Across the Archipelago Trivia Quiz

Answer: Lake Toba

Lake Toba's area is 1,103 square kilometers/425.87 square miles. It contains the world's largest island in a lake on an island, Samosir (630 square kilometers/243 square miles). It is believed that Lake Toba was formed by the eruption of a super volcano, some 75,000 years ago.

Answer: West of Java

Krakatoa was West of Java, in the Sunda Strait between Java and Sumatra. Hollywood changed its position in the 1969 film, "Krakatoa, East of Java", thinking that East of Java sounded more exotic than West of Java. The 1883 eruption destroyed the island of Krakatoa, but a new volcanic island, Anak Krakatau (Child of Krakatoa), appeared in the 1920s, and is still growing.

Answer: Bandung

Tangkuban Perahu is Sundanese for Upturned Boat, and viewed from Bandung that's what it looks like. According to legend, Sangkuriang, a young prince was separated from his mother, Dayang Sumbi. Many years later they met and fell in love and got engaged, not knowing they were related. One day, Dayang Sumbi caught sight of a birthmark on Sangkuriang's leg and realised who he was. To get out of the marriage, she said she would only marry him if he dammed the local river and built a boat to sail across it all in one night.

He had nearly succeeded when in desperation she asked the gods to send sunrise early. The gods granted her prayer and in a fit of pique, Sangkuriang broke the dam and knocked the boat upside down.

Answer: Hinduism

Although the vast majority of Indonesians are Muslims, the Balinese people are mostly Hindus. Much of their culture derives from the Javanese Majapahit kingdom, which flourished before Islam was brought to Java by merchants and traders.

Answer: The boundary between the range of Asian species and the range of Australian species

The Wallace line is named after the 19th century British naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace, who noticed that west of a line drawn between Bali and Lombok in the South and between Borneo and Sulawesi in the north, animal and plant species resembled those in Asia, while east of the line the animal and plant species resembled those of Australia.

Answer: Dragon

The Komodo dragon is a carnivorous monitor lizard, 2-3 meters/6-10 feet long. It is found mainly on Komodo Island, western parts of Flores, and some other nearby small islands. There are no records of them ever breathing fire.

Answer: Flores

In 2003, remains were found in Liang Bua cave on Flores of what some scientists have called a new human species, homo floriensis. The bones found came from individuals who were only about 1 meter/3 feet 3 inches high and they were quickly nicknamed hobbits.

There is still some controversy over whether they were a separate human species or whether they were members of homo sapiens who suffered from a genetic disorder.

Answer: Banda Islands

Nutmeg comes from the Banda Islands, part of Maluku province. It was the hunt for the source of spices such as nutmeg, pepper, and cloves which brought the Europeans to the Indonesian Archipelago.

Answer: Puncak Jaya

At 4,884 meters/16,023 feet, Puncak Jaya is the highest point between the Himalayas and the Andes. It is one of the few equatorial glaciers in the world, and in common with other glaciers round the world is shrinking.

Answer: Crab-eating Macaque

The crab-eating macaque monkey was introduced to Papua by man sometime during or after the second world war. They are omnivorous and have been listed as one of the 100 worst invasive species, having a devastating effect on species where they are introduced. Some people blame them rather than sailors for the extinction of the dodo.