Fire and Water Trivia Quiz

Answer: Santorini

Known as Thera in antiquity, Santorini (from "Santa Irini", Greek for "Saint Irene") lies in the southern Aegean Sea. The southernmost island of the Cyclades, it is the largest island of a small, circular archipelago, the remnant of a caldera. Most of the current volcanic activity occurs on the small Kameni Islands in the middle of the lagoon that occupies the submerged caldera. The Santorini volcano is one of the sixteen Decade Volcanoes, constantly studied and monitored because of their history of destructive eruptions and proximity to densely populated areas.

The eruption that took place around 1600 BC, known as the "Minoan eruption", destroyed the settlement of Akrotiri (whose ruins, much like Pompeii, have been preserved by a thick layer of ash), and was long believed to have caused the downfall of the Minoan civilization on Crete. In addition, the Thera eruption probably inspired the myth of Atlantis, related in Plato's dialogues "Timaeus" and "Critias".

With its striking, cubical white houses and sun-drenched Mediterranean landscape, Santorini is a major tourist destination, and tourism is the island's primary source of economic revenue. There is also a small but thriving wine industry, which has existed since antiquity.

While Rhodes and Lemnos are also found in the Aegean Sea, Corfu is part of the Ionian Islands.

Answer: False

The Azores (a name of disputed origin) are one of Portugal's two autonomous regions - the other being Madeira - located in the North Atlantic Ocean. The nine volcanic islands that form the archipelago lie about 1,400 km (870 mi) west of Lisbon, the Portuguese capital, and 1930 km (1,200 mi) southeast of the Canadian island of Newfoundland. The archipelago extends for over 600 km (370 mi) in a northwest-southeast direction. Portugal's highest peak, Mount Pico - a dormant stratovolcano - is found on the island of Pico, in the central part of the archipelago. São Miguel, the largest of the islands, where Ponta Delgada, the executive capital (and largest city) of the Azores, is located, is one of the three easternmost islands.

Despite their rather northerly location, the Azores enjoy a mild, pleasant climate thanks to the influence of the Gulf Stream, which passes nearby. The abundant rainfall is responsible for the islands' lush vegetation, characterized by dense laurel forests ("laurissilva"), home to many endemic species of plants and animals. The photo depicts the Lagoa de Furnas, a lake that occupies two ancient calderas, located in the eastern part of São Miguel.

Answer: Canary Islands

Although many would associate the island of Tenerife with beach holidays, its name means "snow mountain" in the indigenous Guanche language. In fact, mountains are one of the most prominent features of an island that is home to a variety of different climates and ecosystems - with a cooler, rainier north, with densely forested mountain areas such as the one in the photo, and a much warmer, arid south, which attracts millions of international tourists every year. Located in the central highlands, Mount Teide is Spain's highest peak, at 3,715 m (12,188 ft); it is part of a national park, and was designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2007. Tenerife is also home to one of the Canary Islands' two capitals, Santa Cruz de Tenerife (the other being Las Palmas, on the island of Gran Canaria); over 40% of the archipelago's population lives on Tenerife.

The southernmost of Spain's autonomous communities, the Canary Islands comprise eight main islands and many smaller ones that lie west of the coast of Morocco (about 100 km/82 mi at their closest). All of the major eight islands are volcanic in origin, and eruptions, earthquakes, and other volcanic phenomena are relatively common.

The three island groups listed as wrong answers are all located in the Atlantic Ocean or its marginal seas. Neither the Cayman (in the western Caribbean Sea) nor the Orkney Islands (off the north coast of Scotland) are volcanic, while the Aeolian Islands (in the Tyrrhenian Sea) are home to two active volcanoes, Stromboli and Vulcano.

Answer: Macaronesia

Macaronesia (from the Greek for "islands of the blessed") is the name given to the ecoregion in the North Atlantic Ocean that includes the Azores (see Q.2), Madeira, the Canary Islands (see Q.3), and Cape Verde - the latter being the only one of these four island groups to be located south of the Tropic of Cancer, about 570 km (350 mi) west of the coast of West Africa. A former Portuguese colony, Cape Verde became independent in 1975.

