When it was featured this week, it had some edits done, and the "created" date on a quiz is actually the date of the most recent edit. It was originally created in September 2014.
France doesn't border Canada. The overseas territory of St Pierre and Miquelon is situated in North America, and is not a considered a part of France, unlike the overseas departments of French Guiana, Martinique, Guadeloupe, Réunion and Mayotte. Brazil and Suriname are in South America.
St Pierre and Miquelon has a certain level of autonomy and a special legal status but nevertheless it is represented in the French National Assembly, Senate and Economic and Social Council. It is one of France's overseas collectivities making it an integral part of France.
@UsrnmeCntBeBlank Take this with a grain of salt because these places do have some varying levels of status in their countries, but
French Guiana : France :: Hawaii : USA
SPM : France :: Puerto Rico : USA
Puerto Rico is a territory and not a State of the United States as Hawaii is. St. Pierre and Miquelon is represented in France, but it is not a department as French Guiana is.
Even disregarding this it doesn't even border Canada regardless.
Kazakhstan and Turkey are transcontinental countries, so they can be considered part of Europe or Asia...but Cyprus is always considered part of Europe so I'm surprised about them
It't almos literally never considered a part of Europe. The only place I ever saw it being considered that is in the arguments in the comment section on Jetpunk.
Should we ask one of the Cypriots that represents Cyprus in an official capacity? You’ll find a bunch of ‘em in Brussels, Luxembourg and Strasbourg, where they represent heir country at the, er, European Union.
How does Canada not count? I understand where Canada is and where Europe is, the logic behind these quizzes is bizarre to me at best. Europe has a country defined it it as Denmark, Denmark owns Greenland as its territory. Canada is only 210.11 miles or 338.15 km from Greenland in its closest borders. I will concede that Russia is part of Europe but only the western part counts, for a unknown reason.
It depends where you draw the North America / Europe divide, since Greenland can be grouped in with either continent. The Wikipedia entry describes Greenland as physiographically part of North America, but culturally part of Europe. (This might start a Cyprus-style debate!). Greenland is just 26 km / 16 miles from Canada at its closest point, in the far north, off Ellesmere Island. And Greenland is not "owned" by Denmark any more than the US "owns" Marshall Islands! Greenland, and the Country of Denmark, are both members of the Kingdom of Denmark.
Then surely Greenland, which though Danish, is part of N. America, should count as it is definitely closer to Europe (Iceland and Svalbard) than any of the middle eastern countries (excepting Turkey) are?
But you can't put "Denmark" (for Greenland) as close to Europe (Iceland), as Denmark is already in the middle of Europe, even if you consider Greenland a part of North America. I find no problems with this quiz at it is.
I think it's fine as is, if you start accepting countries that are close to territories of countries that are in Europe then you could argue for the USA because Alaska almost touches the far east part of Russia, and Russia is also partially in Europe.
Suriname and brazil should be on it more than Canada. French Guiana is actually part of France (not as an overseas territory), whereas Greenland is highly autonomous (and it keeps geting more autonomous)
It is part of France, but it is not on the European continent, it is in South America so it doesn't count. Same thing goes for Ceuta and Melilla, which are parts of Spain in Africa
Spain straddles two continents geographically - the obvious European part, but Ceuta, Melilla and the Canaries are part of Africa. Culturally, you could make a case for all of it being European.
Some of the Middle Eastern countries here are measured to Rhodes, which I think is dubiously considered Europe. Yes, it's Greek, but it's much closer to mainland Turkey (which is here considered Asian) and should probably be treated in the same way as Cyprus (i.e. not part of Europe). Otherwise, you'd have to take the Canary Islands into account as mentioned above- they're owned by Spain despite being closer to Africa.
Still need to clarify the comments... If Russia is "treated as European", then lots of countries (China, for instance) should be on with distance of 0km. Also, Morocco is 0km from Spain (Ceuta).
Basically what it's saying is that Kazakhstan is Asian, but it borders European Russia so it counts as 0km. Same for Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan. Russia is ignored as a quiz answer, and for geographical calculation, because its size and borders mean that it falls into a grey area in terms of whether it's in Europe or Asia, and answering "China" may be technically true but isn't the point of the quiz.
This is an unambiguous definition of the European continent that is independent of political geography. The countries of Russia, Kazakhstan, Turkey, Georgia and Azerbaijan contain territory inside this definition, and therefore are 0 miles away from the continent of Europe. Cyprus and Armenia are completely outside the continental borders.
