2024 Olympics. She won these first ever medals on behalf of which Caribbean island country?
A — SAINT KITTS AND NEVIS
B — SAINT LUCIA
C — TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO
D — BARBADOS

6)      Two freestyle wrestlers — Chermen Valiev and Islam Dudaev — won the first ever medals (both bronze) for their country in Southeastern Europe. Which country?
A — ALBANIA
B — GREECE
C — NORTH MACEDONIA
D — MONTENEGRO

7)      David de Pina (Daniel Varela de Pina) won a bronze medal in men’s 51 kg boxing and therefore earned the first ever medal for which island country in Africa? Hint: this country is an archipelago located west of mainland West Africa, and the country’s name translates to green cape in Portuguese.
A — MAURITIUS
B — SEYCHELLES
C — SÃO TOMÉ AND PRÍNCIPE
D — COMOROS
E — CABO VERDE
F — MADAGASCAR

8)      True or false: Thea LaFond competed in women’s triple jump and earned the first ever medal — and a gold one at that — for DOMINICA.























ANSWERS

Question 1:
C . . . . . Timothy Conch

Question 2:
B . . . . . 4 x 400 meter relay

Question 3:
A . . . . . Cameroon

Question 4:
False . . . . . Guatemala

Question 5:
B . . . . . Saint Lucia

Question 6:
A . . . . . Albania

Question 7:
E . . . . . Cabo Verde

Question 8:
True

Botswana Post is Updated

My Botswana post (↗) — link opens in a new tab or window — is updated with more information. Thanks for visiting GeoFact of the Day today!

Independence Day in Botswana

People all across BOTSWANA recently celebrated their country's Independence Day on Wednesday, September 30th. Botswana achieved independence from The United Kingdom in 1966. Happy belated Independence Day!

New Blog Maps of Botswana, Burundi, and Cameroon

GeoFact of the Day's three newest maps of BOTSWANA, BURUNDI, and CAMEROON give you knowledge about each country's cities and towns, land terrain, and approximate borders. Click on the buttons below to access the blog posts with these maps. Feel free to comment on what you think about my maps, and feel free to share your suggestions in regards to future maps or blog content!

Botswana is Known for...

●    Kalahari Desert
●    Okavango Delta
●    Chobe River
●    Diamonds
●    Democracy

Listed in The Africa Book; the MLA citation is below. What are other "trademarks" of this African country? Feel free to share your thoughts with a comment!

Phillips et al. The Africa Book: A Journey through Every
          Country in the Continent. Lonely Planet, 2007.

— #AfricaWeek —

Botswana Exports

The following produce and materials are major exports of BOTSWANA: beans, copper, diamonds, grain (millet and sorghum), groundnuts, meat, nickel, soda ash, sunflowers and their seeds, and textiles. According to the International Monetary Fund (data.imf.org), countries and territories buying and importing most of those exports in 2016 include Belgium (top importer), India, South Africa, Namibia, the United Arab Emirates, Israel, Singapore, Canada, Switzerland, Hong Kong, the United States, Norway, the United Kingdom, Zimbabwe, China, Zambia, Vietnam, Finland, Thailand, and the Netherlands.

Botswana Endangered Species

As of November 30th, 2014, the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™ for BOTSWANA lists one critically endangered species and eight endangered species. The critically endangered species listed by the IUCN Red List is the Black Rhinoceros, which has experienced about a 98% decline in population since 1960. Fortunately, the Black Rhinoceros population is on an increasing trajectory. The species' range extends over Southern African countries, including Angola, Botswana, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. The eight endangered species in Botswana are the African Wild Dog, Basra Reed Warbler, Egyptian Vulture, Grey-Crown Crane, Hooded Vulture, Ludwig's Bustard bird, Waterwheel plant, and White-Backed Vulture.

Discover more about Botswana! (link to my blog post)

Kalahari Desert in Botswana

Botswana Week

The Kalahari Desert, which covers an area of 120,000 square miles and is the sixth largest desert* in the world, blankets southwestern BOTSWANA as well as areas of Angola, Namibia, and South Africa. Towns located within the Kalahari Desert include Dutlwe, Hunkuntsi, Kang, Mabutsang, Palamakoloi, and Tshane.

* Unless you include the Antarctic Polar and Arctic Polar deserts, which are technically the world's two largest deserts. The Sahara is the largest non-polar desert.

