Samoa - The Cradle of Polynesia Trivia Game | Geography

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1. Samoa is an island nation that is located in the Polynesian region of the Pacific Ocean. The Polynesian region is defined by the Polynesian Triangle, which refers to three different island groups scattered over the vast Pacific Ocean. Which of the following islands is NOT one of them?

Answer: Singapore

A simple way to define Polynesia is by drawing three imaginary lines that connect Hawaii, Easter Island, and New Zealand. The region encompassed by this spherical triangle consists of more than 1,000 islands; all of which are located in either central or southern Pacific Ocean.

Due to its strategic location, American Samoa has earned the nickname of "The Heart of Polynesia". American Samoa is located to the east of Samoa.

Singapore is an island nation located in Southeast Asia. Hawaii is one of the 50 states of the US. Easter Island belongs to Chile. New Zealand is an island nation that is located in the southwestern region of the Pacific Ocean.

2. The Independent State of Samoa and the US unincorporated territory of American Samoa are known collectively as the Samoan Islands, with American Samoa lying to the east of Samoa. Which imaginary line separates the two geographical entities?

Answer: International Date Line

Samoa lies to the west of the International Date Line (IDL), whereas American Samoa lies to the east of the line. Samoa uses the UTC+13 time zone, whereas American Samoa uses the UTC-11:00 time zone. In other words, Samoa is 24 hours ahead of its neighbor, American Samoa.

The Prime Meridian (Greenwich), located at 0 degrees longitude, was proposed by English mathematician and astronomer Sir George Airy in 1851.

The Tropic of Cancer is located approximately 23.4 degrees north of the equator. Its counterpart, the Tropic of Capricorn, is located approximately 23.4 degrees south of the equator.

3. Geographically speaking, Samoa is made up of two main islands and eight islets. The landmass occupied by the two islands accounts for 99% of the entire country's land area. What are the names of these two islands?

Answer: Savai'i and Upolu

Savai'i is Samoa's largest island. It lies to the northwest of Upolu, which is the country's second largest island.

New Zealand is made up two two major islands, namely the North Island and the South Island, separated by the Cook Strait. Trinidad and Tobago are the names of the two islands of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, a Caribbean nation. The Republic of Malta, a European island nation, is made up of two main islands - Gozo and Malta.

4. In addition to American Samoa, the island nation of Samoa shares maritime borders with three other nations and overseas territories. Which of the following is NOT one of them?

Answer: Barbados

Barbados is an island nation located in the Caribbean.

Tokelau lies to the northeast of Samoa. It is a dependent territory of New Zealand. The Kingdom of Tonga is located to the southwest of Samoa. Wallis and Futuna is a French overseas collectivity.

5. Not to be confused with the name of a bee yard, the capital of Samoa is noted for being the burial place of Scottish novelist Robert Louis Stevenson. What is the capital of Samoa?

Answer: Apia

The capital of Samoa, Apia, is located on the island of Upolu.

Yaren is the capital of Nauru. Tarawa is the capital of Kiribati, whereas Suva is the capital of Fiji.

An apiary, or a bee yard, is a place where beehives are kept. Honey bees are kept for their honey.

Robert Louis Stevenson (1850-1894) was a Scottish novelist, best known for his novels "Treasure Island" (1883) and "Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde" (1886). He was born in Edinburgh, Scotland. In 1890, he moved to Samoa. He died at a very young age of 44 and was buried at Mount Vaea.

6. At 1,858 meters, the highest mountain of Samoa is named after a word in the Samoan language, which fittingly means "highest". What is the foolish-sounding name of this mountain?

Answer: Silisili

Mount Silisili is located on the island of Savai'i. Other notable mountains of Samoa include Mount Matavanu, Mata o le Afi, and Mauga Afi.

Pago Pago is the capital city of American Samoa. Lavalava are traditional clothes worn by Polynesians. Voiced by Will.i.am., Moto Moto is a male hippopotamus that is featured in "Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa" (2008).

7. Located on the coast of the village of Taga, the Alofaaga Blowholes are popular tourist attractions in Samoa. One can throw coconuts into these blowholes and watch them being blasted powerfully into the air by the water pressure. What exactly are these blowholes?

Answer: Marine geysers

Blowholes, or marine geysers, are volcanic plug holes that are formed over a long period of time. The eroded portion of sea caves would form long tubes, allowing sea water to flow in. Flowing through these narrow tubes, the hydraulic compression of the sea water translates into powerful blast of water that is released through these blowholes.

Karsts are formed from certain soluble rocks, such as gypsum and limestone. Stalagmites are rock formations that rise from the floors of caves. Fjords are long, narrow inlets sandwiched by tall cliffs on both sides.

8. In the late 1910s, the world was plagued with the deadly Spanish Flu pandemic. Samoa was no exception, where approximately one fifth of the nation's population died following the pandemic outbreak in the country. The arrival of which vessel in Samoa had escalated the spread of the pandemic?

Answer: SS Talune

The SS Talune, departed from Auckland, New Zealand, arrived in Samoa on 7 November 1918. Prior to the arrival of the vessel, there were no Spanish Flu cases reported in Samoa. In 2002, the Prime Minister of New Zealand, Helen Clark, issued an official apology to Samoans over the incident.

RMS Titanic sank in the North Atlantic Ocean on 15 April 1912. The Wright Flyer was the name of the airplane designed by the Wright brothers in 1903.The Spirit of St. Louis was the name of the monoplane flown by Charles Lindbergh in 1927, during his solo nonstop transatlantic flight from Long Island, New York, USA to Paris, France.

9. The flag of Samoa consists of a red field with a blue canton that features five stars. The same five stars also appear on the national flags of Australia and Papua New Guinea. Which constellation, the smallest of all the 88 constellations, contains these five stars?

Answer: Crux

The five stars featured on the flag of Samoa are white in colour. There are four large stars and one smaller star. The four large stars form a cross-shaped figure, hence the name of the constellation, Crux, which means "cross" in Latin.

Hydra is the largest constellation, followed by Virgo. Equuleus is the second smallest constellation, after Crux.

10. The island nation of Samoa is featured in "Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw" (2019). In the movie, Hobbs traveled to his hometown in Samoa to visit his family. The actor who played Hobbs, is of half-black and half-Samoan descent. This actor is also a former professional wrestler. Who is he?

Answer: Dwayne Johnson

Luke Hobbs, played by "The Rock" Dwayne Johnson, is one of the two main characters in "Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw" (2019); the other being Deckard Shaw, played by Jason Statham. The scenes in Samoa featured in the movie were actually filmed on the Hawaiian island of Kauai. Johnson was born in Hayward, California, in 1972. His other notable movies include "The Scorpion King" (2002), "San Andreas" (2015), and "Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle" (2017).

Both John Cena and Steve Austin are professional wrestlers turned actors. Cena's notable movies include "The Marine" (2006) and "Bumblebee" (2018). Austin made his acting debut in "The Longest Yard" (2005), where he had a minor role, playing the character of Guard Dunham.

Jason Momoa is an American actor known for his roles in the TV series "Game of Thrones" (2011-2019) and the movie "Aquaman" (2018). He was born in Hawaii in 1979.

Source: Author Matthew_07

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Samoa - The Cradle of Polynesia Quiz

Not to be confused with the US unincorporated territory of American Samoa, the South Pacific island nation of the Independent State of Samoa, formerly known as Western Samoa, has much more to offer than just lush green rainforests and rich culture.

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