Q 01/05

Long Island stretches how far east from New York Harbor into the Atlantic?

A) 118 miles

B) 148 miles

C) 178 miles

D) 208 miles

Answer · why

A) 118 miles

At its widest the island is only 23 miles across, which is why locals give directions purely in terms of 'north shore' and 'south shore.'

Q 02/05

Long Island's eight million-plus people are roughly what share of New York State's population?

A) 15%

B) 25%

C) 40%

D) 30%

Answer · why

C) 40%

That makes it the most populous island in any US state or territory, and it would rank around 12th among the states if it were one.

Q 03/05

Which two of Long Island's four counties are also boroughs of New York City?

A) Nassau and Suffolk

B) Kings and Queens

C) Kings and Nassau

D) Queens and Suffolk

Answer · why

B) Kings and Queens

Kings County is Brooklyn. Nassau and Suffolk make up what most people mean when they say 'the Island.'

Q 04/05

The 1650s Dutch name for the island, 't Lange Eylandt, was paired on maps with what Native American name?

A) Paumanok

B) Sewanhacky

C) Wamponomon

D) Matouwacs

Answer · why

D) Matouwacs

Walt Whitman preferred the Algonquian name Paumanok, which he used in his poetry.

Q 05/05

Long Island's two east-west ridges, the Harbor Hill and Ronkonkoma moraines, were left behind by what?

A) An ancient river delta

B) Volcanic activity

C) Coral reef growth

D) Ice Age glaciers

Answer · why

D) Ice Age glaciers

The debris dates from the last pulses of Wisconsin glaciation about 21,000 years ago; the same ice scooped out the kettle lakes Ronkonkoma and Success...