What's My Ocean? Trivia Quiz

Answer: Atlantic Ocean

The Caribbean Sea is a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, located in the western portion of the tropical zone. Located between North and South America, it officially extends north from South America to the Greater Antilles (Cuba being a convenient mental marker) and east from the southern part of Mexico and Central America as far as the Lesser Antilles (which make an arc from the eastern end of the Greater Antilles south(ish) to Venezuela. The sea is named for the Carib people who were living there at the time of European discovery.

The islands of the Caribbean Sea are a popular tourist destination, both for the weather and for the beauty of the area. Not to mention the activities such as fishing and diving. The world's second-longest barrier reef is located near the western end, but warming ocean waters are placing it under stress, which is not alleviated by the high level of pollution in the region. The Caribbean ranks second only to the Mediterranean as the world's most polluted sea.

Answer: Atlantic Ocean

The Mediterranean Sea, located east of the Atlantic Ocean between Europe, Africa and the Levant, is considered to be an arm of the Atlantic Ocean, to which it is connected by a narrow connection at the Strait of Gibraltar. The English name is of Latin derivation, coming from words meaning middle and land - a fair description of the fact that it is almost completely enclosed. It is possible, too, that the term was meant to indicate that the sea was at the centre of the world, not just that it was surrounded by land.

This name, however, was not applied until sometime after the third century CE when 'Mare Mediterr?neum' appears in the written record. Before that, the Romans called it 'Mare Magnum' (Great Sea) or 'Mare Internum' (Internal Sea); during the period of the Roman Empire it was somewhat arrogantly called 'Mare Nostrum' (Our Sea). The Romans were not he first to use that appellation - the Greeks had earlier used that name, as well as others that translate to The Sea, The Great Sea, and The Sea Around Us. The large number of different civilizations that have thrived on its borders means that there have been many names, some depending on where the people using the name are located (to those in the Levant, it was the Western Sea, for example), some based on the civilizations to be found after travelling across it (Carthaginians called it the Syrian Sea), many just recognizing its size and importance for trade.

Answer: Arctic Ocean

Also sometimes called Hudson's Bay, the second-largest body of water called a bay (behind only the Bay of Bengal) is located in the north of Canada - specifically bordered by Ontario, Quebec, Manitoba and Nunavut. While some authorities prefer to call it a part of the Atlantic Ocean, to which it is also linked by way of Hudson Strait, the International Hydrographic Organization specifically named it as a subdivision of the Arctic Ocean in the 2002 publication 'Limits of Oceans and Seas'.

The English name for the bay honours Henry Hudson, navigator who explored large parts of northeastern part of the North American continent while searching for the Northwest Passage, a quest in pursuit of which he disappeared in 1611. This Northwest Passage would be a way of getting around the northern end of the Americas to reach Asia, a much shorter journey than was required to travel from Europe via either southern route (around Cape Horn, or around Africa and across the Indian Ocean). It was first successfully accomplished in the early years of the 20th century - but the abundance of ice meant that it was not really of use for most of the year. With global ocean temperatures increasing in the 21st century, it has become increasingly accessible.

Answer: Arctic Ocean

Just mentioning the Russian region of Siberia brings images of cold to mind, and this sea lying north of the Siberian coast in the Arctic Ocean is indeed chilly, to put it mildly. It runs as far north as the Arctic Cape, a headland on the most northerly of the Komsomolets Islands, and is bordered to the west by the Laptev Sea, from which it is separated by the New Siberian Islands, and on the east by the Chukchi Sea (north of the Bering Strait between Russia and Alaska).

There are very few residents along the coast of the East Siberian Sea, a region which was inhabited for centuries by indigenous people engaged in hunting, fishing and reindeer growth. Russian sailors did set up some settlements for use during voyages of fishing and exploration, and the coastal town of Ambarchik was mostly built in the 1930s by prisoners who landed there before being sent to the various labour camps in the Gulag system.

Answer: Pacific Ocean

The Kamchatka Peninsula, projecting south from the eastern part of Russia into the Pacific Ocean, forms the eastern boundary of the Sea of Okhotsk, while the Siberian coast forms the northern and western edges. The Kuril Islands extend in an arc from the southern tip of the Kamchatka Peninsula southwest to the Japanese Island of Hokkaido, forming the boundary between the Sea of Okhotsk and the Pacific Ocean. North of Hokkaido the Russian island of Sakhalin separates the Sea of Okhotsk from the Sea of Japan. The sea's name comes from the Okhota River, which has its mouth near the town of Okhotsk. The word okat means river in Even, the language of the reindeer hunters and herders who live in the region.

