Pandemic strands Pacific islanders 2,600 miles away from home

Q: A group of of 25 residents from the Pacific Ocean’s remote Easter Island have been stranded 2.600 miles away on the island of Tahiti for the past six months after the covid-19 pandemic forced flights to be canceled. Which of these oceans is the Pacific?

Circle the area on this map


Q: Easter Island, or Rapa Nui, is the southeastern-most point of a roughly triangular region that extends southwest to New Zealand and north to Hawaii. The islands in this area were originally populated by which ethnic group?

A. Amerindians

B. Japanese

C. Polynesians

D. Tibetans

Q: The Easter Islanders visiting Tahiti were trapped when regular flights to and from Tahiti, Easter Island and Santiago were canceled. Santiago is the capital of what nation that includes Easter Island?

A. Chile

B. Ecuador

C. Galapagos

D. Venezuela

Q: Easter Island is famous for its nearly 1,000 statues of giant heads which were erected by the Polynesians. What are those monumental statues called?

A. Manu'a

B. Maori

C. Maui

D. Moai

Q: At a distance of nearly 2,200 miles, mainland Chile is a bit closer to Easter Island than Tahiti. But for Easter Islanders, Tahiti has long been a stopping-off point, a connection to the rest of the world. Tahiti is part of an “overseas country” of which European nation?

A. Britain

B. France

C. Germany

D. Netherlands


Answers for this quiz: Click here