Rivers of the US Trivia Quiz

Answer: Arkansas River

The bridge in question was located near Webbers Falls, OK. A total of fourteen deceased victims were recovered from this terrible accident. After its trip though Oklahoma, the Arkansas River goes through the state of (surprise!) Arkansas, eventually passing thought the state capital, Little Rock, in the center of the state. The Arkansas finally empties in the Mississippi River in the southwester portion of the state of Arkansas (there the Mississippi is forming the border between Arkansas and the state of Mississippi).

While a portion of the Red River is totally within Oklahoma, it is best known as forming the border between Oklahoma and Texas. The North Canadian River flows through the capital city of Oklahoma, Oklahoma City. The Missouri River is the second longest river in the United States, emptying in the Mississippi (the longest in the US) at St. Louis, MO. Along its route, the Missouri River does not pass through Oklahoma.

Answer: Schuykill River

Three Rivers Stadium was opened in 1970 and was the home of the Pittsburgh Steelers of the NFL and the Pittsburgh Pirates of Major League Baseball. At the site of Three Rivers Stadium is the confluence of the Allegheny River and the Monongahela River to form the Ohio River. From Pittsburgh, the Ohio River eventually goes on to form the southern borders of the states of Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois, along with northern borders of West Virginia, and Kentucky. The Ohio River joins with the Tennessee River near Paducah, Kentucky, and then empties into the Mississippi River near Cairo, Illinois.

The Allegheny River begins in north-central Pennsylvania, moves briefly into New York state, and then comes back into Pennsylvania. It travels though the western part of the state down to Pittsburgh. The Monongahela begins in West Virginia, and then flows north into Pennsylvania, eventually to Pittsburgh. The Schuylkill River is a smallish river in the southeastern part of Pennsylvania, eventually flowing into the much larger Delaware River in Philadelphia, PA.

Answer: Cumberland River

Nashville, Tennessee is the state capital on the Cumberland River.

The Congaree River flows through Columbia, South Carolina. Albany, New York is on the banks of the Hudson River, with New York City is further down stream. Despite its length, the Mississippi River only flows through two state capitals-Baton Rouge, Louisiana and Saint Paul, Minnesota.

Answer: Saint Joseph River

The St. Joseph River flows though South Bend, Indiana, home of the University of Notre Dame. The river flows from east of the city and then turns suddenly north near the city center, hence the city is positioned on the "south bend" of the river. Everything south of South Bend is in the Mississippi River watershed-meaning that any water south of South Bend flows into the Mississippi and then into the Gulf of Mexico. Water from the St. Joseph River flows into Lake Michigan, so it is, therefore, in the Great Lakes watershed.

The Raccoon River flows though Iowa, and empties into the Des Moines River in Des Moines, IA (the Des Moines eventually flows into the Mississippi). The Charles River is a relatively short river in Massachusetts. In the end of its journey, the Charles flows though Boston (home of Harvard University, amongst other schools). The name "Boston" is not derived from any feature of the river, but, rather, it comes from the town of Boston, Lincolnshire, England. The Connecticut River flows from northern New Hampshire, forms the border between New Hampshire and Vermont, through central Massachusetts, and then through Connecticut before emptying into Long Island Sound. It is the longest river in New England. It flows through Hanover, NH, site of Dartmouth College.

Answer: Chicago River

The Chicago River originally flowed through Chicago into Lake Michigan. Some of its flow was diverted in 1871, and in 1900 the flow was completely reversed so that it flowed from Lake Michigan to the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal and eventually to the Mississippi River. Every year, on St. Patrick's Day, the Chicago River is dyed green.

The Cuyahoga River flows though northeastern Ohio, emptying into Lake Erie at Cleveland. Due to high pollution level, the river actually caught on fire several times in the twentieth century (though it has been cleaned up quite a bit in recent years). The Detroit River is only 32 miles long. It runs between Lake St. Clair and Lake Erie, past the city of Detroit, Michigan. It forms the boundary between the United States and Canada. Looking across this river from Detroit, you are looking into Windsor, Ontario, Canada-this is one of the very few places where you look south into Canada from the lower 48 states. The Platte River flows through Nebraska, and flows into the Missouri River just south of Omaha, NE.

