These Alcatraz trivia questions tell the island's story in order: a rock named by Spanish sailors, a lighthouse and a fort, 29 years as a federal prison, and the park, birds and gardens of today.
Read the full guide
Alcatraz trivia questions and answers for the ferry ride
The island and its name asks how far out the island lies, what its name means and why it was hard to leave. Lighthouse, fort and military prison covers the years from 1846 to 1912.
The prison and the park
The federal prison, 1934 to 1963 is about the place and its daily routine: the corridors called Broadway and Times Square, the library, the yard and the water tower. No inmate is named. Park, birds and gardens asks about herons, harbor seals and a rose thought to be extinct.
Visiting with children? Park, birds and gardens and The island and its name are the gentlest rounds.
Questions and answers
What does the name Alcatraz mean?
It comes from an old Spanish word. La Isla de los Alcatraces translates as the Island of the Gannets, though it is commonly believed to mean the Island of the Pelicans. The name was first given to another island in the bay.
When was Alcatraz a federal prison?
From August 1934 until it closed on March 21, 1963. Before that the island held a fort and a military prison; the main prison building was built from 1910 to 1912.
What are some easy Alcatraz trivia questions?
In which bay is Alcatraz? By which nickname is the prison known? Which agency manages the island today? The answers are San Francisco Bay, The Rock and the National Park Service.
How were the answers checked?
Each was read on October 3, 2026 in the English Wikipedia article Alcatraz Island or Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary, linked under the question. No crime or escape is described. The page is unofficial and not affiliated with the National Park Service.
About how far offshore from San Francisco is Alcatraz?Answer: 1.25 miles. Source: Wikipedia: Alcatraz Island
By which nickname is the prison on Alcatraz known?Answer: The Rock. Source: Wikipedia: Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary
How high is the highest point of the island at mean tide?Answer: 135 feet. Source: Wikipedia: Alcatraz Island
In which bay is Alcatraz Island?Answer: San Francisco Bay. Source: Wikipedia: Alcatraz Island
In which year did the Spanish naval officer Juan Manuel de Ayala chart San Francisco Bay?Answer: 1775. Source: Wikipedia: Alcatraz Island
The name Alcatraz is commonly believed to mean the island of which birds?Answer: Pelicans. Source: Wikipedia: Alcatraz Island
The name La Isla de los Alcatraces was first given to a different island in the bay. Which one?Answer: Yerba Buena Island. Source: Wikipedia: Alcatraz Island
The tide pools of Alcatraz are among the few in the bay. What created them?Answer: Quarrying. Source: Wikipedia: Alcatraz Island
What did Alcatraz lack that had to be brought from the mainland, nearly a million gallons a week?Answer: Fresh water. Source: Wikipedia: Alcatraz Island
What is the total area of Alcatraz Island reported to be?Answer: 22 acres. Source: Wikipedia: Alcatraz Island
What made escape from the island nearly impossible?Answer: Strong tidal currents and cold water. Source: Wikipedia: Alcatraz Island
Which English naval officer later applied the name to the rock now called Alcatraz?Answer: Captain Frederick W. Beechey. Source: Wikipedia: Alcatraz Island
Lighthouse, fort and military prison 12
About how many soldiers made up the first garrison of Fort Alcatraz?Answer: 200. Source: Wikipedia: Alcatraz Island
The Army Corps of Engineers began fortifying the island in 1853. In which year was the first version of Fort Alcatraz complete?Answer: 1858. Source: Wikipedia: Alcatraz Island
Between which years was the main prison building built, as an Army military prison?Answer: 1910 to 1912. Source: Wikipedia: Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary
During the Civil War, how often were the guns of Fort Alcatraz fired at an enemy?Answer: Never. Source: Wikipedia: Alcatraz Island
The first floor of the old fort became the basement of the new cell block. Which popular legend did that give rise to?Answer: That there were dungeons below the cell block. Source: Wikipedia: Alcatraz Island
For how much did John C. Frémont buy the island in 1846, in the name of the United States government?Answer: $5,000. Source: Wikipedia: Alcatraz Island
Fort Alcatraz was meant to form a triangle of defense with Fort Point and which other place?Answer: Lime Point. Source: Wikipedia: Alcatraz Island
From as early as which year was Alcatraz used to hold soldiers who had been convicted of crimes?Answer: 1859. Source: Wikipedia: Alcatraz Island
In 1846 a Mexican governor gave the island to Julian Workman on the understanding that he would build what on it?Answer: A lighthouse. Source: Wikipedia: Alcatraz Island
In 2019 archaeologists found remains of the old fort beneath the recreation yard. Which tool did they use?Answer: Ground-penetrating radar. Source: Wikipedia: Alcatraz Island
Which pioneering structure on the Pacific shore of the country went up on Alcatraz?Answer: The first operational lighthouse. Source: Wikipedia: Alcatraz Island
