Six students qualify for state geography bee

Six area geography aficionados have qualified to compete at the Montana National Geographic Bee competition March 31 at the University of Montana.

Competitors in fourth through eighth grades had to first win in a school-level geography bee. School champions then took written geography tests with the top 100 scores making the cut as state finalists.

The state champion will receive a trip to Washington, D.C. to compete in the National Geographic Bee Championship, which takes place May 14-17.

Local state qualifiers are:

• Hope Compton, eighth grade, Flathead Home Educators Association, Kalispell

• Henry Cooke, eighth grade, Eureka Middle School

• Brigham Hardman, eighth grade, Olney-Bissell School

• Michael Manning, sixth grade, St. Matthew’s Catholic School

• George Robbins, seventh grade, Columbia Falls Junior High

• Bryce Stencel, eighth grade, Kalispell Middle School

How would you fare as a Bee contestant? This year school bee competitors answered questions like these:

Q: The North Platte and South Platte Rivers meet in which state — New Mexico or Nebraska?

A: Nebraska

Q: Which landmark in Washington, D.C., was burned by the British in 1814 — the Washington Monument or the White House?

A: White House

Q: Sea otters sometimes wrap themselves in kelp when resting to keep from drifting away. Sea otters can be found near eastern Russia in the Sea of Okhotsk in which ocean?

A. Pacific Ocean

Q: The island of Mauritius in the Indian Ocean has multicolored sand dunes. It’s weird, but it’s true! Mauritius lies off the southeast coast of which continent that includes the Kalahari Desert?

A: Africa

Q: What is the term for an underground layer of rock that holds groundwater—an arroyo or an aquifer?

A: Aquifer