Islands & Archipelagos Quiz

1. What is the world's largest island (excluding continents)?

1. Borneo
2. Greenland
3. Iceland
4. New Guinea

2. What is an 'archipelago'?

1. A chain or group of islands
2. A very large island over 10,000 km²
3. An island formed entirely from coral reefs
4. The deepest part of an ocean near volcanic islands

3. Which country has the most islands in the world?

1. Indonesia
2. Norway
3. Philippines
4. Sweden

4. The Maldives is famous for being the world's lowest-lying country. What is its average elevation?

1. About 0.5 metres above sea level
2. About 1.5 metres above sea level
3. About 10 metres above sea level
4. About 5 metres above sea level

5. Iceland sits on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. What does this mean geologically?

1. It is a coral atoll that formed over millions of years on a submerged plateau
2. It is slowly moving toward Europe
3. It is the result of a meteor impact that pushed the seabed above water
4. It sits where two tectonic plates (Eurasian and North American) are pulling apart — Iceland is literally being split in two and growing wider

6. Which is the world's most populous island?

1. Great Britain
2. Honshu (Japan)
3. Java (Indonesia)
4. Sumatra (Indonesia)

7. What is an 'atoll' and in which ocean are most atolls found?

1. A continental shelf island separated from the mainland — most found in the Atlantic
2. A ring-shaped coral island or reef enclosing a lagoon — most found in the Pacific and Indian Oceans
3. A volcanic island with a central peak — most found in the Pacific
4. An island that has sunk below sea level — most found in the Indian Ocean

8. Which island was the subject of a 1982 war between Argentina and the United Kingdom?

1. Ascension Island
2. South Georgia Island
3. The Falkland Islands
4. Tristan da Cunha

9. The Canary Islands are Spanish territory but geographically located near which continent?

1. Africa
2. Europe
3. South America
4. They are equidistant between Europe and Africa

10. The island of Borneo is shared by which three countries?

1. Indonesia, Malaysia, and Brunei
2. Indonesia, Philippines, and Malaysia
3. Malaysia, Singapore, and Indonesia
4. Philippines, Malaysia, and East Timor

11. What makes the island of Madagascar biologically remarkable?

1. It has been isolated from other landmasses for about 88 million years — approximately 90% of its wildlife is found nowhere else on Earth
2. It has no native predatory mammals due to its island isolation
3. It has the highest number of venomous species of any island
4. It is the world's oldest island, formed over 300 million years ago

12. Which is the world's smallest island nation?

1. Nauru
2. San Marino
3. Tuvalu
4. Vatican City

13. The Galápagos Islands belong to Ecuador. What makes their geographical position unusual?

1. They are the most remote inhabited islands in the world from any continental landmass
2. They are the only islands straddling the Prime Meridian
3. They formed entirely from coral rather than volcanic activity unlike all other Pacific islands
4. They sit on the equator but experience cool temperatures due to the Humboldt Current — creating unique conditions for evolution

14. What is the difference between a 'continental island' and an 'oceanic island'?

1. Continental islands are always bigger than oceanic islands
2. Continental islands are permanently inhabited; oceanic islands are not
3. Continental islands sit on a continental shelf and were once connected to a continent; oceanic islands rose from the ocean floor through volcanic activity and were never part of a continent
4. Oceanic islands are further from shore than continental islands

15. Hawaii is a US state but not geographically part of North America. What is its geological origin?

1. It formed from the collision of two oceanic plates creating a subduction zone volcano
2. It formed over a volcanic hotspot — a fixed point of intense volcanic activity under the Pacific Plate — creating a chain of progressively older islands as the plate moved northwest
3. It is a coral atoll that grew above sea level over millions of years
4. It is a fragment of a continental shelf that broke off from North America millions of years ago

16. What is the 'Ring of Fire' and how does it relate to islands?

1. A geological survey of islands with active volcanoes in the Pacific basin
2. A horseshoe-shaped zone around the Pacific Ocean where 90% of the world's earthquakes occur and most of the world's volcanic islands are found
3. A series of active submarine volcanoes in the Pacific Ocean creating future islands
4. The trade wind pattern around the Pacific that was used by Polynesian navigators

17. Tristan da Cunha in the South Atlantic holds which remarkable record?

1. The island with the longest coastline relative to its area
2. The most remote permanently inhabited island in the world — 2,787 km from the nearest inhabited land (Saint Helena)
3. The only island with a permanent underground city as its main settlement
4. The world's highest island above sea level

18. Sri Lanka is a large island south of India. Which body of water separates it from India?

1. The Arabian Sea
2. The Bay of Bengal
3. The Gulf of Mannar and Palk Strait
4. The Laccadive Sea

19. The British Isles consist of how many main islands and which are they?

1. Four — England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland
2. Three — Great Britain, Ireland, and the Isle of Man
3. Two — Great Britain and Ireland
4. Two main islands (Great Britain and Ireland) plus thousands of smaller ones

20. Which ocean contains the most island nations?

1. The Arctic Ocean
2. The Atlantic Ocean
3. The Indian Ocean
4. The Pacific Ocean