Neighboring Countries of Botswana

Botswana Week

BOTSWANA is bordered by four countries. Namibia is west of Botswana, South Africa is south, Zambia is north, and Zimbabwe is northeast. The Botswana-Zambia border is practically a single point.

Okavango Delta

Botswana Week

The Okavango Delta, also also known as the Okavango Swamp, is located in northern BOTSWANA in the Chobe District. The Okavango Delta is one of the largest inland deltas in the world! Nearby towns include Kandalengoti, Maun, Nokaneng, Nxaunxau, and Tsao Toteng.

Districts of Botswana

Botswana Week

To start off Botswana Week, I will mention that BOTSWANA, which has the capital of Gaborone, is located in Southern Africa. Also, Botswana has 9 districts: Central (east-central Botswana), Chobe (northern), Ghanzi (west-central), Kgalagadi (southwestern), Kgatleng (southeast), Kweneng (southern), Northeast, Southeast (Gaborone is located here), and Southern. To learn more about Botswana, visit my Botswana post!

Botswana

The Republic of BOTSWANA is a rather vast Southern African country which achieved independence from the United Kingdom in September 1966. The landlocked country is a neighbor to four bordering countries: Namibia in the west, South Africa in the south and southeast, Zambia at a tiny boundary in the north near the town of Kasane, and Zimbabwe in the northeast. The climate of Botswana is typically semiarid with hot summers and warm winters. Botswana’s currency is the Pula, and its ISO 4217 currency code is BWP. Some of the country’s exports for global trade (↗) are beans, copper, diamonds, grain (maize, millet, and sorghum), groundnuts, meat, nickel, soda ash, sunflowers, and textiles.

● ● ● ● ●  People and Places  ● ● ● ● ●  According to Encyclopædia Britannica, Botswana's population in the year 2020 is about 2,383,000 and is ranked 145th among populations of the whole world’s countries, dependencies, and territories. With a population of about 247,000 (year 2022), Gaborone serves as the national capital of Botswana. Other major Botswanan cities include Francistown, Kanye, Mahalapye, Maun, Mochudi, Mogoditshane, Molepolole, Palapye, Selibe Phikwe, and Serowe. Notable places and sites of interest all across the country mostly relate to the natural environment and ecosystems. Some recreational examples include the Caracal Biodiversity Centre in Kasane, Nata Bird Sanctuary, Central Kalahari Game Reserve, Chobe National Park, Gemsbok National Park, Kgalagadi Transfrontier National Park, Kutse Game Reserve, Mabuasehube Game Reserve, Makgadikgadi Pans Game Reserve, Moremi Wildlife Reserve, Mokolodi Nature Reserve, Northern Tuli Game Reserve, and Nxai Pan National Park. The easternmost point of Botswana is an arrowhead-shaped region known as Tuli Block, a “Land of Giants” known for its towering trees, enormous rock formations, and private nature reserves featuring quintessential “zoo animals” like the aardvark, antelope, cheetah, crocodile, elephant, giraffe, hippopotamus, and zebra.

As of 2022, about 35 languages are used for communication. English is the official language, while Tswana is a native and widely spoken language. Other languages include Afrikaans, ǂ’Amkhoe, ǁAni, Birwa, Chichewa, ǁGana, Gciriku, ǀGwi, Haiǁom, Herero, Juǀ’hoansi (Ju’hoan), Kalanga, Kgalagadi, Khoekhoe, Khoisan (umbrella category for multiple languages), Khwedam, Kua, Kuhane, Kung-Ekoka, Kwangali, Lozi, Mbukushu, Nambya, Naro, Ndebele, Nossob, Setswana, Shua, Sotho (Northern and Southern), Taa (!Xóõ), Tshuwau, Tswapong, Xhosa, Yeyi, Zezuru, and Zulu. Two-thirds (67%) of the Botswanan population have Tswana ethnic heritage. Other ethnic groups among Botswanan people include Afrikaner, Basarwa, Bushman (San), Herero, Kalanga (Western Shona), Kgalagadi (Khalagari or Western Sotho), Khoisan, Mbanderu, Mbukushu, Ndebele, Northern Sotho (Birwa, Tswapong, etc.), Subiya, and Yei. About 64% of Botswanan citizens are Christians, followed by believers in Badimo and other ethnic religions (34%), Bahá’í believers (0.8%), Muslims (0.3%), Hindus (0.14%), and Buddhists (0.06%).

