Malta: A small island south of Italy.
The Crimea: Where present-day Croatia is, I think
Timbuktu: In Mali, North Africa
The Halls of Montezuma: Somewhere in Mexico?
The Shores of Tripoli: Tripoli is the capital of Libya, on the north coast of Africa
Tasmania: Island off South Eastern Australia
Verrazano Narrows: No idea.
Fire Island: Dunno.
Mandalay: In present day Burma?
Glocca Morra: No idea.
Botany Bay: In Australia.
Cape Fear: No.
Key Largo: One of the Florida Keys, off the south coast of Florida.
The Slough of Despond: Dunno.
The Dismal Swamp: Are you making these up?
The Straits of Magellan: Panama?
The Galapagos Islands: Off the coast of Ecuador.
Yes.
Didn’t make any up but two may not be on any maps
Malta - between sicily and africa. In the mediterranean somewhere.
The Crimea - some place near the black sea
Timbuktu - in Mali. Famous for being characterized as truly the middle of nowhere.
The Halls of Montezuma - in Mexico, I guess
The Shores of Tripoli - uhhh Africa again. North. Algiers?
Tasmania - Island off Australia
Verrazano Narrows - Bridge. between Staten Island and Brooklyn
Fire Island - barrier Island - south shore Long Island
Mandalay - Some place in Indonesia
Glocca Morra - Sounds Irish.
Botany Bay - Australia again
Cape Fear - North Carolina
Key Largo - Florida Keys
The Slough of Despond - Scottish maybe
The Dismal Swamp - I think there’s one in NJ
The Straits of Magellan - South of Tierra Del Fuego
The Galapagos Islands - Off of Ecuador
Malta - between sicily and africa. In the mediterranean somewhere.
The Crimea - some place near the black sea
Timbuktu - in Mali. Famous for being characterized as truly the middle of nowhere.
The Halls of Montezuma - in Mexico, I guess
The Shores of Tripoli - uhhh Africa again. North. Algiers?
Tasmania - Island off Australia
Verrazano Narrows - Bridge. between Staten Island and Brooklyn
Fire Island - barrier Island - south shore Long Island
Mandalay - Some place in Indonesia
Glocca Morra - Sounds Irish.
Botany Bay - Australia again
Cape Fear - North Carolina
Key Largo - Florida Keys
The Slough of Despond - Scottish maybe
The Dismal Swamp - I think there’s one in NJ
The Straits of Magellan - South of Tierra Del Fuego
The Galapagos Islands - Off of Ecuador
See Post #43 for answers. Good job.
To be more specific, it’s a bay about 15 kms south of the Sydney CBD. A spot on the southern shore of Botany Bay, known as Kurnell, was where Captain Cook first set foot on the east coast of the Australian mainland on 29 April 1770.
Here’s what I got, without looking at anyone else’s first. There might be some mistakes in it, of course.
Malta: an island nation in the Mediterranean Sea, sort of southeast of Italy. Its history has seen domination by the Ottoman Empire and the British Empire, but it’s been independent since the early 1960s.
The Crimea: a peninsula on the Black Sea, part of Ukraine. The principle city here is Odessa. It’s a popular resort area. Leon Trotsky went here on vacation and was still there when Lenin died. Stalin told him not to hurry home and he didn’t, which put him into an awkward position, politically, and cleared the way for Stalin to further solidify power while blackening Trotsky’s eye. The Crimea’s first known settlers were Greek, I believe, but it’s been populated by Khazars, Turks, and of course Ukrainians in the years following.
Timbuktu: The capital of the Saharan nation of Mali. Timbuktu is in the Sahara because of encroaching desertification of northern Africa. Its heyday was over five hundred years ago, when it was a center of learning and culture.
The Halls of Montezuma: refers to where Montezuma (or Moctezuma) ruled. Montezuma was the last ruler of the Aztec Empire, which covered most of what’s now known as Mexico and parts of Central America. Montezuma was defeated by the Spanish conquistadorsin 1519. This phrasing was made famous by “The Marine Hymn,” which is the anthem of the United States Marine Corps. In that context, it refers to America’s victorious war with Mexico, which lasted from 1846 to 1848.
