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Straight Shot to the Arctic Circle

Name all the countries in the world that are either inside the Arctic Circle, or can reach it by sailing due north and not hitting any other country on the way.
We start at the Prime Meridian and move eastward, but each country is shown only once
Includes overseas territories, regions, etc...
Quiz by Quizmaster
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Last updated: April 1, 2019
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First submittedMarch 30, 2019
Times taken51,951
Average score83.3%
Rating4.86
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Inside?
Country
 
United Kingdom
 
France
 
Belgium
 
Netherlands
Norway
Sweden
Finland
Russia
United States
Inside?
Country
Canada
Denmark (Greenland)
 
Brazil
 
Iceland
 
Portugal (Azores)
 
Cape Verde
 
Spain (Canary Islands)
 
Morocco
 
Ireland
+24
Level ∞
Apr 1, 2019
This quiz should now be correct. I changed it from Arctic Ocean to Arctic Circle since there are different definitions of what constitutes the Arctic Ocean.

Some notes:

  • There is no space between Alaska and Russia that is not blocked by St. Lawrence Island
  • Senegal is blocked by Morocco and Iceland
+8
Level 59
Apr 1, 2019
No, Senegal is not blocked by Morocco. The western coast of Dakar is at -17.527W, while that of Morocco is -17.109W, which makes Senegal a 0.4W slip off. But it is still blocked by Iceland.
+31
Level ∞
Apr 1, 2019
Correction. Senegal is blocked by Iceland, Morocco, and Mauritania.
+3
Level 44
Nov 3, 2021
I am confused about morocco and mauritania blocking senegal of reaching iceland (I use the westernmost place of senegal)
+3
Level 60
Dec 18, 2021
I'm pretty sure with the latitude -17.5, Senegal is not blocked by any country other than Iceland as cshtthomas said.
+1
Level 80
Dec 22, 2021
Yeah, Senegal is defnitely not blocked entirely by neither Morrocco nor Mauritania. Not that it matters because Iceland exists, Senegal is still the westernmost country in (mainland) Africa
+1
Level 41
Feb 15, 2023
The westernmost point in Africa is in Senegal, I've been there
+1
Level 60
Oct 20, 2023
*continental, because Cabo Verde
+3
Level 89
Apr 2, 2019
I keep taking this one after I reset to 0. Interesting to see the updates.
+7
Level 66
Apr 10, 2019
+1 for explanations! After the quiz I had two questions, and both of them are answered in the first comment! This should become a thing. #Learning
+2
Level 56
Jul 3, 2020
Me too. I couldn't understand how Sweden could be an answer, and then it pointed out that it's the Arctic circle... duh!
+2
Level 80
Apr 1, 2019
Nice! Thank you for the little update.
+1
Level 86
Apr 1, 2019
Cool, next you should update it so it's all countries with a straight shot or are in the Arctic Circle, and also former territories of countries with a straight shot or in the Arctic Circle.
+2
Level 89
Apr 2, 2019
Have at it.
+1
Level 67
Dec 21, 2021
Yeah, kind of thought of it as straight shot to the north pole for some reason.
+1
Level 67
Dec 21, 2021
Whoops, wrong comment.
+6
Level 59
Apr 1, 2019
How about Brazil? It should hit the Arctic Circle in the easternmost side
+8
Level ∞
Apr 1, 2019
Crap. Looks like you are right. There are some offshore islands that have a straight shot to the Arctic Circle between Greenland and Iceland.
+2
Level 79
Apr 2, 2019
Fun quiz.
+1
Level 77
Apr 2, 2019
What purpose does the "Inside?" box serve?
+13
Level 83
Apr 2, 2019
Presumably it's showing which countries actually have land inside the Arctic Circle.
+5
Level 67
Apr 2, 2019
And to include Finland.
+5
Level 66
Jul 4, 2019
and Sweden
+4
Level 77
Apr 2, 2019
Oh crap. Somehow thought you still needed ocean access and just having land inside the Arctic Circle wasn't enough.
+3
Level 67
Dec 21, 2021
Yeah, kind of thought of it as straight shot to the north pole for some reason.
+1
Level 66
Apr 2, 2019
Nice quiz :) i need to brush up on my countries again, couldnt think of capo verde
+1
Level 50
Apr 2, 2019
Yes! Finished it with 52 seconds left!
+1
Level 68
Apr 13, 2020
Got it with 58 secs left on first try!
+3
Level 56
Apr 2, 2019
Cant any Pacific country e.g. Kiribati get up between Alaska and Russia?
+4
Level 45
Apr 2, 2019
Unalaska Island and St Lawrence Island would block those countries.
+3
Level 82
Apr 2, 2019
yeah, nope. There's not much space at all and no clear path between the USA and Russia so the Pacific Ocean is totally shut out.
+2
Level 67
Oct 20, 2023
Teamwork makes the dream work.
+1
Level 68
Apr 3, 2019
Good Update!
+4
Level 43
Jul 4, 2019
You should write "USA (Alaska)" if you wrote my Canary Islands like that too.
+7
Level 67
Jul 4, 2019
I guess yeah, I'd understand if it was an overseas territory (such as Greenland) - But both Alaska & the Canaries ARE USA & Spain, not overseas regions, so yeah either both or none!
+4
Level 67
Jul 4, 2019
Don't the Faroe Islands also reach it themselves? So the Denmark answer should read (Greenland & Faroe Islands)? Correct me if I'm wrong..
+1
Level 67
Oct 20, 2023
This is the most pedantic of complaints.
+1
Level 60
Oct 20, 2023
Not really... it's not the most necessary, but it's quite valid.
+2
Level 64
Jul 5, 2019
Shouldn't Kiribati be in there?
+2
Level 68
Apr 13, 2020
The Pacific is completely blocked by random islands between Russia and Alaska.
+2
Level 57
Sep 15, 2020
Iceland isn't in the Arctic Circle
+1
Level 58
Oct 19, 2020
The top right side of Iceland BARELY misses the arctic circle. Checked, and Iceland's northernmost point is the island of Grimsey, which puts the country just within the Arctic Circle by a tiny margin.
+2
Level 82
Oct 3, 2021
For now. The Arctic Circle is moving northwards at a rather speedy 15m per annum as the Earth's axial tilt reduces. As such Iceland has only about 30 more years of being an Arctic country.
+1
Level 73
Dec 6, 2021
It's very interesting. There's also the isle of Kolbeinsey north of Grimsey, but it is eroding very quickly and won't be around in 30 years.

