Fun Trivia : Pacific Islands

Structure Sub-topic of: Geography Quizzes Other encyclopedia entries of interest: Cook Islands | Fiji | Guam | Kiribati | Marshall Islands | Micronesia | Nauru | New Caledonia | New Zealand | Palau | Papua New Guinea | Pitcairn Islands | Samoa | Solomon Islands | Tokelau | Tonga | Tuvalu | Vanuatu | Wallis and Futuna | Interesting Questions, Facts and Information There are a total of 30 general entries. Special Topics Oceania's Tiniest Territories I'm Where In Oceania Pacific Island Knowledge Countries of the Pacific Ocean Capitals Pacific Australasia I Oceania Mania Biggest Islands In Oceanian Countries The Island Countries of Oceania Oceania Capitals Pacific Australasia II Niue: Discovered Only Oceania Places in the Heart- Part 2 Places in the Heart Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia French Polynesia: Unveiled Around the Globe: Australia & Oceania Northern Mariana Islands: Divulged You Can't Take a Taxi to Get There New Guinea History, Geography and Culture

Interesting Questions, Facts, and Information

Pacific Islands

What is the deepest ocean trench in the world?

Pacific Islands


Mariana Trench. The Mariana Trench is east of Guam. It is over 36,000 feet deep.



George Speight attempted a coup in which country in 2000?

Pacific Islands


Fiji.



What relationship does Guam have with the USA?

Pacific Islands


Unincorporated Territory. This basically means that while the people of Guam are U.S. citizens, they can't vote unless they are actually living in the USA.



Which tiny nation found an unlikely source of wealth as a result of its internet country code?

Pacific Islands


Tuvalu. The ending of Tuvalu's internet addresses is .TV - which many television producers have been eager to use, so they bought the rights from Tuvalu.



Port Vila is the capital of which country?

Pacific Islands


Vanuatu. The capital of the Solomon Islands is Honiara, Fiji's capital is Suva, and Nuku'alofa is the capital of Tonga.



In what year was Hawaii annexed by the United States?

Pacific Islands


1898. The USA annexed Hawaii in the same year as it annexed Guam and the Philippines.



With what resource did Nauru become wealthy?

Pacific Islands


Phosphate. Nauru's phosphate reserves have been greatly depleted and much of the island is in a bad state due to mining.



It's December 31st, in the Pacific Islands now, and you want to be the first to celebrate it. Which place should you go next to be the first to experience the new year?

Your Trip to the Pacific Islands


Kiribati. The Midway and Cook Islands are some of the last to celebrate the new year, because they east of the International Dateline.



You ended up going to the Midway Islands, because there seem to be fun things to do there. Which country is this a territory of?

Your Trip to the Pacific Islands


United States. The Midway Islands are a string of islands in the Pacific Ocean that make up a territory of the United States.



You left that small country and are going to another one. You can't go to Australia, or New Zealand, because you were banished from there, and you can never return. Which island should you NOT go to?

Your Trip to the Pacific Islands


Niue. Niue belongs to New Zealand. Tonga, Tuvalu, and Kiribati are all independent nations.



Yo have decided next to leave Tahiti, and go to the Pacific Islands' smallest independent nation. WOW! this island is only 8.1 square miles, and it is inhabited by more than 10,000 people? You must check this out. Where are you headed?

Your Trip to the Pacific Islands


Nauru. Nauru's area is only just over eight square miles. It is the smallest independent nation in the Pacific. Nauru is very small, but it holds more than 100 times that in water space. This makes it seem obvious why their main revenue comes from fishing!



You ended up going to the Pitcairn Islands, but now you feel like going somewhere else, because there isn't much to do there. You want to go to a large city in the area, so you go to Tahiti's largest city. Where are you?

Your Trip to the Pacific Islands


Papeete. Papeete is one of the largest cities in the Pacific Islands. That makes it the largest city in Tahiti. Papeete is also the capital of Tahiti. Since Suva is the capital of Fiji, you're not going there, Port Moresby is in Papua New Guinea, and Apia is located in the Pacific Islands in Samoa.



Your tour around the Pacific Islands is going to continue. You feel like going to the Pitcairn Islands, but you don't want to change your watch. If you fly from Suva, to the Pitcairn Islands, will you cross into a different time zone?

Your Trip to the Pacific Islands


Yes. Yes, if you fly from Suva to the Pitcairn Islands, you will add over 20 hours to the time it is, because you will have to cross the international dateline. (When looking at a map of the western hemisphere), The Pitcairn Islands are some of Pacific Islands that are the furthest east.



Which is the largest Pacific Island by area?

Islands of the Pacific


New Guinea. With an area of approx. 342,000 square miles, New Guinea is also the second largest island in the world (after Greenland). The western half of the island, Irian Jaya, belongs to Indonesia, while the east half forms Papua New Guinea.



In 1982, the worst tropical cyclone in Tonga's recent history caused severe damage to homes and infrastructure, displacing over 40,000 people. What was the name of this Category 3 cyclone?

Islands of the Pacific


Isaac. Tropical storms are set to intensify with global warming; this could have serious implications for low lying Pacific islands, especially when combined with rising sea levels. PICCAP (the Pacific Islands Climate Change Assistance Programme) was established in 1997 to help islands combat this threat.



The New Hebrides is the former name of which island nation?

Islands of the Pacific


Vanuatu. Vanuatu gained independence from the UK and France in 1980, hence the change in name. Earthquakes affect the island relatively frequently, due to its proximity to the Australian/Pacific plate boundary. Similarly, Tuvalu was formerly called the Ellice Islands (not to be confused with Ellis Island!) prior to gaining independence from Britain earlier in the '70s.



Different to the oriental names of the surrounding islands, which Emperor Seamount shares its name with a major city in Michigan?

Islands of the Pacific


Detroit. Detroit is one of the oldest islands in the Hawaiian-Emperor Seamount chain, formed around 75-81 million years ago. The city was formed much later!



Which islands have the most in common with broken mirrors, black cats, and the number 13?

Islands of the Pacific


Desventuradas. Islas de los Desventurados, translated into English, are the 'Unfortunate Islands', closely beating the 'Iles du Desappointement' in French Polynesia to be the answer to this question. Due to the apparent lack of freshwater on the Desventurados, wildlife consists almost entirely of marine birds, and the only human settlement on the islands is a Chilean Naval base on Saint Felix. The base has a 2km runway, which dominates the tiny island (it's surface area is about 2.4 square km).



Which chain of islands marks the boundary between the Pacific Ocean and the Bering Sea?

Islands of the Pacific


Aleutian. Known prior to 1867 as the Catherine Archipelago, the Aleutian islands stretch like stepping stones from Alaska to Russia - it has been suggested that this is the path the first natives took to reach America.



Which Hawaiian island has the largest population?

Islands of the Pacific


O'ahu. As of 2000, O'ahu had population of around 900,000; it also has the greatest population density (approx. 1500/sq mi). In stark contrast, Kaho'olawe, the 8th largest island, is uninhabited; it is now a state reserve.



The Galapagos islands are part of which South American country?

Islands of the Pacific


Ecuador. The Galapagos islands are home to wide array of exceptional flora and fauna, including: marine iguanas, foot long Scolopendra centipedes, and the Galapagos penguin to name but a few. No wonder the islands were a source of fascination to Charles Darwin (after whom one of the islands is named).