The Sea of Okhotsk is a fertile area for fishing and whaling. Until 2014 there was a small area in the center, called the Peanut Hole, which was open for international fishers, but they were so successful there that Russia successfully had its official continental shelf extended the few miles necessary to reinstate it as Russian waters.

Answer: Pacific Ocean

The Coral Sea is located off the northeast coast of Australia, specifically the state of Queensland. The eastern part of New Guinea forms the northwest of the sea, with the Torres Strait (between Queensland and New Guinea) an oceanic border. On the north it extends to the Solomon Sea (near the Solomon Islands), on the east Vanuatu and New Caledonia form the boundary, and to the south it merges with the Tasman Sea, with the boundary set at 30 degrees south.

The Coral Sea is a familiar name from a number of battles during World War II, but it is the ubiquitous coral formations that provided its name. The Great Barrier Reef, offshore from Australia, is the longest barrier reef in the world, and hosts an amazing range of wildlife. The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, established in 1975, attempts to balance the needs of the reef with those of human users - including tourists and fishers. Immediately east of it is the much larger Coral Sea Marine Park, also maintained by Australia; the adjacent French Natural Park of the Coral Sea near New Caledonia serves the same function, forming the largest protected area in the world.

Answer: Indian Ocean

Located in the northeastern Indian Ocean, the Andaman Sea extends along the coast of Myanmar, Thailand and the Malaysian Peninsula, south nearly to Sumatra and the Strait of Malacca. Its western edge is defined by the Andaman and Nicobar islands, which separate it from the Bay of Bengal.

While its coastal region and tropical islands make the sea a popular tourist destination, its name was not familiar to many until the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami, caused by the Sumatra-Andaman earthquake whose epicentre was off the coast of Sumatra. The disturbance was so great that the tsunami caused damage across the entire Indian Ocean, with the loss of several hundred thousand lives, and many coastal villages completely destroyed.

Answer: Indian Ocean

The Bay of Bengal is the northern part of the Indian Ocean, between India and Indochina, with Bangladesh on its north. The southern boundary is formed by a line from Sri Lanka to Sumatra, and on the west the Andaman and Nicobar Islands separate it from the Andaman Sea. The English name comes from the Bengal region (now partially in India, partially in Bangladesh), given by the British during the Raj era. Other cultures have historically used a range of names, mostly generically referring to the name of one or more of the rivers that flow into it.

The Bay of Bengal is an important area for commercial fishing and trade (it has been called the maritime silk road), which has led to some significant ecological issues being addressed by the countries on its fringe. It is also the source of tropical storms, which regularly hammer the coasts, leaving a trail of death and destruction in their wake.

Answer: Southern Ocean

The Southern Ocean is the area south of latitude 60S, where the world's oceans join and surround the continent of Antarctica. The Ross Sea is in the part of the Southern Ocean which stems from the Pacific Ocean. The southernmost sea on the planet, it is found between Victoria Land to the west and Marie Byrd Land to the east. The southern part of the sea, which extends to about 200 miles from the South Pole, is covered by the Ross Ice Shelf. Ross Island, the location of the Mt Erebus volcano, is in the western part of the sea. It may or may not surprise you to hear that the area was explored by James Clark Ross in 1841.

Although the sea is ice-covered for most of the year, the deep-sea currents are relatively warm, and support an abundance of plankton, the basis for a variety of marine fauna. As one of the areas of the world heretofore least affected by human activity, environmentalists are concerned about maintaining its biodiversity, and continuing to increase our knowledge of the varied species to be found there.

Answer: Southern Ocean

The Weddell Sea is in the Atlantic portion of the Southern Ocean, a bay that runs between the Antarctic Peninsula east to Cape Norvegia in Queen Maude Land. In 1900 it was renamed to honour a Scottish sailor, James Weddell, who had named it after King George IV in 1823. Unlike the Ross Sea, on the other side of the Antarctic Peninsula, the Weddell Sea has strong surface winds and treacherous weather.

One of the famous stories of survival in the Antarctic is that of Ernest Shackleton's 1915 expedition, which aimed to cross the continent overland. His ship, Endurance, was caught in ice; they waited out the winter hoping for a springtime release, but the ship eventually sank, leaving them stranded. They camped on the ice, taking to lifeboats when it became necessary, and made it to Elephant Island, standing on solid land for the first time in over a year. From there, Shackleton took part of the crew with him in a desperate journey to reach a whaling station on South Georgia where he was able to secure help and a party was sent to rescue the rest of the crew.