"Americans are generally reasonably well versed in US geography, knowing the capitals, major cities, and some of the more notable features of the 50 states "
No they dont. in fact most americans can not name all 50 states let alone the capitals of those states. and sadly right now the loudmouths at the extreme left and right cant even tell you what the contents of the constitution and the bill of rights actually say yet they all whine like unfed babies almost daily about them.
Americans in general are extremely uneducated. It's because our education system is an absolute joke. There is a reason I took my kids out of public school and paid for private school. Because I wanted them to know Algebra, Geometry, and some real science. And its about to get worse with a drooling bible thumper in charge of education.