The River, The City Trivia Quiz

Answer: Bangkok

The Chao Phraya River is the principal river in Thailand. Its name loosely means "Grand Duke". The Chao Phraya begins in the northern province of Nakhon Sawan where the Ping and Nan Rivers meet, but the actual headwaters are farther north and are a merging of several rivers before the Ping-Nan confluence in Nakhon Sawan. The river flows southwards for more than 350 km (217 mi) before emptying into the Gulf of Thailand.

The Chao Phraya has long been the pulse of Thailand and it is vital to agriculture and commerce. Its waters irrigate farmland while the silt carried by the river is fertile and ideal for growing rice and other crops. The river also connects the northern part of Thailand to the southern part. The capital of Thailand, Bangkok, was founded on the eastern banks of the Chao Phraya River mouth in 1782 by King Rama I, who celebrated the occasion by building the Grand Palace and the Wat Phra Kaew Buddhist temple. Today, the Chao Phraya is still a central part of daily life. The river is still used for daily travel and floating markets are one of its defining characteristics.

This information was channeled by Phoenix Rising team member purelyqing.

Answer: Zagreb

Great cities that have been built on strong rivers, usually, have had a long association with or a dependence upon that same river. This is not the case with the Sava River and the city of Zagreb. In days gone past, the residents of Zagreb (or what is now known as Old Zagreb), saw the Sava as the river that was "far, far away". The reason, at that point? The river and the city were not connected. The story of their union goes something like this:

Whist Zagreb's history can be traced back to the Roman settlement of Andautonia during the Middle Ages, Old Zagreb had its beginnings in two settlements, Kaptol and Gradec, around the 13th century. These were established on two separate hills and received their water supply from the streams coming out of the mountains of Medvednica (the Sava was still "far, far away"). With growth, the city had little choice but to draw closer to the Sava, particularly after a massive population growth after World War I. In the aftermath of World War II, expansion continued, and New Zagreb was built on the opposite side of the Sava, connected to the Old by a series of bridges.

The Sava River is 990 km (615 mi) long and it connects the Croation capital of Zagreb with the capitals of Slovenia (Ljubljana) and Serbia (Belgrade). Whilst, thanks to the history above, you may not see any historical monuments on the river near Zagreb, you may find some ancient altars along its banks further out. These date back to the Bronze Age and pay homage to the river god Savus.

This question meandered into the quiz at the hand of Phoenix Rising's pollucci19.

Answer: Prague

If you were to navigate the course of the Vltava River through Prague you would be blessed with the opportunity to witness numerous buildings graced with beautiful architecture and workmanship and steeped with decades, even centuries, of history. Within Prague's metropolitan area you will see eighteen remarkable bridges, including the emblematic Charles Bridge, spanning the waterways. You will observe where the Old Town and the historic neighbourhood of Mala Strana (Lesser Town) meet the Prague Castle. Within the city, on this river, you will also find several islands that have become interesting tourist spots and rather interesting concert venues.

The Vltava is the longest river within the Czech Republic and it flows from its source in the mountains of the Bohemian Forest. From there it flows northward across Bohemia, through Prague, before merging with the Elbe River at Melnik. The Germans call the river Moldau which, like its Czech name, is believed to mean "wild water". Often cited as the "Czech national river", the Vitava provides a vital communication link for the city and, aside from its importance to Czech tourism, also provides a number of dams and reservoirs for the region and is a source of hydroelectric power.

This question was navigated into the quiz by Phoenix Rising's pollucci19.

Answer: Buenos Aires/Montevideo

The Rio de la Plata (Silver River) is an estuary that starts at the confluence of the Uruguay River and the Parana River at Punta Gorda, Uruguay and moves eastward 290 km (180 mi) to the Atlantic Ocean. It is considered a river, an estuary, a gulf, or a marginal sea depending on the geographer. If it is considered a river, it is the widest river in the world with a width of 220 km (140 mi) at its widest point.

The river serves as a border between Uruguay and Argentina and Montevideo and Buenos Aires, the respective capitals and largest cities of each country. The most densely populated areas of each country are situated along the river banks. The entire river is tidal. A submerged shoal, the Barra del Indio, about 180 km (110 mi) long between Punta Piedra in Argentina and Montevideo, divides the Río de la Plata into an inner freshwater riverine portion and an outer brackish estuarine portion. The force of the flow of the river's discharge prevents salt water from penetrating further westward.

This question flowed into this quiz from the pen of Phoenix Rising team member 1nn1.

Answer: Baghdad

The Tigris River is one of two rivers that form the cradle of civilization. The other is the Euphrates. The Tigris reaches far back into antiquity, featuring in Sumerian, Hittite, and Hurrian mythology. It is also mentioned in the Old Testament as one of the four rivers that flowed out of the Garden of Eden.