Like the other three archipelagoes, the islands of Cape Verde are of volcanic origin. The highest peak in West Africa, Pico de Fogo, an active stratovolcano, is located on the aptly-named island of Fogo ("fire" in Portuguese). Cape Verde's climate, on the other hand, is closer to that of mainland West Africa, though milder and noticeably drier. In fact, parts of the islands are covered by desert or semi-desert, and water shortages are anything but rare. Like other island countries, Cape Verde is also vulnerable to flooding caused by climate change.

Dodecanese ("twelve islands") is a group of islands in the Aegean Sea, while the Peloponnese ("island of Pelops") is the hand-shaped peninsula in southern Greece. Austronesia ("southern islands") is a term denoting the countries (mainly in Southeast Asia and Oceania, but also Madagascar) populated by Austronesian-speaking peoples. As odd as it may sound, the word "Macaronesia" shares an etymology with "macaroni".

Answer: Windward Islands

The name "Greater Antilles" denotes the larger islands in the Caribbean Sea, such as Jamaica, Cuba, Hispaniola, and Puerto Rico. The Windward Islands, on the other hand, form the southern half of the partially volcanic island arc known as Lesser Antilles; the northern half of the Lesser Antilles is known as the Leeward Islands. The names "Leeward" and "Windward" refers to the position of the two island groups in relation to the trade winds that, in the West Indies, blow from east to west. The Windward Islands include the sovereign countries of Dominica, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and Grenada, as well as the French overseas department of Martinique; the nearby islands of Barbados and Tobago are not considered part of the group.

All of the islands in the Windward group contain active or dormant volcanoes, some of which have had destructive eruptions in relatively recent times. La Soufriėre on the island of Saint Vincent erupted in April 2021, causing the evacuation of thousands of people. The most notorious of these volcanoes, however, is Mount Pelée on Martinique, whose 1902 eruption was one of history's deadliest. With their lush vegetation and stunning marine environment, the Windward Islands are very popular tourist destinations - not only for cruises and beach tourism in general, but also appealing to more environmentally-conscious travellers.

Answer: France

The Mascarene Islands (named after 16th-century Portuguese navigator Pedro Mascarenhas) are located in the Indian Ocean, between 700 and 1,500 km (435-932 mi) east of Madagascar. The group includes three large islands - Mauritius, Rodrigues, and Réunion - plus various remnants of sunken volcanic islands. Réunion, which lies about 175 km (109 mi) southwest of Mauritius, is one of France's five overseas departments and regions (Martinique, mentioned in question 5, is another).

This small, mountainous island sits on top of a volcanic hotspot named after it. The highest point on Réunion, and in the whole of the Indian Ocean, is the inactive shield volcano known as Piton des Neiges ("snow peak"), located in the centre of the island. On the other hand, the Piton de la Fournaise ("furnace peak"), located to the southeast, is very much active - as its name suggests - and eruptions are frequent. While its magnificent beaches and coral reefs make Réunion an ideal tourist destination for lovers of tropical climes, the island is also home to hundreds of endemic plant species, as well as a thriving bird population. About 40% of Réunion (including the two volcanic peaks) forms a UNESCO World Heritage Site, designated in 2010.

Belgium does not have overseas territories any longer, while Denmark and Spain still do.

Answer: Bay of Plenty

Most of the volcanism in New Zealand is concentrated in the North Island, while in the South Island volcanic activity is much less evident. Whaakari/White Island, the country's most active volcano, is part of the Taupō Volcanic Zone. As its Māori name (meaning "exposed to view") suggests, the 325-hectare (800-acre), uninhabited island is the peak of a much larger submarine volcano. On the other hand, the English name was given to the island by Captain James Cook in 1769, because of the white clouds of steam due to the volcano's constant state of activity. The deadly phreatic (steam and gas) eruption that made the international news happened on 9 December 2019, when a party of 47 people were on the island (which is privately owned).

