Islands in the Sun - St Kitts and Nevis Quiz

Answer: St Kitts is northwest of Nevis

The Federation of St Kitts and Nevis is the smallest sovereign nation of the Americas with a combined area of 101 square miles (261 square km). St Kitts is the larger of the two islands, which gained their independence from the United Kingdom in 1983.

Answer: The Caribbean Sea and Atlantic Ocean

St Kitts and Nevis are part of the Leeward Islands, the northern part of the Lesser Antilles, an island arc formed by the subduction of the Caribbean plate under the South American plate. The underwater mountain ridge, of which the islands are the highest peaks, forms a boundary between the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean.

Answer: Hot with little seasonal variation; rain May-November

The hot, tropical climate of St Kitts and Nevis is strongly influenced by the trade winds and tropical cyclones which can lead to hurricanes. The amount of rain that falls varies with height above sea-level and ranges between 16" and 60" a year. Temperatures are in the mid-20s all year round.

Answer: Central volcano

The Lesser Antillean island arc probably began to form about 50 million years ago with Nevis appearing about 3.5 million years ago. The central volcano of Nevis is the 985m high Nevis Peak. It is a stratovolcano and has fumaroles and hot springs, but has not erupted in historic times. Mount Liamuiga, at 1156 metres, is the highest point in the Lesser Antilles and dominates the western part of St Kitts.

It has erupted in historic times, possibly as recently as 1843.

Answer: Sugar

Sugar plantations dominated the economies of both islands for over 350 years. The original plantation crop had been tobacco, but the islands could not compete with Virginian production so from 1640 onwards, sugar became the main crop. This continued until 2005 when huge losses forced the government to close the industry down.

Some of the plantation buildings are finding a new use as upmarket accommodation for tourists.

Answer: Fertile, volcanic

The Kalinago Indians who inhabited St Kitts before the Europeans called it "Liamuiga" which means "fertile land". The fertility derives from the slow release of minerals from the breakdown of lava and ash from eruptions. Worldwide, 1% of the Earth's surface is covered by soils of volcanic origin but those areas support 10% of the world's population, including some very high density settlements.

The soil is virtually the only exploitable natural resource of the islands.

Answer: Black African

St Kitts and Nevis had been inhabited by Carib Indians for some 5,000 years before the arrival of Christopher Columbus in 1498. It was some years before the first European settlement became established on St Kitts in 1624 with the agreement of the Kalinago Indians but they suffered at the hands of the British and French two years later and were removed from the island either by death or deportation. About 25,000 Irish were sent as slaves to the island during the 1600s, but it was the "Triangular Trade" of slaves-sugar-manufactures which brought African peoples to the islands.

The modern population is between 40-50,000 and there is a high rate of emigration.

Answer: Shallow channel about 2 miles (3 km) wide

The channel between the islands is known as The Narrows and can be crossed using the ferry service between Basseterre, the capital of St Kitts, and Charlestown, the capital of Nevis. During the last Ice Age, the sea level was sixty metres or so lower than today and this was sufficient for the islands to merge into one.

Answer: False

Oil deposits are usually found in rocks of sedimentary not of volcanic origin and there is no oil industry on the islands. St Kitts and Nevis are heavily dependent on agriculture and tourism, but there have been initiatives to diversify into off-shore banking, clothing assembly and light manufacturing.

Answer: December/January

The origins of Carnival are linked with the giving up of meat for Lent, so many countries celebrate in March or April. However, in recent times, the idea of Carnival has developed into an opportunity for parades, masquerades and festivities. The St Kitts and Nevis Carnival takes place over the Christmas period, drawing in many tourists.