Baghdad rose to prominence under the Abbasid rulers in 762 CE when it was chosen as the capital of their Islamic Empire. It had, however, been in existence since approximately 2000 BCE. Its control of the trade routes along the Tigris and the abundant supply of water from it made Baghdad a hub of civilization for millennia.

The Tigris is 1,750 km (1,090 mi) long, running from its source in the Taurus Mountains in Turkey to its confluence with the Euphrates. There the two rivers join and flow into the Persian Gulf. The Tigris is navigable by shallow-draft vessels up to Baghdad and then by rafts up to Mosul. The Tigris was a main source of water for the Sumerians with cities such as Nineveh and Seleucia being on its banks.

With great care Phoenix Rising member tazman6619 cradled this information and entered it into the quiz.

Answer: Kiev

The Dnieper River's head waters are found in the Valdai Hills near Smolensk, Russia. It then flows through Belarus and Ukraine before emptying into the Black Sea. It is approximately 2,200 km (1,400 mi) long, making it the fourth longest river in Europe.

Kiev lies along the Dnieper with the first humans being in the area during the Stone Age. The city itself is generally considered to have been founded in 482 CE. Originally the city was mainly on the west side of the river but by the 20th century it had made significant inroads on the east side and now straddles the river. During the Russian Industrial Revolution, Kiev became an important shipment hub because it could send goods both by rail and water.

Phoenix Rising member tazman6619 floated this information into the quiz when it reached the Black Sea.

Answer: Lisbon

Lisbon is situated at the mouth of the Tagus River on the western edge of the Iberian Peninsula. It is one of the few rivers in the world that has an inverted delta which means the narrow end is on the seaside with the wider area being inland. Because the delta is inverted, a sheltered harbor exists in the Tagus River estuary. This harbor was in use from 1200 BCE by the Phoenicians who had established a trading post there. By 138 BCE, Lisbon, then known as Olissipo, had been incorporated into the Roman Empire after the defeat of Hannibal and the Carthaginians.

Lisbon proper is situated on the north side of the Tagus River. The Tagus is the longest river on the Iberian Peninsula. Its head waters are in the Montes Universales near Teruel in Spain. The lower Tagus is seismically active and major earthquakes occurred in the region in 1309, 1531, 1755, and 1909 CE. These quakes have proven to be highly destructive.

Phoenix Rising member tazman6619 shook this information together in inverted fashion before entering it into the quiz.

Answer: Jakarta

The Ciliwung River on Java island, Indonesia, flows through Indonesia's capital, Jakarta. It is approximately 120 km (74.5 mi) in length and its estuary was an important trading point for centuries during pre-colonial and colonial times. As is the case with many rivers, the Ciliwung served as a means of transportation and a source of livelihood.

The Ciliwung was once known as the "Queen of the East" due to the pristine conditions of the river. Today, however, it is among the most polluted rivers in the world because of rapid urbanisation, population growth, and economic development. In an effort to restore the river to its original state, the Indonesian government has initiated rehabilitative and recovery programmes with some degree of success; in 2011, Asiatic soft-shelled turtles that were thought to be extinct were again sighted along the Ciliwung.

This information was streamlined by Phoenix Rising team member purelyqing.

Answer: Damascus

Flowing southward for 84 km (52 mi) through Damascus, the Barada river rises in the Anti-Lebanon Mountains. About 32 km (20 mi) from its source, it becomes a raging torrent; in order to prevent the waste of the water, successive cuts have been made over the centuries to divert its flow, allowing the water to be utilised for human consumption. This well-maintained initiative has created a fertile region irrigating an area of about 375 sq km (145 sq mi) in what would otherwise have been an arid wasteland. It has allowed human habitation to thrive in the Damascus area for millennia. Its name originates from the word 'barid' used in Semetic languages and means 'cold'.

Phoenix Rising member VegemiteKid jumped right into this question and b-b-barely f-f-felt the c-c-cold at all!

Answer: Melbourne

Melbourne's Yarra River gets its name from a mistranslated Aboriginal word, Yarro-yarro, which means 'ever-flowing'. It rises in the Yarra Valley some 240 km (149 mi) from the city and was originally used for the transporting of gold and for agricultural purposes. The Port of Melbourne at the Yarra River mouth is Australia's busiest shipping and container port.

It is referred to variously as the 'Muddy Yarra' and the 'upside-down river' because it is always brown. This is caused by the region's clay soils that break up into fine particles that suspend in the water. Despite its colour, Melbournians make great use of it for recreational purposes, picnicking and dining along its banks, riverboat cruising and rowing, and other water sports. Large sporting arenas accommodating the events for which Melbourne is famed are also in close proximity to the Yarra.

This question was rowed into the quiz by Phoenix's Rising's VegemiteKid who was once brave enough to paddle in the Yarra.