The Shores of Tripoli: refers to the beaches of Tripolitania, or as it’s known today, Libya. This phrasing was also made famous by “The Marine Hymn.” In this context, it refers to Admiral Douglas Farragut’s action against the Barbary Pirates, who sailed from what are the modern nations of Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and Lybia, preying on American shipping in the Mediterranean in the early 1800s. The action was successful. The land, of course, is arid.
Tasmania: This is Australia’s island state off the southern shore of the western state of New South Wales. It’s fairly lush, I believe, and home to peculiar fauna, just like the rest of the country. It’s also the location of the world’s only completely successful genocide. All the people who were living there were killed by British colonists, quickly and efficiently; no one alive in the world today is descended from an indigenous Tasmanian.
Verrazano Narrows: the narrow, very navigable straights which lie between Long Island and Staten Island, in New York Harbor. They were named after Verrazzano, an Italian explorer who was the first European to find them. In 1961 the City of New York built a bridge there, which is really cool to ride your bike across, which is something you’re allowed to do only once a year. For some reason, when you write the name of the straights, you spell it with one Z, but the name of the explorer always has two.
Fire Island: This is an island in New York’s Long Island somewhere, but I can’t remember whether it’s in Brooklyn, Queens, or Nassau County. It got its name from fires that were lit on it on a regular basis, but who lit those fires, I’m not sure. It later became a popular leisure beach, and these days is fairly notorious for being a destination for gay men. (I’m not sure if that’s still the case, but it sure was some twenty years ago, at least.)
Mandalay: A city in… Burma, I believe? And I think it’s coastal. Rudyard Kipling wrote about it, saying that flying fishes play there, so that makes me think it’s on the coast. But I’m not sure.
Glocca Morra: No idea.
Botany Bay: This is a harbor in Australia, where Sydney is, I believe. It was the first European settlement in Van Diemen’s Land, which became known as Australia some years later. It’s in the state of New South Wales.
Cape Fear: A narrow cape (possibly an island?) off the coast of the American state of North Carolina, around the southeastern corner of the state, right on the Atlantic Ocean.
Key Largo: An island in the Keys, which is a chain of islands off the southern coast of the American state of Florida. They spill in a southwesterly angle, covering more than a hundred miles.
The Slough of Despond: No idea.
The Dismal Swamp: I feel like I should know, but I don’t.
The Straights of Magellan: The straights separating Tierra del Fuego, on the southern tip of South America, from the Antarctic Peninsula, which is the northernmost point in Antarctica. The Spanish explorer Ferdinand Magellan led the first European expedition through them, so they were named after him. The seas are frequently known to be rough in this place, particularly in the wintertime.
The Galapagos Islands: An archipeligo about a hundred miles off the coast of Ecuador, which are owned by Ecuador. It’s home to a lot of unique flora and fauna, which thrived in a uniquely predator-free environment. These tropical islands were discovered by accident by the Spanish in the late sixteenth century and served as a penal colony for a while. They’re best known for Charles Darwin’s visit with the H.M.S. Beagle, a ship on a scientific voyage in the 1850s.
All from memory, before reading the thread [/brag] containing possible error[/disclaimer]
The Crimea – Between Turkey and Russia; location of Crimean War between Russia and Gt Britain et al?; loc. of Charge of the Light Brigade
Timbuktu – City in North Africa, in southern Sahara?; trade center, center of culture before European colonial era
The Halls of Montezuma – Capital of Mexico, attacked/taken by the US Marines (ref. Marine Hymn)
The Shores of Tripoli – North Africa, seat of pirates who were detrimental to trade in the days of sail (ref. Marine Hymn)
Tasmania – Large island south of Australia, location of Tasman wolf and other rare (some defunct) species
Verrazano Narrows – Location of V. N. Bridge, which appears in an amazing film clip as the winds get it swinging at its resonant frequency & as the various stays work loose its movement increases till it fails catastrophically into the water
Fire Island – In/Near New York State
Mandalay – In/around Malaysia, on the China side (ref Kipling poem/song; can quote a lot of it if desired)
Glocca Morra – Irish
Botany Bay – Location British convicts were shipped to. (Ref Farewell to Old England the Beautiful, Farewell to Old Bailey as well!)
