Uniquely Shaped Islands Trivia Quiz

Tasmania is an island state of Australia, located 150 miles south of the southeastern point of Australia. Surrounding the main island are over 1000 little islands totalling about 1566 square miles.

Its biodiversity make it a popular destination for ecotourism. One of its endemic fauna, the Tasmanian Devil, is the state's animal emblem. The Tasmanian Devil is a marsupial, as are half of the native mammals of Australia. It is also carnivorous, the largest such marsupial since the thylacine (Tasmanian Wolf) became extinct in 1936. It has little in common with the Warner Bros. cartoon character Taz, though the cartoon image has been negotiated to represent the island for marketing purposes.

Svalbard is actually an archipelago under Norwegian jurisdiction, located at the confluence of the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans.

The Svalbard Global Seed Vault located here provides a long-term storage of seed in gene banks, to insure the security of the world's food supply.

Since the archipelago is located north of the Arctic Circle, it experiences midnight sun and polar nights. At its largest settlement -- Longyearbyen -- midnight sun lasts from April 20 to August 23 within a given calendar year and polar night from October 26 one year to February 15 the next calendar year.

Sulawesi, in Indonesia, is the world's 11th-largest island. Its unique shape consists of four peninsulas separated by three gulfs. Its central region is mountainous, making it easier to travel between the peninsulas by sea rather than by land.

The island's mammalian life is very unique, with 62% of species being endemic to Sulawesi only. Though most of the mammal species are placental (relating them to Asia decent), there is a significant number of marsupial species as well (relating them to Australian decent).

The island of Sicily is one of 20 regions of Italy. It is the largest and most populous island in the Mediterranean Sea. It's home to Mount Etna, the tallest active volcano in Europe. In simple terms, it is the football to Italy's boot.

The Strait of Messina, which separates Sicily from mainland Italy, is only 1.9 miles at its narrowest. Even with this proximity, a transit bridge connecting the two land masses is unfeasible. The strait has challenging terrain which would make construction expensive and difficult. There could be detrimental environmental impacts. There is also concern about organized crime infiltration.

Oahu is the third-largest island of the Hawaiian Islands and also the most populated. It is also the 20th-largest island in the United States. It is home to the state capital Honolulu.

In history, the harbor on the south side of the island -- Pearl Harbor -- was home to the US Navy's Pacific Fleet. In an attempt to discourage the US's will to fight and to sue for peace, the Imperial Japanese Navy launched a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, destroying warships and aircraft, and killing 2,335 servicement and 68 civilians. Instead, it drew the US into World War II.

Heard and McDonald islands are among the most remote land locales in the world. They are 2500 miles southwest of Perth, Australia, 2600 miles southeast of South Africa, and 1000 miles north of Antarctica.

The islands can only be reached by sea (no aerial access), requiring a two-week trip from Australia.

These islands received media attention in 2025 when US President Trump imposed a 10% on products imported from them. According to the World Bank, the US imported $1.4 million of machinery and electrical products from the islands, despite the fact that no humans live there, only penguins.

Hispaniola is the second-largest island in the West Indies, after Cuba. It is divided into two separate countries: the Dominican Republic on its eastern half, and Haiti on the western half.

The Dominican Republic is a fairly prosperous country. But Haiti is considered a failed state, a state that has lost its ability to fulfill fundamental security and development functions, lacking effective control over its territory and borders.

The island of Ireland has had a complicated history. Currently, it is divided into the Republic of Ireland in the southern 5/6 of the island, and Northern Ireland (a part of the United Kingdom) in the northeastern 1/6 of the island.

Madagascar is the world's fourth-largest island. It lies off the southeastern coast of Africa.

Evidence shows that it separated from Africa 180 million years ago along with India, then separated from India 90 million years ago. This long separation from other landmasses has allowed Madagascar to develop some of the most diverse flora and fauna in the world.

Nantucket is an island in the US state of Massachusetts. It is located south of Cape Cod, and is the southeastern-most point in both Massachusetts and New England.

As a tourist destination, its population grows from its residential population of 14,000 to 80,000 in the summer months.

In popular culture:
-- its 19th century whaling industry was the basis of the Herman Melville novel "Moby-Dick".
-- it was the setting for the 1990s sitcom "Wings".