Islands of the Arctic Trivia Quiz

Answer: Nunavut

Ellesmere Island was discovered by Europeans in 1616 by William Baffin, although it wasn't named until over 200 years later. Archeological evidence shows that people have been living on Ellesmere Island since at least 1000 B.C. and that those people were hunters and gatherers. Less than 200 people live on the island in modern times and the Canadian government uses Ellesmere as a weather station.

Answer: Tomorrow Island and Yesterday Isle

The Diomede Islands lie on different sides of the International Date Line. Big Diomede is 21 hours ahead of Little Diomede. The islands received attention during the Cold War when they were said to be on different sides of the Ice Curtain because the maritime boundary between Russia and the US lies between the two.

Answer: None

Ever since the Cold War, Russia has forbidden foreigners from visiting the islands and turned them into military bases. This was common at the time; Russia had moved thousands of indigenous people out their Arctic islands and transformed their homes for military purposes. Almost 90% of the Franz Josef Land area is uninhabitable anyway because of the numerous glaciers and mountains.

Answer: Birds

Jan Mayen is home to breeding nests of such Arctic birds as the little auk, guillemots and other birds, many of whom only live in the area. Jan Mayen is covered in permafrost and since it is extremely cloudy, the temperature rarely rises above freezing, even in the summer months.

Answer: Svalbard

Longyearbyen was once an important mining town, but since the 1990s, most of the mining operations have located elsewhere. The town is now a popular site for tourists and scientists and is seen as a growing city that now has a university centre and airport.

Answer: Ice sheet

The Greenland Ice Sheet covers more than 80% of the country's land. An ice sheet is a glacial ice mass that is larger than 19,000 sq. miles (50,000 sq. km.) Satellite evidence shows that the Greenland Ice Sheet is melting at a rate of 57.3 cubic miles (239 cubic km.) per year.

Answer: Heimaey

In 1973, the Eldfell volcano erupted and the entire population of Heimaey, over 5,000 people, had to be evacuated. Efforts has to be made to cool the lava before it destroyed the harbor which was essential to the island's economy. After the eruption passed, Heimaey saw a huge increase in tourism because of the infamy it gained from the news coverage of the eruption.

Answer: January 19

Because of its location partly above the Arctic Circle, the northern parts of Baffin Island have periods of perpetual light and of perpetual darkness. The perpetual darkness cycle runs from November 22 to January 19. The cycle of all-day light lasts from May 14 to July 28.

Answer: Victoria Island

Victoria Island is home to the Dolphin-Union caribou, a species of migratory caribou named after the Dolphin and Union straits that separates Victoria Island from the Canadian mainland. Victoria Island is also the home of the largest island within a lake within an island within a lake within an island, discovered on Google Maps in 2012 and at the time, had never been known to be stepped on by humans.

Answer: Completely flat like its name suggests

Flatey Island was named because of its entirely flat terrain that allows the island to graze sheep. Flatey Island is abandoned during the winter months because the weather could cause it to become isolated for weeks at a time. Flatey Island was a scene of Icelandic culture for centuries until the Danish took over the nation and centralized everything in Reykjavik.