Question 1

True or false: Mount Erebus is taller than any mountain in the contiguous United States.

Accepted Answer

False. Mount Erebus (12,448 ft) is shorter than Mount Whitney (14,505 ft), the highest peak in the contiguous United States. Therefore, it is not taller than every mountain in the contiguous US.

Question 2

True or false: Mount Erebus was named after the Greek god of darkness and shadow.

Accepted Answer

True. It was named by explorer Sir James Clark Ross in 1841 after Erebus, the primordial deity of darkness in Greek mythology.

Question 3

True or false: Mount Erebus is the southernmost active volcano on Earth.

Accepted Answer

True. Located on Ross Island in Antarctica, Mount Erebus is indeed the southernmost active volcano, constantly erupting since 1972.

Question 4

True or false: Mount Erebus is located on the Antarctic Peninsula.

Accepted Answer

False. Mount Erebus is on Ross Island, far from the Antarctic Peninsula, which stretches toward South America.

Question 5

True or false: The 1979 Air New Zealand flight that crashed into Mount Erebus was due to a sudden volcanic eruption.

Accepted Answer

False. The crash was caused by a navigational error and whiteout conditions, not an eruption. The volcano was quiet that day.

Question 6

True or false: Mount Erebus has a lava lake that has been continuously active for decades.

Accepted Answer

True. One of only a few persistent lava lakes on Earth, Mount Erebus's phonolitic lava lake has been churning since at least the 1970s.

Question 7

True or false: Mount Erebus occasionally spews gold dust into the atmosphere.

Accepted Answer

True. Erebus emits fine gold crystals in its volcanic plume, commonly called gold dust. Scientific data confirms these airborne gold particles, making the statement accurate.

Mount Erebus Trivia Questions