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Do you know what country includes Bathurst Island, Melville Island and Mornington Island?
Gauri Garg does. And her correct answer — Australia — won the Cache Valley charter school student a trip to the National Geographic Bee in Washington, D.C., next month.
Garg, an eighth-grade student at Bear River Charter School, won the state geography bee for the second consecutive year March 27. She now will compete in the national competition for a shot at a $50,000 scholarship and a trip for two to the Galapagos Islands.
Last year, Garg finished 13th in the national bee.
"From the beginning, I've always just wanted to get into the Top 10 at nationals to get onto TV," she said.
Garg's mother Prafulla Martin-Garg said that as a returning champion, her daughter is more relaxed and knows what to expect going into the national competition.
The family is "ecstatic" after the girl's win, her mother said, but it came after many hours of study and hard work.
"Knowing how much effort she's put in, it didn't come as a total surprise," Prafulla Martin-Garg said.
The three-day National Geographic Bee will start May 11. The competition is organized by the National Geographic Society and sponsored by Google.
"National Geographic believes in the power of science, exploration and storytelling to change the world," National Geographic Society President Gary Knell said in a prepared statement. "Through experiences like the National Geographic Bee, we are teaching students about the world and how it works, empowering them to succeed and to make it a better place."