Cities on the Atlantic Trivia Quiz

Answer: Ålesund

A Norwegian fishing city, this is the most northern location in this quiz. Although small in size, Ålesund is unique for sitting on a series of islands off Norway's western coast, making it ideal for maritime industry. It also acts as an entry point into the more mountainous surrounding regions which are carved by fjords along the coast. Geirangerfjord, one of Norway's most visited natural sites, is only a hundred kilometers away.

Answer: Libreville

The capital city of Gabon, Libreville was named as such by the French in the 19th century though local tribes occupied the site on the Atlantic coast for many years beforehand. It found independence in 1960 and subsequently grew to become the country's biggest city and shipping port.

The city also sits at the mouth of the Komo River which rushes down from Equatorial Guinea and to the sea. In fact, the name Gabon-- given to the country-- was named after the shape of the river's mouth, the Portuguese word for 'cloak'. Libreville is French, however, for 'Freetown', which is also the name of the capital of Sierra Leone-- also an Atlantic city.

Answer: Rio Grande

The Argentinean city of Rio Grande is one of the southernmost major cities of Argentina though it's further north of many of the Antarctic gateway cities (like Ushuaia, Argentina and Punta Arenas, Chile). Nevertheless, it was originally made with the intent to host sheep farming and act as a port for ships planning to sail around the islands of Tierra del Fuego and through the notoriously dangerous Strait of Magellan to the north.

It's also the closest city-- of those in this quiz-- to the Pacific Ocean.

Answer: San Sebastián

Found in the far north of Spain, close to the French border, the city of San Sebastian is somewhat of a tropical paradise typically visited by upper-class tourists. It's not a big city, but it is beautiful; the location has been used in the past for film festivals and once, in 2016, as a European Capital of Culture.

The surrounding region marks the edge of the Pyrenees mountain range along the French border; San Sebastian is somewhat sheltered though, forming a small bay at the end of the Urumea River with beautiful beaches.

Answer: Swakopmund

Swakopmund is a unique city in the sense that it's built in a very unique area. Namibia, as it is, is not too densely populated, and Swakopmund, sitting on the edge of the ocean in the Namib Desert, should not really exist. Nonetheless, it acted as a German port city in earlier days and became one of the country's largest cities.

It has since taken on a new life as a city for mining and excavation in the surrounding desert and as an entertainment locale-- "Mad Max: Fury Road" filmed in the region.

The ocean makes the city climate mild, but the environment, of course, makes it dry year-round.

Answer: Jupiter

Jupiter's consort, according to Roman mythology, was Juno, and both Jupiter and Juno Beach are on Florida's eastern coastline. Jupiter, normally quite tropical considering its spot on the sunny coastline of the southeastern United States, is home to beautiful weather for snowbirds seeking better winters, but it's also in the prime spot for hurricanes at the right time of year. To get there, you would head north up the coast from Miami or southeast from Orlando.

Answer: Recife

On the edge of Brazil's northeastern coast, Recife is one of the largest cities in Brazil and is, as such, quite densely populated (not unlike São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro much further south). Originally settled by the Dutch, Recife is quite unlike its larger counterparts though, because it shares both Dutch and Portuguese influences in its architecture, culture, and history.

In addition to its gorgeous beaches, it's also known for medical tourism and its sugar cane industry. The weather's perfect there for all of these things, of course.

Answer: Dartmouth

Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, is one of the province's largest cities and with its adjacency to Halifax proper it's considered part of the larger metropolitan area in this more-heavily-populated part of the Maritimes. Although it's right on the Atlantic Coast, Dartmouth is covered in local parks-- so many that its twenty-three lakes are mostly parkland.

Its rich history has caused it to dabble in a number of industries and it is, of course, bolstered by the nearby harbour in Halifax-- one of Canada's largest commercial ports.

Answer: Galway

One of the larger cities in the Republic of Ireland, Galway was founded in medieval times and boasts a number of old ruins to boot. It's a fairly wet location due to the high frequency of rain coming across the Atlantic Ocean, and as such the surrounding bogs and marshlands tend to be green, but damp. Nonetheless, Galway has a long and illustrious cultural history spanning numerous centuries.

The nearby Cliffs of Moher, further south along the coast, are the country's most popular tourist site.

Answer: Conakry

Conakry, the capital of the Republic of Guinea on the western coast of Africa, was originally founded by the French on Tombo Island, an isle in Sangareya Bay a couple of kilometres from the mainland, which means that this nation's capital is actually removed from the rest of its borders.

The city boomed shortly thereafter, spreading along the nearby Kaloum Peninsula to take in a significant portion of the nation's population. The city is now known for its markets, some of the largest in the region, and its Grand Mosque.