Cape Fear –
Key Largo – Island off Florida (ref. H.Bogart movie of the same name)
The Slough of Despond – A moral threat to Christians, who had to keep faith. Dante?
The Dismal Swamp –
The Straits of Magellan – South of the tip of S. America; names for Magellan’s expedition which circumnavigated the world through there
The Galapagos Islands – Off the West coast of S.America; Darwin observed the variations of finches there on his trip on the Beagle, which helped him found the theory of variation of species.
Drat, I missed Malta, would have said large Mediterranean island; in the Crusades era housed the Knights of Malta, who were the source of the fictional Maltese Falcon (ref H.Bogart movie of same name)
Folsom Prison – Prison in southern? California; ref. J. Cash, Folsom Prison Blues (I know they’re drinking coffee, and smoking big cigars;…I know I had it coming, I know I can’t be free, But that train keeps rolling, and that’s what tortures me)
London Bridge – Old bridge over the Thames, had buildings/business built on it; mentioned in traditional childrens’ song & M.Twain’s Prince and the Pauper
Bay of Biscay – Gulf/large bay on Atlantic side of Spain/France (ref Kipling poem, Ain’t the owners gay, cuz we brought the Bolivar back across the Bay)(implication the owners wanted it sunk for the insurance money)
Victoria Falls – Magnificent falls in Africa.
Niagara Falls – Magnificent falls at US-Canadian border; refs many, including Marilyn Monroe movie
Silicon Valley – South Bay; home of much technology, stimulated by presence of many universities, good area to live, & presence of money even before the tech boom
The valley referred to in the term “Valley Girls” – Simi Valley?
**Pike’s Peak ** – Landmark visible to pioneer wagon trains on way to California, loc. in Nebraska?
Mt. Rushmore – In the Dakotas, mountain carved with likeness of four American presidents
Geographic center of N. America –
Geographic center of US – Somewhere in Kansas
Transylvania – Area of the Balkans, famous for vampyres, Vlad the Impaler, and other mysterious frightening/romantic tales
The Sargasso Sea – In the Atlantic above the Equator, area of doldrums (minimum winds), a vortex of the trade? winds, where flotsam tends to end up, and sailing ships awaited wind & rain
Kerguelen – Arctic island (settlement?)
Ulaan Bataar – City in Mongolia, sometimes Ulan Bator. On trade routes. Another mysterious, far-away place from the point of view of non-Mongolians and non-Central Asian-travelers.
The Ural Mountains – Mountain range in Asia
The Pillars of Hercules – The geography framing the strait entering the Mediterranean from the Atlantic (ref. insurance advertisement, Greek myth, other)
Just for more fun, name the Northernmost state in the US. – Alaska
Easternmost? – Alaska
Southernmost? – Texas?
Westernmost? – Alaska
Some corrections:
Close. NSW is an eastern state.
The current Tasmanian aboriginal people would dispute this.
Sydney was not established on Botany Bay, but on Port Jackson, a harbour about 15km north of Botany Bay.
The first European settlement was at Port Jackson (see above), not Botany Bay. Van Diemen’s Land later became known as Tasmania.
Surely Hawaii for the southernmost?
Which is further east, Atlanta or Quito Ecuador? – I’d bet Quito
You are travelling from the Atlantic to the Pacific via the Panama Canal. In which direction are you travelling? East
If you could drill a hole through the center of the earth and come out on the opposite side of the globe, where would you be – Southwestern Pacific Ocean if it’s still the same as when I was in third grade
**Didn’t make any up but two may not be on any maps ** – Slough of Despond, and Glocca Mora?
This is fun. All those locations have some magnetic connotations.
How about:
The Superstition Mountains
Krakatoa
El Dorado
The Ready Bullion
Mt. Shasta
The Continental Divide
The jumping-off point. The California Trail, the Oregon Trail.