Which president ordered in 1850 that Alcatraz be set aside as a military reservation?Answer: Millard Fillmore. Source: Wikipedia: Alcatraz Island
The federal prison, 1934 to 1963 20
About how many books did the prison library hold?Answer: 10,000 to 15,000. Source: Wikipedia: Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary
According to an inmate register, how many prisoners in all were held on Alcatraz while it was a federal prison?Answer: 1,576. Source: Wikipedia: Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary
After what were the corridors of the cellhouse named?Answer: Major American streets and landmarks. Source: Wikipedia: Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary
Alcatraz cost nearly $10 a day for each prisoner. What did the prison at Atlanta cost by comparison?Answer: $3 a day. Source: Wikipedia: Alcatraz Island
At what time were the prisoners woken each morning?Answer: 6:30 am. Source: Wikipedia: Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary
Besides baseball and softball, which board game were the inmates permitted to play in the recreation yard?Answer: Chess. Source: Wikipedia: Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary
Families of the staff lived on the island. How many families were living there in the early years of the prison?Answer: 52. Source: Wikipedia: Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary
How long did inmates have in the dining hall to eat as much as they liked?Answer: 20 minutes. Source: Wikipedia: Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary
How many main cell blocks did the cellhouse have?Answer: Four, lettered A to D. Source: Wikipedia: Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary
In which month and year was the island designated as a federal prison?Answer: August 1934. Source: Wikipedia: Alcatraz Island
In which year was the dirt-covered recreation yard paved?Answer: 1936. Source: Wikipedia: Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary
On which date did the prison on Alcatraz close?Answer: March 21, 1963. Source: Wikipedia: Alcatraz Island
One area of the cellhouse was called Times Square. What was on its wall?Answer: A clock. Source: Wikipedia: Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary
Until when did the cells of Alcatraz have no hot water taps?Answer: The early 1960s. Source: Wikipedia: Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary
What was shown to the inmates in the auditorium on weekends?Answer: Movies. Source: Wikipedia: Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary
What was the central corridor of the cellhouse called?Answer: Broadway. Source: Wikipedia: Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary
What was the corridor between C-Block and the library called?Answer: Park Avenue. Source: Wikipedia: Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary
What was the typical size of a cell on Alcatraz?Answer: 9 feet by 5 feet. Source: Wikipedia: Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary
Which structure, built in 1940 and 1941, is the tallest on the island?Answer: The water tower. Source: Wikipedia: Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary
Who was the first warden of the federal prison on Alcatraz?Answer: James A. Johnston. Source: Wikipedia: Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary
Park, birds and gardens 12
After the gardens had been untended for 40 years, what did workers clearing them find?Answer: Many original plants still growing where they had been planted. Source: Wikipedia: Alcatraz Island
The Agave Path, on the south side of the island, is a nesting place for which birds?Answer: Night herons. Source: Wikipedia: Alcatraz Island
How long did the occupation of the island that began in November 1969 last?Answer: Nineteen months and nine days. Source: Wikipedia: Alcatraz Island
In 1972 Alcatraz became part of which national recreation area?Answer: Golden Gate National Recreation Area. Source: Wikipedia: Alcatraz Island
In which year was Alcatraz designated a National Historic Landmark?Answer: 1986. Source: Wikipedia: Alcatraz Island
What was installed on the roof of the cell house in renovations that began in 2011?Answer: Solar panels. Source: Wikipedia: Alcatraz Island
Which agency manages the facilities of the island today?Answer: The National Park Service. Source: Wikipedia: Alcatraz Island
Which birds make up most of the seabird colony of Alcatraz?Answer: Western gulls, cormorants and egrets. Source: Wikipedia: Alcatraz Island
Which rose, believed to be extinct, was found again in the gardens of Alcatraz?Answer: A Welsh rose called Bardou Job. Source: Wikipedia: Alcatraz Island
Which sea mammals can sometimes be seen on a small beach at the foot of the western cliffs?Answer: Harbor seals. Source: Wikipedia: Alcatraz Island
Which small amphibians are believed to live in the moist crevices of the cisterns bluff?Answer: California slender salamanders. Source: Wikipedia: Alcatraz Island
Who first planted the gardens of Alcatraz?Answer: Families of the original Army post. Source: Wikipedia: Alcatraz Island