David knows his geography by foot and by memory. The eighth-grader at Raymond J. Fisher Middle School will be representing the Los Gatos school at the state geography bee, sponsored by the National Geographic Society, on April 2 in Sacramento. After winning Fisher's school geography bee in December, David took a written test that his school submitted to National Geographic. As of March 1, David learned he would be advancing to the state level of competition.

David's bedroom is proof of his love for geography. Stacks of atlases cover the floor. His walls are filled with colorful maps from around the world, as well as pictures of mountains he has ascended and places he'd like to roam.

David has hiked throughout Switzerland and Europe and is heading to Tokyo with his family this summer. He can't get enough of cities, populations, land formations, elevations and California landmarks. This whiz kid taught himself how to read maps and related scales. He is bilingual—speaking English and Swiss-German—and has dual citizenship in the United States and Switzerland.

"I don't know if it's because he's traveled a lot," said David's mother, Barbara, who is originally from Switzerland. "David has a sense of orientation. He's always had that."

On car rides and vacations, David is glued to the window, checking out his surroundings. Barbara said her son developed his fetish for the world's topography as early as kindergarten.

"He can frighteningly name the exact elevations of mountains—both nationally and locally," said David's dad, Mike, who often takes his son on hikes.

Mike and Barbara said they support reading. There's no limit to how many books their son can own.

"If he wants a book, he gets a book," Mike said. "You don't have to encourage something he really, really likes."

David's confident, competitive edge may be what will set him apart from his rivals in Sacramento. He's been studying sample questions—both easy and difficult—from a National Geographic book to prepare for the state bee.

What event brought hundreds of thousands of people to California in 1848? Without hesitation, David knows the answer is the gold rush.

But try a tougher question, such as which Italian civilization preceded and was absorbed by the Romans? The average person might not know it was the Etruscans.

David has U.S. history under control, and physical geography is his strength. But he's brushing up on political and religious-based questions as well as obscure queries about small islands and old historical facts.

"I'm good about stuff that recently happened," David said. "But ancient times are hard for me. I'm not all that much interested in stuff that happened 1,000 years ago."

This 13-year-old has hobbies including biking, hiking, eating and experimenting in chemistry. As a freshman at Los Gatos High School next year, David plans to take honors history and German.

He also likes to watch The Simpsons, read Stephen King books, learn about weather conditions in faraway places and play with his rosy boa snake named "Perkey." Whenever he doesn't have homework, David just likes to put on some music and read an atlas or two. He is considering the pursuit of a career in cartography one day.

At the April 2 competition, David will be up against 102 students from all over California, each hoping to advance to contend for the national title May 25­26 in Washington, D.C. The first-place winner of the national bee will be awarded a $25,000 college scholarship, with lesser rewards to second- and third-place winners.

David will be joined in Sacramento by his parents and Fisher U.S. history teacher Rick Potter. Potter said David has a broader grasp on geography than many of his classmates.

"He just knows a lot of geography," Potter said. "He has as good of a chance [of winning] as anyone else."

Potter said making it to the state level is significant in itself. He added David's classmates are impressed by his ability to rattle off correct responses to random geography questions. His buddies are also quizzing him during free time at school.

Whether he wins or loses in Sacramento, David still has plans—post-college and post­parental control—to walk across the Rub' al Khali desert in Arabia. Since it's a feat that not many people achieve, David said that, like winning the national bee, it's an exciting challenge.