Are You an Expert on Our Nation’s Rivers?

See what you know on their value, the threats they face, and how they feature in history

Are You an Expert on Our Nation’s Rivers?

From Alaska to the Florida Keys and from northern Maine to Southern California, rivers have long played a central role in the lives of Americans—and in the health of flora, fauna, and habitat that make up thriving ecosystems. Today, many of these waterways are under assault from pollution, dams and other manmade barriers, and climate change. But there’s still time for policymakers to protect and restore our country’s rivers. Take our quiz to test your knowledge of U.S. rivers, and all the benefits they bring.

  1. Which river do experts widely believe is the oldest in the United States—and second in age in the world only to the Nile?
    Bill Dickinson/Flickr
    1. The Colorado River: Colorado, Utah, Arizona
    2. The New River: West Virginia, Virginia, North Carolina
    3. The Rio Grande: Colorado, New Mexico, Texas
    4. The Des Plaines River: Illinois, Wisconsin
  2. How many of the more than 90,000 dams on the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ National Inventory of Dams list are classified as high hazard?
    Department of Water Resources, California
    1. Less than 1%
    2. 10%
    3. Nearly 17%
    4. About a third
  3. Which book by Kevin Fedarko documents an epic, fast ride on the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon?
    Robert Shea/Flickr
    1. A River Runs Through It
    2. River of Doubt
    3. The Emerald Mile
    4. The River Why
  4. Which character on the television series “The West Wing,” when asked who passed the Clean Water Act, answered, “My water’s clean; I don’t ask questions.”
    Plum Pine/Flickr
    1. President Jed Bartlet
    2. Donna Moss
    3. Leo McGarry
    4. Josh Lyman
  5. Kenneth Roberts’ novel Arundel chronicles the harrowing tale of Benedict Arnold’s 1775 Quebec Expedition, which ascended a river in leaky wooden boats. In 1999, this same river was the scene of the momentous removal of the decrepit Edwards Dam. Which river is this?
    Flickr Creative Commons
    1. Connecticut River
    2. Kennebec River
    3. Chaudière River
    4. Penobscot River
  6. In 1969, a U.S. river caught fire, helping to ignite the modern conservation movement, which in turn blazed the way for the first Earth Day, the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency, and bedrock environmental laws such as the Clean Water Act. Which river was it?
    D.J. Reiser/National Park Service
    1. Cuyahoga River, Ohio
    2. Mississippi River, Louisiana
    3. Elk River, West Virginia
    4. Chicago River, Illinois
  7. On which U.S. river was the world record set for the largest striped bass ever caught with fly fishing gear—64 pounds, 8 ounces?
    Greg Shine/BLM
    1. American River, California
    2. Smith River, Oregon
    3. Sacramento River, California
    4. Susquehanna River, Maryland
Please answer all questions to get your score.

{passfail} You got {score} out of {total_questions}.

Thank you for testing your knowledge of U.S. waterways. Learn more about safeguarding our nation’s rivers here.

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