Dawn's Early Light Trivia Quiz

Answer: Gilbert Islands

The Gilbert Islands include most of the inhabited islands of Kiribati including Tarawa, site of the national capital of South Tarawa. They were first reported by the English explorer Thomas Gilbert, and placed on a map by the German explorer Adam Johann Ritter von Krusenstern, who was leading a Russian round-the-world voyage from 1803 to 1806. The French explorer Louis Isidore Duperrey was the first to provide a complete and detailed map of the islands, which the locals called Tungaru.

When Kiribati gained independence in 1979, it was decided not to use the local name, since the new country included a number of islands that were not part of the Gilberts. The adaptation of the colonial name was intended to recognize the inclusion of these other islands in the new country.

Answer: Pacific Ocean

Kiribati stretches across a large part of the Pacific Ocean. Its western end is pretty much due north of New Zealand, while the eastern end is several thousand miles away, pretty much due south of Hawaii. The country's total land area of 717 sq km (277 sq mi) is spread over an expanse of ocean which is studded with islands belonging to other countries.

Kiribati has been inhabited since sometime around 3000 BCE by Micronesian settlers, whose language still forms the basis of the Gilbertese language. Later invasions, probably during the 14th century, by Polynesians and Melanesians introduced elements of their cultures and languages.

Answer: Ellice Islands

In 1892, the Gilbert Islands and the Ellice Islands became a British protectorate called (wait for it) the Gilbert and Ellice Islands. Eight of the eleven islands in the chain called the Line Islands were added in 1919, and the Phoenix Islands in 1937.

They gained self-rule in 1971, and independence in 1979, when the Ellice Islands were renamed Tuvalu, and the remaining portion adopted the name of Kiribati.

Answer: Caroline Island

Technically, Caroline Island may not have been the first place to see the new millennium on January 1 (of 2000 or of 2001, let's not debate that issue here). There is a bit of Antarctica that actually received sunlight 35 minutes earlier, although there is some debate as to this, since it is so close to the Antarctic Circle that sunset and sunrise at that time of year sort of run into each other. Anyway, the tropical Caroline Atoll was a much better place to visit to be part of the celebrations, for which the island was renamed Millennium Island, a name which may or may not stick. Kiribati thus claims to have been the first inhabited country to enter the 21st century, although most of the population lies well to the west of other inhabited regions - New Zealand, for example, experienced the sunrise an hour ahead of Tarawa, because it was on Daylight Savings Time.

Caroline Island is a crescent-shaped coral atoll made up of 39 separate islets surrounding a narrow central lagoon. It is considered one of the Pacific atolls which has been least affected by human activity, and is an important breeding site for a number of species of sea birds, including the sooty tern. It is also the location of one of the world's largest populations of coconut crabs.

Answer: Kiribati is the only country in the world that lies in all four global quadrants.

The Gilbert Islands are all located with East longitudes, while the Phoenix Islands and the Line Islands are on the other side of the 180th meridian, and are located with West longitudes. The equator runs through the middle of the country, with the Phoenix Islands lying completely in the southern hemisphere, and the other two groups spreading into both north and south. Kiribati is in both the East and West hemispheres, and in both the North and South hemispheres.

The world's largest country by land area is Russia (17,075,200 sq km), while the area of Kiribati places it at position 188 on a list (using figures from the CIA Factbook) that shows 239 countries, with the smallest being Vatican City (whose area is less than 1 sq km). The 32 coral atolls and single raised coral atoll which comprise Kiribati are definitely not volcanic in origin.

Answer: Frigate bird

The rising sun is symbolic of Kiribati's location on the equator and on the 180th meridian. There are 17 rays, representing the 16 Gilbert Islands and Banaba. The three white wavy lines in the blue ocean remind viewers of the fact that there are three island groups included in the country. The frigate bird (in Gilbertese, te eitei) represents power and freedom, since it is renowned for spending over a week at a time in the air: because it cannot swim and walks with difficulty, it lands as little as possible.

The frigate bird is also included to signify the unique dance style of the I-Kiribati. Unlike most Pacific island dances, it is based on the use of outstretched arms, resembling a bird in flight, and jerky head movements, performed without smiling.

Answer: Dried flesh from a coconut

Copra is dried coconut, prepared by splitting the coconuts in half, removing the husk, and allowing the flesh to dry in the sun. It is used as a source of coconut oil. Traditionally, coconut oil extraction involved grating the copra and boiling it in water. Now it is more commonly extracted using crushing machinery. Either process leaves behind a solid called coconut or copra meal.

This is high in protein, but has too much fibre to be convenient for large-scale human consumption, and is usually used as a livestock food supplement.

Answer: It is the world's largest coral atoll in land area.

Remembering that 'ti' is pronounces as 's', you can see that Kiritimati is a direct rendition into Gilbertese of the European designation for this island. The tendency of explorers to name islands after the date on which they discovered them (if it seemed significant) has led to the existence of multiple islands called Christmas Island. For those of us living in Australia, the Christmas Island in the Indian Ocean which is an Australian territory springs more immediately to mind than does the one in Kiribati. With a land area of about 322 sq km (124 sq mi), over two-thirds of the land area of Kiribati, Kiritimati is the world's largest coral atoll by land area (although not by enclosed area). Since the exact land area is not constant on most coral atolls, and determining the land area is complicated by large expanses of salt flats, these rankings are not consistent among different authorities, and some sites do list either Lifou or Rennell Island as the largest coral atoll.

While a number of atmospheric nuclear tests were conducted on nearby Pacific atolls, Kirimati was not the site for the first of them. It definitely does not have any glaciers, and it does receive regular rainfall (unlike the Atacama Desert in Chile), although the porous soil and lack of vegetative cover mean that little is retained, and the climate is effectively arid, unusually so for a tropical island.

Answer: Phosphates

Banaba is the only island of Kiribati which is not an atoll. It is described as a raised-coral island - as can be seen from the map, there is no lagoon. As is the case for most islands so described, it was a rich source of phosphate, primarily originating in its coral origins. Mining to produce fertilizer during the 20th century meant that almost 90% of the island's surface had been stripped before independence in 1979.

The approximately 300 inhabitants of the island at the start of the 21st century were opposed to the desire of the Kiribati government to reopen the phosphate mines.

Answer: 80 m (265 ft)

While rising sea levels pose a risk for all the island countries of the Pacific, Kiribati is one of those considered most at risk. Aside from the unnamed peak on Banaba, the entire country lies at an elevation under two metres (7 ft) above sea level. (As well as rising sea levels, these countries are threatened by tsunamis following earthquakes, since it doesn't take much to completely submerge them as the tsunami passes.) Not all authorities agree on this - aside from arguments as to whether global warming is real, it has been pointed out that the warmer waters increase coral growth rates, and some islands have actually increased in size over the last 50 years. Rising sea levels will, however, definitely cause increased salination, and this is a threat to the copra industry.