Cyprus is 243 miles from Mainland Europe. Georgia, Kazakhstan and Turkey all 0 miles away from Europe are in Asia. Morocco (9 miles away), Tunisia (44 miles away), and Libya (212 miles away), are all in Africa and are all closer to Europe than Cyprus.
Adding to the above... there are 12 non-European countries closer to Europe than Cyprus. There are 2 continents (Asia, Africa) closer to Cyprus than Europe.
In that case Trinidad & Tobago should be a South American country - it's far closer to Venezuela than any "North American" country (calling Grenada North American feels incredibly weird, but understandable for the needs of a quiz site).
Can I offer another suggestion to stir into this well-stirred pot? After having visited (both halves of) Cyprus, I think it's truer to consider the southern Republic of Cyprus, which is aligned with Greece as well as being an EU member, as European, and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, which is aligned with, er, Turkey, as Asian. The cultural difference between the two halves is massive, even though you can freely pass back-and-forth between them as a tourist. (By the way, if you want to count all of Greece as in Europe, that leaves Europe, by dint of Καστελλόριζο / Kastellorizo, as closer to Cyprus than Africa).
Might as well stick my teaspoon in as well... if we’re going to allow for the ‘Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus,’ then you’re going to have problems with the Luhansk People’s Republic, the Donetsk People’s Republic, the Republic of Abkhazia, the Republic of South Ossetia and, potentially, the Republic of Kosovo, the Republic of Artsakh and the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic.
There’s another quiz right there, surely? Having said that, I’m betting there already is one... ‘scuse me while I have a butchers...
And to add an apparent point that has be left out so far. The E.U is not the same as the continent of Europe . The EU is an organisation, just like NATO and the UN are organisations. The basis for the EU is economic while NATO is more about defense.
Originally the EU consisted of only 6 countries, currently it has 27 members (still much less than there are countries in Europe). Norway for instance, is definitely in Europe but not part of the EU. French Guiana for instance is not in the European continent, but as an integral part of France, it is in the EU
That's the precentage of all your tries when you took the quiz. If you missed the country on your first try and guessed it the second time, it shows 50%.
Basically to clarify for anyone wondering why China, Mongolia, Morocco, etc. aren't 0 km/mi even though they border Russia and Spain respectively:
I don't think it's a stretch to say Spain is "based" in Europe. On Jetpunk, Russia is also considered to be "based" in Europe because of big cities like Moscow and St. Petersburg. However, when you're a transcontinental country, just because you're based in one continent doesn't mean the rest of your country is also in that continent. This is obvious with Russia; most of it is clearly in Asia. It's also why many islands in the Caribbean aren't European (geographically) but, well, Caribbean. All of the transcontinental answers on this quiz (Kazakhstan, Georgia, Azerbaijan, and Turkey) are not counted as part of Europe (despite having land in Europe) because they are considered to be "based" in Asia. And Cyprus, well... that's just Cyprus for you.
The Volga river is not the border it is the river Ural (and the Ural mountains). After a bit of searching I finally found a good picture which shows the rivers clearly as well as the border. (Without too much clutter) Click here to show map
Kazakhstan and Georgia* border the European portion of Russia (west of the Ural Mountains). (However, Kazakhstan also borders the Asian portion of Russia—east of the Urals, but that is irrelevant.) Uzbekistan is not 0 km away from Europe.
“This quiz will treat Russia as Europe since most of its population lives there”
You admit Central Asian countries because of that. Why is N Korea left out? Japan?
N Korea has a land border. Japan is near to Sakhalin Island. I’d bet S Korea is close then other picks too. And maybe China though I’m not sure about that corner at the Korean Pennisula.
I'd add Russia as an answer, and change the comment to: "A country is only correct if it is near the continent of Europe, or near the European part of a multi-continent country such as Russia or France." That would eliminate China, Suriname, etc. while leaving Turkey.
Quite confusing in some cases, strongly depends on ideas about geographical Europe. Had 'm all quite quick, except Kazakhstan. Although by the rules set Kazakhstan/Georgia/Armenia/Azerbaijan and such make sense, still feels misplaced.
Other point, if it is something that borders Europe, Morocco should also list at 0, given th 2 autonomous regions Spain has in Morocco. I assume these are excluded like Greenland is.
But....if all of Russia is counted (therefore including Kazakhstan and likewise) then why is the gap of the Bering Strait not also used, putting America close to?