The Bay of Plenty, where Whaakari/White Island is located, lies on the northeastern coast of the North Island; Tauranga and Rotorua are the largest cities of the region around the bay. Hot springs abound in the area, attracting many tourists. Whaakari/White Island is also notable for its fishing grounds and bird life.

The Bay of Fundy is located on the east coast of Canada, the Bay of Biscay between France and Spain, on the Atlantic Ocean, and the Bay of Bothnia at the northern end of the Gulf of Bothnia, in the Baltic Sea.

Answer: Papua New Guinea

Separated from New Guinea by the northwest corner of the Solomon Sea, New Britain, like the rest of the Bismarck Archipelago, is part of the Islands Region of Papua New Guinea, which also includes the north-western Solomon Islands. This large, crescent-shaped island - the world's 38th-largest, about the same size as Taiwan - is divided into two provinces, East New Britain and West New Britain. Between 1884 and 1914, New Britain was a German protectorate, with the name of Neupommern ("New Pomerania").

Largely mountainous, and covered with dense tropical rainforest, New Britain has a number of active volcanoes, one of which, Mount Ulawun, is Papua New Guinea's highest volcano, and one of the Decade Volcanoes. Another very active, dangerous volcano, Tavurvur (whose white plume of smoke can be seen in the photo), was responsible for the destruction of the town of Rabaul, the former capital of East New Britain, in 1994. In spite of this challenging environment, New Britain has been inhabited by indigenous Papuans for thousands of years - probably since 21,000 BC.

Answer: Suribachi

One of the island groups that form the Ogasawara Islands, the three Volcano Islands ("Kazan Retto" in Japanese) are geographically part of Micronesia. However, Ogasawara Subprefecture, which gives the archipelago its name, and to which the islands belong, is considered part of the Tokyo Metropolis, despite being located over 1,000 km (620 mi) south of the Japanese capital.

Iwo Jima ("Sulphur Island") is the largest of the three islands; the two smaller ones are called North Iwo Jima and South Iwo Jima. Its highest point, shown in the photo, is the iconic Mount Suribachi (named after a type of Japanese grinding bowl because of its shape). This 161-m (528-ft) cinder cone is one of the vents of a submerged active volcano, and minor volcanic activity can be regularly observed on the island. The mountain was immortalized by photographer Joe Rosenthal on 23 February 1945, when six Marines raised the US flag on top of Mount Suribachi during the battle of Iwo Jima.

Sakurajima, Japan's most active volcano, and one of the Decade Volcanoes, is located on the island of Kyushu, while Pinatubo is in the Philippines, and Tambora in Indonesia.

Answer: Bering Sea

Comprising 14 large volcanic islands and 55 smaller ones, the Aleutian Islands form an arc that stretches for about 1,900 km (1,200 mi) from the Alaska Peninsula to the Kamchatka Peninsula, separating the North Pacific Ocean from the Bering Sea. The archipelago includes six groups of islands: most of them belong to the US state of Alaska, while the Komandorski (Commander) Islands, at the western end of the chain, are part of Kamchatka Krai, a federal subject of Russia. The uninhabited Attu Island (part of the Near Islands), located just west of the International Date Line, contains one of the westernmost points in the US, Cape Wrangell.

Located at the northernmost end of the Pacific Ring of Fire, the Aleutian Islands contain 57 volcanoes, some of which are active; most of them are concentrated in the north side of the archipelago. Like other islands situated at similar latitudes, the Aleutian Islands are subjected to strong winds, and thus almost treeless - though, as shown by the photo of Unimak Island (the largest island of the chain), they are far from barren, being covered by a dense growth of grass and shrubs. The islands are home to many different species of seabirds, and the coasts harbour a thriving population of sea otters.

The Tasman Sea is also a marginal sea of the Pacific Ocean, but lies in the Southern Hemisphere. The Beaufort Sea is part of the Arctic Ocean, and the Weddell Sea of the Southern Ocean.