The mainland of Iceland squeaked inside the Arctic Circle 50 years IIRC.

+4
Level 65
Mar 2, 2021
I never thought I would hear Morocco and arctic circle in the same sentence.
+1
Level 60
Sep 4, 2021
Faroe Islands + Alaska should be in parenthesis.
+1
Level 82
Oct 3, 2021
Went into this assuming Kiribati would make it, but it appears not. The Aleutians block it.
+1
Level 67
Dec 21, 2021
You're telling me there's not a straight shot somewhere?
+1
Level 60
Oct 5, 2021
Letter Y Scavenger Hunt Answer (See my blog)
+1
Level 63
Dec 17, 2021
no
+1
Level 34
Oct 12, 2021
Isn’t there a tiny bit of Scotland in the Arctic Circle?
+3
Level 62
Dec 17, 2021
Not even close. The Arctic Circle starts all the way above Iceland, which is a lot further north than even the Shetland Islands!
+1
Level 58
Dec 17, 2021
There is a tiny piece of Scotland above 60 degrees north, which puts the UK in an exclusive club of 9 countries with territory within that circle (60N, not the Arctic Circle). The northernmost part of Britain is further north than the southernmost part of Greenland.
+1
Level 61
Dec 17, 2021
Um. Got Cape Verde and forgot Denmark.
+2
Level 80
Dec 17, 2021
The Faroe Islands are missing.
+1
Level 66
Dec 17, 2021
What does Senegal and Mauritania hit then
+2
Level 84
Dec 17, 2021
Iceland and/or Denmark (Greenland).
+4
Level 75
Dec 18, 2021
Really enjoyed this btw, is there an Antarctica version?
+1
Level 67
Dec 18, 2021
Just missed Cape Verde, I knew there should probably be an African island country but I often get them mixed up so I tried Comoros, Seychelles, and Sao Tome but not the one I needed
+1
Level 59
Mar 3, 2023
If you draw a straight line from -13.84059, -172.10793 to 62.20976, 5.22376, it will hit no land. I checked this with google maps which means Samoa should be here.
+1
Level 60
Oct 20, 2023
Correct me if I'm wrong, but that doesn't sound like straight north...
+2
Level 24
Apr 10, 2023
if you add a map to like visualize that would be awesome
+1
Level 61
Oct 20, 2023
Isn't Iceland in the arctic circle?
+1
Level 61
Oct 20, 2023
And how do Sweden and Finland get there if they're blocked by Norway?
+2
Level 61
Oct 20, 2023
oh wait i got it nvm
+1
Level 79
Oct 22, 2023
oof
+1
Level 54
Oct 20, 2023
I missed the UK but got Cabo Verde. Oh well...