Not so. It can be debated either way. When I visited Cyprus last year (nice country, by the way), I was struck by how different culturally politically the (southern) Republic of Cyprus and Northern Cyprus are. Give the former leans towards Greece and the latter to Turkey, you could make a case for putting the continental divide along the north-south partition ine.
Not quite. The southern Republic of Cyprus has had, over the years, many pining for "Enosis", or merger with, Greece. Northern Cyprus in turn would like to merge with Turkey, but neither Greece nor Turkey wants to take that step. But each half of Cyprus makes its wishes known in a subtle way: in the south, national flags are always flown in pairs on adjacent flagpoles - the Cypriot one next to the Greek one, and in the north, the flag of Northern Cyprus is always next to Turkey's, like this.
Malta is 513 km away from Tunisia (what I think is the closest African country to it) while the distance between Malta and Sicily is 219 km. So Malta geographically is closer to Europe, unlike Cyprus.
Also, not sure how you're measuring Uzbekistan - it looks like it's about 395 km from the Ural River near Atyrau and a bit less than 600 across the Caspian.
We're using the Russia/Kazakh border as the boundary, but yes, if you take the continental border as running through Kazakhstan, then distance reduces to 393 km / 244 miles, at, as you say, the Ural River near Atyrau. Either way, Uzbekistan is on the list.
When Dan relents, and aligns this website with Sporcle, and with recognition by most of the world's countries, and UN observer status (it would have been full status except for a veto threat by the US), Palestine will appear in 18th place at 762 km /473 miles.
This comment section is painful. No, the Asian part of Russia is not Europe. No, the African part of Spain is not Europe. No, the North American French island is not part of Europe. No, the South American French Guiana is not Europe. To be part of the continental landmass of Europe, you have to, surprisingly, be on the bloody continental landmass of Europe!!!!
St Pierre and Miquelon has a certain level of autonomy and a special legal status but nevertheless it is represented in the French National Assembly, Senate and Economic and Social Council. It is one of France's overseas collectivities making it an integral part of France.
French Guiana : France :: Hawaii : USA
SPM : France :: Puerto Rico : USA
Puerto Rico is a territory and not a State of the United States as Hawaii is. St. Pierre and Miquelon is represented in France, but it is not a department as French Guiana is.
Even disregarding this it doesn't even border Canada regardless.
@w3irdchamp, would you consider Trinidad & Tobago as North America or South America..?
Maybe you can say something about the transcontinental countries in the notes?
European Russia dominates the country politically, so the Asian portion is part of a European country while not being in Europe.
This is an unambiguous definition of the European continent that is independent of political geography. The countries of Russia, Kazakhstan, Turkey, Georgia and Azerbaijan contain territory inside this definition, and therefore are 0 miles away from the continent of Europe. Cyprus and Armenia are completely outside the continental borders.
There’s another quiz right there, surely? Having said that, I’m betting there already is one... ‘scuse me while I have a butchers...
Originally the EU consisted of only 6 countries, currently it has 27 members (still much less than there are countries in Europe). Norway for instance, is definitely in Europe but not part of the EU. French Guiana for instance is not in the European continent, but as an integral part of France, it is in the EU
Also, Hungary is in NATO and it touches no sea.
I don't think it's a stretch to say Spain is "based" in Europe. On Jetpunk, Russia is also considered to be "based" in Europe because of big cities like Moscow and St. Petersburg. However, when you're a transcontinental country, just because you're based in one continent doesn't mean the rest of your country is also in that continent. This is obvious with Russia; most of it is clearly in Asia. It's also why many islands in the Caribbean aren't European (geographically) but, well, Caribbean. All of the transcontinental answers on this quiz (Kazakhstan, Georgia, Azerbaijan, and Turkey) are not counted as part of Europe (despite having land in Europe) because they are considered to be "based" in Asia. And Cyprus, well... that's just Cyprus for you.
Hope this helps!
You admit Central Asian countries because of that. Why is N Korea left out? Japan?
N Korea has a land border. Japan is near to Sakhalin Island. I’d bet S Korea is close then other picks too. And maybe China though I’m not sure about that corner at the Korean Pennisula.
Other point, if it is something that borders Europe, Morocco should also list at 0, given th 2 autonomous regions Spain has in Morocco. I assume these are excluded like Greenland is.
But....if all of Russia is counted (therefore including Kazakhstan and likewise) then why is the gap of the Bering Strait not also used, putting America close to?
Turkey has a piece of Europe as part if it!
So these countries cannot be considered outside Europe.