All Sorts of Islands Trivia Quiz

Answer: Socotra Island

Part of Yemen, Socotra is off the Horn of Africa nearly four hundred kilometers from its national mainland. Socotra Island is known for its many endemic animal and plant species including the Dracaena cinnabari (Dragon's Blood Tree), an umbrella-shaped tree with dark red resin not unlike blood.

It's said that the island, once part of the larger continent, is home to one of the most diverse and isolated ecosystems on the planet. It's no surprise that while the archipelago here is home to tens of thousands of Yemeni people, it's also UNESCO protected.

Answer: North Brother Island

Even though North Brother Island sits between Queens and the Bronx in one of the world's busiest cities, it's not a place that's visited under most circumstances. Formerly a quarantine area for those suffering from smallpox and tuberculosis, the facilities at North Brother Island were inevitably shifted to the still-occupied Roosevelt Island (further south along the river) and, at one point, it housed Typhoid Mary.

After its closure in the 1950s, the island became a bird sanctuary and public access (save for occasional and few photographers) was restricted severely.

The adjacent South Brother Island was an early city dump, and further upriver, Rikers Island became the city's main jail starting in 1932.

Answer: Santa Cruz del Isolte

While the population density fact is most certainly correct, the island of Santa Cruz del Isolte, found in the San Bernardo Archipelago off the coast of Colombia, is about a fifth of a kilometer in length and even less in width. Still, it's home to about five hundred people, and that means that in 12,000 square meters, there's not too much wiggle room.

The island was artificially made in the 19th century and has ferry service to the mainland, specifically to the idyllic coast of the Sucre Department.

Answer: Tashirojima

Yeah-- this place is pretty much 'Cat Island' though it could also be 'Elderly Island'. You see, Tashirojima is home to a relatively healthy population of ardent cat lovers who see the animals as lucky, so visitors might be a bit surprised to see that the felines (strays, most of them) outnumber the human residents by a ratio of 6 to 1.

The island has two, small villages, between which is a shrine to the lovable animals. There's a ferry to the island from the coastal city of Ishinomaki.

Answer: La Isla de las Muņecas

If cats aren't your thing, maybe CREEPY DOLLS are. La Isla de las Muņecas has those in spades. Although the history of the island is steeped in folklore, it's said that a local man hung the dolls in the trees to ward off evil spirits (you know-- because even ghosts are scared of CREEPY DOLLS). Mexico City is a huge place, so it may be a surprise that it's only a short distance away in Lake Xochimilco, southeast of the city center, and with a boat, you can wind your way through the canals and into a clearing to find yourself surrounded by CREEPY DOLLS STARING AT YOU. If that's your thing.

Answer: Molokini

Molokini Island, found off the coast of Maui, is a small, uninhabited island found rising from the sea and formed by the unsubmerged land at the top of a volcano that erupted more than two hundred thousand years ago. While access to the island itself (the land part) is severely restricted to protect local bird life, the crater itself is one of Hawaii's most unique snorkelling/diving spots; a boat ride from Maui can grant access to unforgettable waters. sheltered from the surrounding tide. Though the island was used as a naval testing site during World War II, it became a protected area in later years.

Answer: Lebanon Island

An archipelago of manmade islands, 'The World' in Dubai cost more than ten billion U.S. dollars to develop in the 2000s. While it attempted to be a luxury development site not unlike Palm Jumeirah and the left-unfinished Palm Deira, the 2008 recession made things difficult, and most of the three hundred islands created in the Persian Gulf were left undeveloped (though leased). One of the few to be built up was Lebanon Island which, in 2012, was the only one put to commercial use (as an event center). One of the islands on the far east part of what would be North America has a mansion built on it as well; it was given as a gift to F1 racer Michael Schumacher.

Answer: Sulawesi

One of the largest islands on the globe and one of the major islands of Indonesia, Sulawesi is the fourth-largest in the nation and sits east of Borneo. The city of Makassar is the largest found there, on the southwest corner. Sulawesi is unique geographically because it rests on the edge of the Asian and Australian tectonic plates, so there are definitely volcanoes in the area (in the north) and long-ago-erected mountains in the interior.

It's also prone to earthquakes because of its proximity to the natural faultlines. Because it's just below the Equator, it also tends to be a relatively warm place to be; the rainy season covers the island from November to April.

Answer: Murano

The island of Murano is one of many outlying communes in the waters around Venice, Italy. While Venice is better known as the cultural and tourist locale in this part of the Adriatic, Murano hosts its claim to fame in the industry of artisanal glass blowing.

It's not uncommon to find Murano glass in the shops throughout the Venetian canals and piazzas. To get there, it's a short vaporetto ride from one of many Venetian docks. It is, of course, rich in history as well (especially in a religious sense) since it was settled by workers and monks as far back as the late thirteenth century.

Answer: Vulcan Point

While the active volcanic island of Vulcano is in the Aeolian Island chain north of Sicily, Vulcan Point is half a world away. To get to Vulcan Point, however, you'd need to head to Taal Volcano on the island of Luzon in the Philippines. This volcano, in the middle of Taal Lake, has a lake in its crater, and in that lake is a small island-- that's Vulcan Point. So you've got an island in a crater lake on a volcano island in a lake on the island of Luzon in the Pacific. That's a real nesting doll situation right there. Taal Mountain is the second most active volcano in the Philippines, so who knows if it's a permanent spot?!