Since the first National Geography Bee in 1989, millions of students have competed each year for a U.S. $25,000 college scholarship and the honor of being national champion.

The champions have come from diverse backgrounds—ranging from large cities to family farms. They have had varied interests and today are pursuing different educational paths. Among their shared characteristics are the desire to excel and an inherent curiosity about geography and the world around them.

Below is a list of past Bee winners and their winning answers.

2007
Caitlin Snaring, Washington, 8th grade
Winning question: A city that is divided by a river of the same name was the imperial capital of Vietnam for more than a century. Name this city, which is still an important cultural center.
Answer: Hue

(Please note: Sources such as the U.S. Board on Geographic Names, the Columbia Gazetteer, Encyclopaedia Britannica, Chambers World Gazetteer, and Macmillan World Gazetteer list Hue as an acceptable name for the river in Hue. The National Geographic Society recognizes that Huong is a common name for the river.)

2006
Bonny Jain, Illinois, 8th grade
Winning question: Name the mountains that extend across much of Wales, from the Irish Sea to the Bristol Channel.
Answer: Cambrian Mountains

2005
Nathan Cornelius, Minnesota, 7th grade
Winning question: Lake Gatún, an artificial lake that constitutes part of the Panama Canal system, was created by damming which river?
Answer: Chagres River

2004
Andrew Wojtanik, Kansas, 8th grade
Winning question: Peshawar, a city in the North-West Frontier Province of Pakistan, has had strategic importance for centuries because of its location near what historic pass?
Answer: Khyber Pass

2003
James Williams, Washington, 8th grade
Winning question: Goa, a state in southwestern India, was a possession of which country until 1961?
Answer: Portugal

2002
Calvin McCarter, Michigan, 5th grade
Winning question: Lop Nur, a marshy depression at the east end of the Tarim Basin, is a nuclear test site for which country?
Answer: China

2001
Kyle Haddad-Fonda, Washington, 8th grade
Winning question: Below the equilibrium line of glaciers there is a region of melting, evaporation, and sublimation. Name this zone.
Answer: zone of ablation

2000
Felix Peng, Connecticut, 8th grade
Winning question: Name two of the three largest sections of Denmark, which include its mainland peninsula and two largest islands.
Answer: Jutland, Sjaelland, and Fyn

1999
David Beihl, South Carolina, 8th grade
Winning question: The condition characterized by unusually cold ocean temperature in the equatorial region of the eastern Pacific Ocean is known by what Spanish name?
Answer: La Niņa

1998
Petko Peev, Michigan, 8th grade
Winning question: More than 80 million people live in the European Union's most populous member country. Name this country.
Answer: Germany

1997
Alex Kerchner, Washington, 7th grade
Winning question: Asia's most densely populated country has about three million people and an area of less than 250 square miles (402 square kilometers). Name this country.
Answer: Singapore

1996
Seyi Fayanju, New Jersey, 7th grade
Winning question: Name the European co-principality whose heads of state are the president of France and the bishop of Urgel.
Answer: Andorra

1995
Chris Galeczka, Michigan, 8th grade
Winning question: Pashtu and Dari are the official languages of which mountainous, landlocked country in southwestern Asia?
Answer: Afghanistan

1994
Anders Knospe, Montana, 8th grade
Winning question: The Tagus River roughly divides which European country into two agricultural regions?
Answer: Portugal

1993
Noel Erinjeri, Michigan, 8th grade
Winning question: Tagalog is one of the three main native languages of which island country in Asia?
Answer: Philippines

1992
Lawson Fite, Washington, 8th grade
Winning question: Many coastal countries have established so-called EEZs——areas extending 200 nautical miles from shore over which countries have sovereign rights for resource exploration. What do the initials EEZ stand for?
Answer: Exclusive Economic Zone

1991
David Stillman, Idaho, 8th grade
Winning question: What type of landform is commonly associated with orographic precipitation?
Answer: mountain

1990
Susannah Batko-Yovino, Pennsylvania, 6th grade
Winning question: Mount Erebus is a volcano on what continent?
Answer: Antarctica

1989
Jack Staddon, Kansas, 8th grade
Winning question: Name the flat intermontane area located at an elevation of about 10,000 feet (3,050 meters) in the central Andes.
Answer: Altiplano