Geography education varies enormously around the world, and even well-educated people carry surprisingly wrong beliefs about basic geography. Here are the most common mistakes and the correct answers.

Mistake 1: Thinking the Sahara Is the World's Largest Desert

A desert is defined by low precipitation, not high temperature. By that definition, Antarctica is the world's largest desert at 14.2 million km², followed by the Arctic Desert, with the Sahara coming in third.

The Sahara — the largest hot desert, but not the largest desert overall

Mistake 2: Confusing Capital Cities With Largest Cities

• •Australia — Canberra, not Sydney
• •Canada — Ottawa, not Toronto
• •Brazil — Brasilia, not Rio de Janeiro
• •South Africa — Pretoria, not Johannesburg
• •New Zealand — Wellington, not Auckland
• •Switzerland — Bern, not Zurich or Geneva

Mistake 3: Thinking Turkey Is in Europe

Approximately 97% of Turkey's land area is in Asia, specifically the region known as Anatolia. Only a small area around Istanbul is technically in Europe.

Mistake 4: Thinking the Spanish Steps Are in Spain

The Spanish Steps are one of Rome's most famous landmarks. Despite their name, they are located entirely in Italy, named after the nearby Spanish Embassy.

The Spanish Steps — in Rome, Italy, not Spain

Mistake 5: Thinking Greenland Is Bigger Than Africa

On standard Mercator projection maps, Greenland appears roughly the same size as Africa. In reality, Africa is about 14 times larger than Greenland. The Mercator projection distorts landmasses near the poles.

Mistake 6: Thinking the Amazon Is the Longest River

The Amazon is the world's largest river by volume. But it is not the longest. The Nile in Africa, at approximately 6,650 km, is generally considered the longest river in the world.

Mistake 7: Thinking Easter Island Is Near Australia

Easter Island is actually a territory of Chile. It sits in the Pacific Ocean approximately 3,700 km from the Chilean coast — politically part of South America despite its location.

Easter Island — belongs to Chile, not Australia or New Zealand

How many of these mistakes were you making? Test your geography knowledge and fix these misconceptions with our free quizzes at MyGeoQuiz.