Mysterious Islands: Pacific or Not? Quiz

Answer:

Planet Earth's largest ocean, the Pacific Ocean is known for the myriad islands and archipelagos that dot its vast expanse. Even though to many "Pacific island" is synonymous with tropical paradise, only part of that large number of islands fit that description.

One such place is Tahiti, the largest island in French Polynesia, an overseas collectivity of France located in the central part of the South Pacific Ocean. Tahiti belongs to the archipelago known as Society Islands, the easternmost of French Polynesia. The second-largest island of the Hawaii Archipelago, the 50th state of the USA, located in the central North Pacific Ocean, Maui is known for its varied natural landscape and rich biodiversity. Sadly, the island was prominently featured in the news during the summer of 2023 because of the wildfires that almost destroyed the town of Lahaina, causing at least 97 deaths. On the other hand, the environment of Nauru - the world's third-smallest nation, located almost on the Equator, in the Central Pacific - has been ravaged by phosphate strip mining. Because of that, as well as the lack of infrastructure, tourists rarely visit Nauru.

Tasmania is the southernmost of Australia's six states, separated from the "mainland" by Bass Strait. Due to its temperate climate, it has a thriving agricultural sector, and is also a popular destination for ecotourism. Mindanao is the second-largest island in the Philippines, located in the southern part of the archipelago, north of the Indonesian island of Sulawesi. The third-largest city in the Philippines, Davao City, and the country's highest mountain, the dormant volcano Mount Apo, are both found on Mindanao.

Okinawa and Hokkaido are both part of Japan, though located at opposite ends of the archipelago. Okinawa, the southernmost and westernmost Japanese prefecture, is the largest of the Ryukyu Islands; it lies a few degrees north of the Tropic of Cancer, and enjoys a warm subtropical climate. On the other hand, Hokkaido, Japan's second-largest island, is known for its cold, snowy winters and cool summers. It is connected to Honshu, the Japanese "mainland", by the 54-km (33.5-mi) Seikan Tunnel, the world's longest undersea tunnel. With its characteristic elongated shape, Sakhalin, Russia's largest island, lies directly north of Hokkaido, off the coast of Khabarovsk Krai. These two islands were home to the indigenous Ainu people, who are sadly dying out: most of the few thousands that still remain live on Hokkaido.

The second-largest island in the US, Kodiak Island lies off the coast of the Alaska Peninsula, at the western end of the Gulf of Alaska. Its main claim to fame is the subspecies of brown bear (Ursus arctos middendorffii) - noted for its very large size - endemic to the island and the surrounding archipelago. The largest and most populous island along the Americas' Pacific coast, the long, relatively narrow Vancouver Island lies off the coast of the Canadian province of British Columbia. Almost half of its population lives in the metropolitan area of Victoria, the province's capital, located at the southern tip of the island. Both the island and the city of Vancouver (which is located on the mainland) are named after British Navy officer George Vancouver.

Most of the non-Pacific Islands listed here are situated in the Atlantic Ocean and its marginal seas. Saint Helena and South Georgia are located in the South Atlantic Ocean, and Tenerife, one of the Canary Islands, in the North Atlantic Ocean. Trinidad and Hispaniola (shared by Haiti and the Dominican Republic) lie in the Caribbean Sea, while Ibiza, Sardinia, Corfu and Santorini are found in the Mediterranean Sea. Zealand, Denmark's largest island, lies in the Danish Straits that connect the North Sea with the Baltic Sea, while Jersey is the largest of the English Channel Islands. The volcanic island of Jan Mayen lies in the Arctic Ocean, northeast of Iceland.

Zanzibar and Réunion are both located in the Indian Ocean - the former off the coast of Tanzania, the latter (an overseas department of France) between Madagascar and Mauritius. The popular tourist destination of Bali is also located in the Indian Ocean, in the Malay Archipelago.