● ● ● ● ●  Land and Water Features  ● ● ● ● ●   If you ask a Botswana enthusiast to say the country’s most notable landscape feature, a response would likely mention either the Kalahari Desert or Okavango Delta. Both of these contrasting features are part of a Botswanan paradox: while the vast and dry Kalahari Desert in western Botswana encompasses much of the country (80%) and is inapt for the livelihoods of people and animals, the Okavango Delta of northern Botswana is a comparative oasis that many species benefit from. In fact, the Okavango Delta is a relatively rare interior delta that does not flow into an ocean or sea and contains 95% of all the surface water in Botswana! Tourists love the delta region because of the area’s safari opportunities. The delta is listed since 2014 as a UNESCO World Heritage Site (↗). While areas near the delta have a greater biodiversity then the desert, the Kalahari Desert provides bush areas and grasslands with suitable habitat and resources for particular organisms. Other notable landscape features are found in Botswana, such as the Mababe Depression east of the delta and south of Chobe National Park, the Moremi Gorge near Serowe in the southeast, and variously sized salt pans — see the last paragraph for a short list and details of Botswana’s major salt pans. Marshes and farmland are predominantly located in northern Botswana, and rolling plains in the east provide grazing land and delicious grass for livestock to eat.

In addition to the Okavango Delta’s UNESCO designation, the Tsodilo Hills of northwestern Botswana is a UNESCO World Heritage Site (↗) encompassing “one of the highest concentrations of rock art in the world” and is therefore nicknamed the “Louvre of the Desert”! These quite inhospitable surroundings in the Kalahari Desert feature thousands of rock paintings within a small 10 km² (3.9 mi²) area, and archaeology studies make note of contemporaneous human civilization and environmental conditions starting more than 100,000 years ago. Situated in Botswana’s southeastern area and more specifically to the southwest of Gaborone, Monalanong Hill (Manyelanong Hill) is arguably the highest point in Botswana with an estimated height of 1,494 meters and 4,902 feet. Several other high points in southeastern Botswana include Kgale Hill, Otse Hill (1,469 meters and 4,822 feet), and Thamaga Hill. High points in the central area of Botswana include Matuba (1,167 meters and 3,829 feet), Daily's Koppie, Malauwe Koppies, Oppie Koppie, and the Tswapong Hills. High points in the northwestern region include Male Hill and Mount Aha (1,250 meters and 4,100 feet). Other hilly regions include the Aha Hills in the northwest, Chinamba Hills in the northeast, Koanaka Hills in the west, and Kgwebe Hills in north-central Botswana.

There are multiple salt pans, lakes, streams, rivers, and other water features of Botswana. Many of these are in close proximity to the Okavango Delta, while others are hundreds of kilometers/miles away. Most of Botswana’s salt pans sit in the northeast near the circular formation of towns and villages such as Gweta, Kumaga, Mosetse, Nata, Orapa, and Rakops (see map for geographic orientation). Here are four examples of salt pans found in northeastern Botswana: Makgadikgadi, Ntwetwe, Nxai, and Sua. One of the largest lakes in Botswana, Lake Ngami is generally located in northwestern Botswana but specifically south of the Okavango Delta, west of the Kgwebe Hills, and near the towns of Sehithwa and Tsau (Tsao). Lake Xau is another lake, and it is found about 250 kilometers and 155 miles east and slightly southeast of Lake Ngami. Known as the Kwando River in Namibia, the Chobe River flows along the north-central border of Botswana and the southeastern border of Namibia’s Caprivi Strip region. The river is north of Chobe National Park and immediately north of the Linyanti Swamp. The Molopo River forms the southwestern Botswana-South Africa border, while the Nosop River forms the southern border with South Africa. Botletle (Botete), Limpopo, Marico, Motloutse, Ngotwane, Okavango, Shashe, and Thaoge are other rivers flowing in various territories of Botswana. Intermittent rivers include Eiseb, Lotsane, Moselebe, Ncamasere, Okwa, Serurumi, and Xaudum.

This post was updated with more information in November 2022. GeoFact of the Day’s map of Botswana was designed in June 2020.