Norway is in Western Europe, but so are Monaco and Switzerland, Norway is only there (and above UK) because of Jan Mayen, an island near Greenland and Iceland.
Maybe you could specifie which definition of "Europe" you use. The Azores are located (partly) on the eurasian plate and culturaly they are strongly influenced by Portugal. So I wonder, what definition you chose, to exclude them.
In response to QRU, while Azores are culturally influenced by Portugal, that does not make them part of Europe. This quiz is talking about the sovereign countries of Europe, and neither the Azores nor the Canary Islands are sovereign. The only islands in Europe that are sovereign countries are: Malta, Iceland, Ireland, and the United Kingdom.
Theodore, they weren't calling them sovereign, they were saying they are extensions of their countries, much like Hawaii or Alaska for the US, or French Guiana for France. But no one in their right mind would put France as the westernmost nation in Europe because of French Guiana.
Jan Mayen IS a main part of Norway, much like Hawaii is to the U.S.
The problem is that people who don't know this will use this as reasoning for including the Azores, which are an Autonomous Region of Portugal, and NOT a state/district/etc. like Hawaii is.
Regardless of whether you think the Azores are European or not(I think that most of the islands are, while some are on a different plate), It still wouldn't count for Portugal.
The U.S.'s leftmost point is Alaska, not Guam or the Northern Mariana Islands.
The Azores are fully a part of Portugal (and of the EU). You may be reading too much into the term "autonomous region". Madrid is an autonomous community of Spain but nobody would say it's not a part of Spain.
Two useful ways to distinguish between territories and integral parts of the country:
- Do the laws passed by the national parliament for the whole country have effect in that region without needing to be ratified or separately enacted by the local parliament? Azores: yes, except in delegated matters. Similar to Northern Ireland, for example.
- Are the locals represented in the national parliament on the same terms as any other region? Azores: yes.
Norway happens to stretch quite a bit from the mainland west coast to the eastern border with Russia. Funny detail is that Norway would therefore also be in the most eastern countries in Europe. Probably #5 or so.
The quizzmaster might want to clear this one up with a quick rewrite. Guadeloupe in the Carribbean is even further west than French Guiana. It's not a country but an overseas department of France. It's one of what the EU calls an 'outermost region', quite distinct from what it terms 'overseas countries and territories'.
However, the definition of 'overseas territory' can be interpreted to include such things, depending on which side of the bed you got out of, so maybe it should read 'Not including overseas territories, regions, departments etc.', or make France #1.
There doesn't appear to be a definition of 'overseas territory' in any established dictionary that I can find, other than one that applies only to British overseas territories (https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/us/definition/english/overseas-territory)
While I see the point you are trying to make regarding the confusion that can arise - your comment about making France #1 is incorrect as this quiz is about the westernmost countries in Europe. Some of France's overseas departments are very far west but they are not in Europe themselves, therefore France is not the westernmost country in Europe.
Netherlands yes. But not Monaco or Luxembourg. The criteria is westernmost points of Europe. Monaco is nearest the Mediterranean and Luxembourg is trumped by Belgium, the Netherlands, France, Spain and Portugal.
He is counting the island of Jan Mayen, which is closer to Greenland than to Norway. So technically the westernmost point of Norway is further West than those other countries.
Wow, I put England, Scotland, and Northern Ireland. Can we please get credit for UK on one of those, at least? After that, my brain turned off of UK, regardless of the lat/long.
Interesting statistic: Portugal, not including the Azores, ranks 3rd, which makes the cut. Another one: Portugal is 99% guessed, and the other 1% probably can't spell Portugal. And now a question: why all the fuss?
I couldn't figure out why Russia, Ukraine, etc. weren't accepted. Finally, it kicked in. Still managed to get them all but it took far longer than it should have. At least I'm ready for what I assume will be the next one in this series.
All these featured quizzes lately about the 10 most this or that by continent (or continents in the case of "America") are way too easy. Could be a 30 second quiz and would still be easy.
People love to argue they are right even when they haven't got a clue. And some can't even be arsed undertaking even the smallest bit of research or even reading the rubric in the question before shouting their mouth off. It is truly incredible.
Did you look at a single one of the comments above before asking this question? or did you just assume you were the only one who noticed the biggest island in the World?
Hey, judging by your level, you seem new to JetPunk, if so, Welcome! One tip I should give you is to read the caveats for the quiz, it will help you greatly! They can be found to the right of the picture for the quiz at the top of the page.
The problem is that people who don't know this will use this as reasoning for including the Azores, which are an Autonomous Region of Portugal, and NOT a state/district/etc. like Hawaii is.
Regardless of whether you think the Azores are European or not(I think that most of the islands are, while some are on a different plate), It still wouldn't count for Portugal.
The U.S.'s leftmost point is Alaska, not Guam or the Northern Mariana Islands.
Two useful ways to distinguish between territories and integral parts of the country:
- Do the laws passed by the national parliament for the whole country have effect in that region without needing to be ratified or separately enacted by the local parliament? Azores: yes, except in delegated matters. Similar to Northern Ireland, for example.
- Are the locals represented in the national parliament on the same terms as any other region? Azores: yes.
Dutch Guyana became Suriname, and British Guyana became just Guyana, where as French Guiana stayed a department of France.
However, the definition of 'overseas territory' can be interpreted to include such things, depending on which side of the bed you got out of, so maybe it should read 'Not including overseas territories, regions, departments etc.', or make France #1.
There doesn't appear to be a definition of 'overseas territory' in any established dictionary that I can find, other than one that applies only to British overseas territories (https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/us/definition/english/overseas-territory)
Links:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special_member_state_territories_and_the_European_Union
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Overseas_department_and_region
but a clearer disciption/caveat would be helpfull yes.
Jan Mayen is to Norway as Hawaii is to the U.S.
The Azores are to Portugal as Guam is to the U.S.
This is a pretty rough analogy since no two territories are really the same, but it gets the point across.
I'm really not sure why Jan Mayen would count and not Azores
Jan Mayen is to Norway as Hawaii is to the U.S.
The Azores are to Portugal as Guam is to the U.S.
This is a pretty rough analogy since no two territories are really the same, but it gets the point across.
It is so much more west than the rest of the countries and
Despite being VERY far from mainland Norway, Jan Mayen is a fully integral part of Norway, so it counts.
Definitely confusing for us quiz-takers, but the quiz author is correct here on including Norway and excluding Denmark.
Greenland is more west than any if these countries