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I am a continent's outermost point,
an island pair by a rough strait made disjoint.
Once held by natives, a land owned by right,
my population is now mostly white.

Named after compass points, "new" just in name,
a nearby sea's named for a Dutch traveler's fame.
Cold polar water brings chills in my mouth;
most of my residents live in the south.

Who am I?

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4 Answers 4

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I thought you might be

Novaya Zemlya, maybe?

I am a continent's outermost point,

Before the Soviet's annexation of Frans Jozefland, this was the Northernmost point of Asia/Europe

an island pair by a rough strait made disjoint.

Novaya Zemlya consists of two islands, separated by a very narrow fjord

Once held by natives, a land owned by right,

It used to be inhabited by Nenets, a tanned eskimo-like people

My population is now mostly white.

The majority of inhabitants are now (Caucasian) Russians, old military personnel

Named after compass points, "new" just in name,

Not sure about the compass points, but the name translated to 'new land'. EDIT: The two islands are named 'Yuzhny' and 'Severny', Russian for south and north, respectively

a nearby sea's named for a Dutch traveler's fame.

The Barents Sea, named after Dutch explorer Willem Barentsz

Cold polar water brings chills in my mouth;

The islands are deep within the Arctic circle

most of my residents live in the south.

The largest town (with the majority of the population), Belushya Guba, is located on the southern island.

Nice puzzle!

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    $\begingroup$ I was thinking about this, and decided against it!! I hope it's correct for you, great first answer! :D (+1) $\endgroup$
    – El-Guest
    Commented Aug 21, 2018 at 15:31
  • $\begingroup$ Nice work! This is indeed the intended answer. Any idea about the compass point clue? $\endgroup$
    – Jafe
    Commented Aug 21, 2018 at 22:44
  • $\begingroup$ Awesome! I had a look around and I'm pretty sure about the compass points now too, I'll edit my answer. I may see if I can set up a riddle like this! $\endgroup$
    – Floris
    Commented Aug 22, 2018 at 7:37
  • $\begingroup$ All correct! You get the tick! $\endgroup$
    – Jafe
    Commented Aug 22, 2018 at 7:50
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New Zealand?

I am a continent's outermost point,

Although not part of Austrlian continent, New Zealand is part of the sumberged Zealandia continent

an island pair by a rough strait made disjoint.

It consists of two islands

Once held by natives, a land owned by right,

Once it was inhabited by the maori.

my population is now mostly white.

Now the population is mostly white

Named after compass points, "new" just in name,

not sure

a nearby sea's named for a Dutch traveler's fame.

Abel Tasman was Dutch

Cold polar water brings chills in my mouth;

The Antarctida cold waves, I guess

most of my residents live in the south.

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    $\begingroup$ I like this answer, but to add to it I think that this is the strait being referred to. The one issue is that most residents live in the North instead, even though the South is bigger. $\endgroup$
    – El-Guest
    Commented Aug 21, 2018 at 13:21
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    $\begingroup$ Named after compass points, "new" just in name: rot13(Gur vfynaqf ner pnyyrq Abegu Vfynaq naq Fbhgu Vfynaq. Vg'f "arj whfg va anzr" orpnhfr vg'f abg npghnyyl arj - vg jnf cbchyngrq bire n zvyyraavhz ntb.) $\endgroup$
    – Michael
    Commented Aug 21, 2018 at 13:54
  • $\begingroup$ This was my instant guess also when reading the riddle, but El-Guest's objection seems spot on. $\endgroup$
    – Evargalo
    Commented Aug 21, 2018 at 14:40
  • $\begingroup$ @Evargalo I know that's why I didn't put an explanation for the last line. $\endgroup$
    – rhsquared
    Commented Aug 21, 2018 at 14:42
  • $\begingroup$ I believe the term is "red herring" :) $\endgroup$
    – Jafe
    Commented Aug 21, 2018 at 15:12
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I think you're

New South Wales

I am a continent's outermost point,

Easternmost point of Australia

an island pair by a rough strait made disjoint.

Australia and Tasmania, separated by the Bass Strait?

Once held by natives, a land owned by right,

Used to be owned by the Aboriginal tribes

my population is now mostly white.

Australians are considered 'white' (more 'white' than the previous owners, at least)?

Named after compass points, "new" just in name,

NSW - North South West; it's not a very 'new' state, since it was established 230 years ago

a nearby sea's named for a Dutch traveler's fame.

Tasman Sea, named for Dutch explorer Abel Janszoon Tasman

Cold polar water brings chills in my mouth;

I reckon it gets some cold water from the South Pole

most of my residents live in the south.

NSW population seems most dense towards the southeast/coast area

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  • $\begingroup$ This is a really good fit, but not the intended answer. I especially like the match to line 5. Don't think I would use both the word "island" and "continent" for the same thing like that, but there are arguments for both so it's probably justifiable. The last clue might be questionable though – don't most people there live in the rot13[Flqarl zrgeb nern], which is more like central-eastern? $\endgroup$
    – Jafe
    Commented Aug 21, 2018 at 12:08
  • $\begingroup$ @jafe Beats me, I live on the other side of the world. =) That's just the first thing I thought of when I read "compass points". $\endgroup$
    – hagfy
    Commented Aug 21, 2018 at 12:58
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I just saw this and thought I’d have a guess

Is it

Newfoundland?

I am a continents outermost point

North America

New just in name

NEWfoundland

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    $\begingroup$ Why are people down voting this? I’m not getting angry, I just want to know why $\endgroup$
    – Rohit Jose
    Commented Aug 21, 2018 at 13:21
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    $\begingroup$ I suppose the downvoter would have liked to see how you make your proposal match with the other clues. $\endgroup$
    – Evargalo
    Commented Aug 21, 2018 at 14:38

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