A reference to Amazon River’s delta island calls it ‘world’s largest freshwater island’
LOS ANGELES—A clue on the long-running television trivia show Jeopardy! has reignited controversy over Manitoulin Island’s status as the largest freshwater island in the world.
“Larger than Maryland and lying near the equator, the world’s largest island in fresh water lies in this river,” read the answer, to which contestant Josh Duggan gave the sought-for question of ‘what is the Amazon River,’ with the island in question referring to Marajó Island in Brazil.
Manitoulin, with its area of 2,766 square kilometres, is completely surrounded by the fresh waters of Lake Huron. It has previously appeared in Jeopardy! clues as “the world’s largest lake island,” but on the February 8, 2019 episode of the show, the title of “the world’s largest island in fresh water” fell to Marajó Island.
Marajó Island handily beats Manitoulin in its size—it spans 40,100 square kilometres—but to describe it as the world’s largest freshwater island is debatable at best.
The island resides in the delta of the Amazon River where it meets the Atlantic Ocean. Much of Marajó’s shoreline rests within the freshwater of the Amazon, but a significant portion of its coastline faces roughly 150 kilometres of the open waters of the Atlantic Ocean, a saltwater body.
According to the Amazon Waters Initiative, a conservation group that advocates for preserving the Amazon river watershed, the Amazon seasonally has enough outflow that the waters in Marajó Bay are “a largely freshwater environment.” However, in the low flow season, the water becomes brackish (a mix of salt and freshwater) along the delta island’s coastlines for 80 kilometres inland from the Atlantic Ocean.
The salt concentration in Marajó Bay is quite low, less than 1,000 parts per million, compared to the Atlantic Ocean’s concentration of 35,000 parts per million. In order to be considered freshwater, however the salinity would need to be less than 500 parts per million.
The Amazon River’s high-water period where Marajó’s surrounding waters become “largely freshwater” only lasts from May to July, according to the same organization. The waters of Lake Huron, by contrast, are exclusively freshwater year-round.
The Expositor contacted Jeopardy! to ask why they had chosen to name Marajó Island the largest freshwater island when this status is seasonally dependent. Publicist Alison Shapiro contacted the writing team who sent this in response:
“Our wording could have been more precise, as Marajo is in the Amazon delta rather than the river itself, but the largest fresh water bit is just a matter of definition. Marajo sits just at the mouth of the Amazon, and at times the river’s outflow is strong enough to surround it with fresh water; at other times it’s varying degrees of brackish or salty.”
Based on that definition, however, the writers acknowledge that the island sits in brackish or salty water at least some of the time, calling into question the accuracy of its assertion.
Mr. Duggan, who earned the correct response to the clue, said he was aware of the contention of the Brazilian claim to be the largest freshwater island in the world, but that his knowledge only stretches to that extent. He added that he is familiar with Manitoulin, having visited Sault Ste. Marie and Mackinac Island in the past, and he had sent a producer to nearby Drummond Island for a shoot last August in his role as a film production manager.
The story has an additional layer, too—Jeopardy! host Alex Trebek was born and raised in nearby Sudbury and should be familiar with Manitoulin Island. Ms. Shapiro said he was not available for an interview. Two levels of government on Marajó Island did not respond to The Expositor’s requests for comment on the matter.
This is not the first time that controversy has swirled over Manitoulin’s status. In 2013, then-owner of The Manitoulin Expositor Rick McCutcheon appeared on CBC Radio’s Morning North with Markus Schwabe to defend similar allegations. This newspaper has run the statement “Published weekly on the largest freshwater island in the world” across its flag for decades.
