Special Sub-Topic: Which is Your Favorite Isthmus? Click Here To Play: Which is Your Favorite Isthmus?

A simple definition: which one of these could be adequately used to define what an isthmus is?

A narrow strip of land connecting two larger land masses. The plural of isthmus is either isthmuses or isthmi (one of two six-letter English words that begin and end with a vowel, and have no other vowels in between). Interestingly, there is an alternative definition for isthmus, that is a narrow anatomical part that connects two larger structures within a body.

The word isthmus has its earliest origins in which language?

Greek. Isthmus comes from the ancient Greek isthmos, and found its way into English via Latin.

Which of these names is most associated with the Panama canal, which lies along perhaps the most famous isthmus in the world, the Isthmus of Panama?

Ferdinand de Lesseps. de Lesseps was a French count who obtained permission and raised funding for the great French project at the Isthmus of Suez, the Suez Canal. de Lesseps also began the project at the Isthmus of Panama to build the great canal that would connect the Atlantic Ocean with the Pacific. Unfortunately, unlike with the Suez Canal project, the Panama project ended in failure for de Lesseps.

Which of these is a former name sometimes used for the Isthmus of Panama?

Isthmus of Darién. Miraflores, Gatun and Pedro Miguel are all names for locks along the Panama Canal.

Along which isthmus was a great canal built?

Isthmus of Suez. The Isthmus of Suez separates the Sinai Peninsula from the rest of Egypt, and also separates Asia from Africa.

The Isthmus of Kra separates which peninsula from the mainland of Asia?

Malay. The Isthmus of Kra is a narrow strip of land occupied by Thailand and Myanmar. It separates the Gulf of Thailand from the Andaman Sea.

Which Russian isthmus (and peninsula that shares the same name) separates the Sea of Okhotsk and the Bering Sea?

Isthmus of Kamchatka.

Which large Russian city lies at the base of the Karelian Isthmus?

St. Petersburg. The Karelian Isthmus separates Lake Ladoga from the Gulf of Finland.

The Isthmus of Tehuantepec separates the northern portion of Mexico from several of its states, including which large peninsula?

Yucatan & Yucatan Peninsula. The Bay of Campeche lies to the north of this isthmus, while to the south lies the Gulf of Tehuantepec. The Isthmus of Tehuantepec cuts through the Mexican states of Tabasco, Veracruz, and Oaxaca.

Perhaps the most famous Isthmus of the ancient world, this Greek isthmus separates the Peloponnisos from the Greek mainland and shares its name with a city at its base. Name that isthmus!

Corinth & Corinthian & Isthmus of Corinth & Corinthian Isthmus & Korinthos. On either side of the Isthmus of Corinth we have the Gulf of Corinth and the Saronic Gulf.

There isn't an isthmus to be found in the United States.

False. Actually, there are several. For example, the Kenai Peninsula in southern Alaska is separated by a very narrow isthmus, only 9 miles wide, which separates Cook Inlet from Prince William Sound. Isthmuses are everywhere!

Which two Canadian provinces are separated by the Chignecto Isthmus?

Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. The Bay of Fundy is separated from the Bay of Verte by the Chignecto Isthmus. The word 'Chignecto' is native Canadian, maybe Micmac, and the meaning of this term is 'the great marsh district', which makes sense considering that the isthmus is a marshland!

An isthmus can be found on an island, as well as on the continental mainland.

True. Of course, once again an isthmus separates two larger land masses, no matter how small those land masses may be. One example, on the Russian island of Sakhalin the narrowest width is at the Poyasok Isthmus, about 16 miles across.

Both the Boothia Isthmus and the Rae Isthmus can be found in which country?

Canada. The Rae Isthmus separates the Melville Peninsula from the Canadian mainland, while the Boothia Isthmus separates the Boothia Peninsula from the mainland. Both of these Isthmuses can be found in the Territory of Nunavut.

One former isthmus that existed during the last ice age, has disappeared due to a great increase in sea level. Human beings were able to cross this isthmus and consequently populate the Americas. We commonly refer to this Isthmus as the _______ Land Bridge. (Fill in the blank)

Bering & Bering Sea & Bering Land Bridge. The Bering Land Bridge is now partially submerged under the Bering Strait. As a result, we now have the Seward Peninsula and the Chukchi Peninsula! Hope you enjoyed the quiz and learned a thing or two...and merry isthmus! (I know...that was bad...)