Geography
Christmas Island Quiz
The Indian Ocean island where 50 million red crabs migrate every year
The Indian Ocean island where 50 million red crabs migrate every year
About 50 million red crabs migrate across Christmas Island each year in one of nature's greatest spectacles. This 135 km² Australian territory in the Indian Ocean lies closer to Java than to mainland Australia and is home to roughly 1,700 people of Malay, Chinese, and European-Australian descent.
Each round presents 10 randomized questions from a pool of 50, with four multiple-choice options and instant feedback after every answer. Your final score comes with a performance tier and shareable results.
You'll explore Captain Mynors's 1643 Christmas Day naming, phosphate mining history, the annual red crab migration, the destructive yellow crazy ant invasion, the immigration detention centre, endemic wildlife like Abbott's booby, and landmarks from Flying Fish Cove to Murray Hill.
Christmas Island is an external territory of Australia. Britain transferred sovereignty to Australia in 1958 in exchange for £2.9 million, a year after the island had been administratively detached from Singapore.
Around 50 million Christmas Island red crabs leave the rainforest at the start of the wet season (October-December), timed to a lunar cycle, to spawn at the coast. Roads are closed and special crab bridges are built to protect them.
English Captain William Mynors of the Royal Mary sighted the island on Christmas Day, 1643, and named it accordingly. The Australian territory should not be confused with Kiritimati (Christmas Island) in Kiribati.
Last updated: April 2026