The Back of Beyond
Nome
The Great Rift Valley
Land’s End
Babylon
The Punjab
The Ganges
The steppes
The Altai mountains
Siberia
Tibet
The Danube
The Bight of Benin
The Big Muddy
The Northwest Passage
Ixtaccihuatl
Macchu Picchu
(Three are not real, and one is highly obscure.)
El Dorado: A ficticious paradise supposedly full of riches. Also, a county in northeastern California’s gold country in the Sierra Nevada Mountains
Mt. Shasta: A volcano in the Cascade Mountain Range at the far northern end of California between the Sacramento Valley and Oregon
The Continental Divide: A line in North America separating the natural flow of water east from the flow of water west. The Divide runs generally north-south across the crest of the Rocky Mountains.
The jumping-off point. The California Trail, the Oregon Trail: Southwestern Idaho?
Nome: Alaska
Babylon: Ancient city on the Euprates River that was the capital of Babylonia, and is now ruins in modern-day Iraq.
Siberia: A vast, cold, sparsely-populated, swath of land across Russia from the Ural Mountains to the Atlantic
The Danube: A river in Germany
The Northwest Passage: A fictional or supposed waterway across America allowing passage to India from the Atlantic
Ixtaccihuatl: The ancient Mayan capital in South America?
San Diego.
Pierre.
El Paso.
I know these because I had a friend from Texas who always told everyone this as an example of how mind-bogglingly huge Texas was. Except he mistakenly said Houston was closer to Jacksonville and I had to pull out a map to show him he was wrong (although Beaumont, TX is indeed closer.) Hmm…is that you, Jim? 
The Superstition Mountains - a mountain range east of Phoenix, AZ (or is it south?)
Krakatoa - Volcanic island [del]east[/del] west of Java, Indonesia that went KABOOM in the late 19th century.
El Dorado - This is a movie, isn’t it?
The Ready Bullion - Sounds like a tavern somewhere during the Gold Rush.
Mt. Shasta - Big active volcano in No. California at the southern end of the Cascades mountain range. Second highest mountain in California.
The Continental Divide - The line that divides North America between the Pacific drainage basin and the Atlantic/Arctic/Gulf of Mexico drainage basin.
The jumping-off point. The California Trail, the Oregon Trail. - St. Joseph, Missouri?
The Back of Beyond - not a clue…this is the fake one, right?
Nome - Small town in Alaska, on the Bering Sea. One of the most isolated towns in the U.S., you can only get there by airplane or dogsled.
The Great Rift Valley - Great big valley in eastern Africa running north/south between Ethiopia and Tanzania. Formed by two continental plates slowly drifting apart. Some of the earliest human-like remains were discovered there.
Land’s End - The far southwestern tip of Great Britain.
Babylon - Where modern-day Iraq is now.
The Punjab - The chunk of India between Bangladesh and Myanmar.
The Ganges - The main river in India.
The steppes - I think this is the area between Siberia and Afghanistan, used to be the Soviet Union but now broken up into Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan and a whole bunch of other -stans. Similar to the Great Plains of the U.S., but drier and more desolate.
The Altai mountains - If you meant to say “Atlas Mountains” and misspelled it, then it’s a mountain range in North Africa (Morocco & Algeria to be precise); otherwise I’ve never heard of it but I’m guessing it’s somewhere between the Steppes of Asia and Siberia. 
Siberia - Where the Gulag prisoners were sent. Comet crashed there in 1902.
Tibet - Predominantly Buddhist province in southwestern China. Very, very high plateau at the base of the Himalaya mtns.
The Danube - It’s blue. 
River in Eastern Europe, runs through Vienna and Budapest and empties into the Black Sea.
The Bight of Benin - sounds like an African porn star.
The Big Muddy - Wasn’t this a nickname for the Alcan Highway? Or the Mississippi River? I forget which.
The Northwest Passage - Nobody ever found it.
Ixtaccihuatl - Gesundheit.
Macchu Picchu - Pokemon?