Answer: Columbia River

This damming of the Columbia River is by the Grand Coulee Dam, which is located in northeast Washington state. The Columbia River eventually joins forces with the Snake and Willamette Rivers before emptying into the Pacific Ocean at the Washington/Oregon border.

The Colorado River is in the southwestern United States. It forms Lake Powell on the Arizona/Utah border, being dammed by Glen Canyon Dam. It also forms Lake Mead on the Arizona/Nevada border, there being dammed by Hoover Dam. The Colorado's greatest claim to fame is that it formed (and flows though) the Grand Canyon in northern Arizona. The Niagara River is about 35 miles long and runs from Lake Erie to Lake Ontario. Some of the water from the Niagara River is diverted to run the turbines that produce the hydroelectric power. The Cape Fear River runs through east central North Carolina and empties into the Atlantic Ocean near Wilmington, NC.

Answer: Anacostia River

The Anacostia, often called "D.C.'s forgotten river," empties in the Potomac River at Hains Point, in Washington, D.C.

The Patapsco River flows though Maryland into the Chesapeake Bay at Baltimore. The last part of the Patapsco forms an estuary with the Chesapeake, and this area is Baltimore's Harbor. The James River flows through Virginia and passes the city of Richmond, VA (among other towns). The river then flows into the Chesapeake Bay at Hampton Roads, VA.

Answer: Winooski River

Again, populations are from the 2000 U.S. Census. The smallest state capital is Montpelier, Vermont, population 8,035 (!). The Winooski River flows through northern Vermont into Lake Champlain near Burlington, VT.

Indianapolis, Indiana is located on the White River. Its population is 781,870. The White River is divided into two forks-the East and the West Forks. The two forks join in western Indiana, before flowing 45 more miles and emptying into the Wabash River at the Indiana/Illinois border. The Kentucky River flows through Frankfort, Kentucky, population 27,741. The Kentucky River flows near Lexington, KY in addition to Frankfort. The Kentucky River empties into the Ohio River in northwestern Kentucky. Finally, the Susquehanna River flows though Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, population 48,950. The West Branch of the Susquehanna River begins in central Pennsylvania, while the North Branch of the Susquehanna begins in upstate New York. The two branches join near Sunbury, PA, continue past Harrisburg and into Maryland. There it empties into the Chesapeake Bay at Havre de Grace, MD.

Answer: Banana River

Cape Canaveral is home to the John F. Kennedy Space Center and is the launching point for the space shuttles (as well as other NASA projects). I put river in quotes in the question since the Banana River is more of a lagoon than a river. It separates Cape Canaveral from Merritt Island, FL.

There is an Apple River both in Wisconsin and in Illinois (separate rivers). The Orange River is the major river through South Africa. It was explored by Europeans in 1760 and is named either for its color (orange, as opposed to the nearby Vaal River--Vaal being the local word for 'grey') or for the "House of Orange," the then ruling class of the Netherlands. As best I can tell, there is no Coconut River in the United States or elsewhere in the world.

Answer: Hudson River

The bridge in question is the George Washington Bridge. It is about 3,500 feet in length and connects Fort Lee, New Jersey with Manhattan, New York City. There are longer suspension bridges in the US, but they don't cross rivers.

They are the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge (4,260 feet across the mouth of the harbor of New York City), the Golden Gate Bridge (4,200 feet across the mouth of San Francisco Bay in California), and the Mackinac Bridge (3,800 feet across the Straits of Mackinac between the upper and lower peninsulas of Michigan). The Delaware River is also crossed by several large suspension bridges including the Delaware Memorial Bridge (2,150 feet-from New Jersey to Delaware, south of Philadelphia), the Ben Franklin Bridge (1,750 feet), the Walt Whitman Bridge (2,000 feet), and the Betsy Ross Bridge (729 feet-the last three mentioned all are from Philadelphia to New Jersey). The East River's most famous suspension bridge is the Brooklyn Bridge (1,596 feet), from Manhattan to Brooklyn in New York City. The Willamette River is crossed by, among other spans, the St. John's Bridge (1,207 feet), a suspension bridge in Portland, Oregon.