Question 1 of 20Rivers and citiesEasy
Rivers and lakes quiz
From thundering waterfalls to salty shores far below sea level, this quiz takes you along the world's great rivers and across its most remarkable lakes. Twenty questions, a fact with every answer, and plenty to argue about at the quiz table.
A free quiz from Megan Moran, author of The Mighty Geography Quiz Book.
Question 2 of 20LakesEasy
Which of North America's five Great Lakes is the largest?
Question 3 of 20WaterfallsMedium
Victoria Falls lies on which river?
Question 4 of 20Great riversEasy
Which river carries more water to the sea than any other?
Question 5 of 20Rivers and citiesMedium
Iraq's capital, Baghdad, stands on which river?
Question 6 of 20Great riversHard
Which is the only major river to cross the equator twice?
Question 7 of 20Rivers and citiesMedium
Which river flows through Lisbon on its way to the Atlantic?
Question 8 of 20WaterfallsEasy
Iguazu Falls lie on the border between Argentina and which other country?
Question 9 of 20River nicknamesMedium
Which river, notorious for catastrophic floods, has been nicknamed 'China's Sorrow'?
Question 10 of 20River nicknamesHard
In Oxford, the River Thames is traditionally known by what other name?
Question 11 of 20Rivers and bordersMedium
Which river forms much of the border between the United States and Mexico?
Question 12 of 20Great riversEasy
Which is the longest river in Asia?
Question 13 of 20LakesMedium
The shores of which body of water are the lowest land on Earth?
Question 14 of 20Where rivers endHard
The Okavango River never reaches the sea. In which country does it spread out into a vast inland delta?
Question 15 of 20Great riversMedium
Which is the longest river in Europe?
Question 16 of 20LakesEasy
Lake Titicaca lies on the border between Peru and which other country?
Question 17 of 20Where rivers meetHard
At Khartoum in Sudan, the White Nile is joined by which river?
Question 18 of 20LakesMedium
Which lake, shared by Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, has shrunk dramatically since the 1960s?
Question 19 of 20LakesHard
Which African lake is the longest freshwater lake in the world?
Question 20 of 20Where rivers riseMedium
In which country does the River Rhine rise?
Answer all 20 to see your score.
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Show all the answers, with the facts behind them
- Which river flows through Rome? TiberLegend says Rome's founders, the twins Romulus and Remus, were abandoned on its waters before being rescued by a she-wolf.
- Which of North America's five Great Lakes is the largest? Lake SuperiorSuperior holds as much water as the other four Great Lakes combined, plus three more Lake Eries.
- Victoria Falls lies on which river? ZambeziIts local Lozi name, Mosi-oa-Tunya, means 'the smoke that thunders', and the falls mark the border between Zambia and Zimbabwe.
- Which river carries more water to the sea than any other? AmazonUp to a fifth of all the fresh water that rivers pour into the world's oceans comes from this one river.
- Iraq's capital, Baghdad, stands on which river? TigrisFurther south, near al-Qurnah, it meets the Euphrates to form the Shatt al-Arab, which flows into the Persian Gulf.
- Which is the only major river to cross the equator twice? CongoIt is also the world's deepest recorded river, with measured depths of around 220 m (720 ft).
- Which river flows through Lisbon on its way to the Atlantic? TagusThe longest river on the Iberian Peninsula, it rises in eastern Spain, where it is called the Tajo, and flows about 1,000 km to the sea.
- Iguazu Falls lie on the border between Argentina and which other country? BrazilThe falls are made up of about 275 separate drops, the most famous being the narrow chasm called the Devil's Throat.
- Which river, notorious for catastrophic floods, has been nicknamed 'China's Sorrow'? Yellow RiverIts color comes from silt picked up on the Loess Plateau, making it the most sediment-laden river in the world.
- In Oxford, the River Thames is traditionally known by what other name? IsisOxford University's rowing regattas, Torpids in early spring and Eights Week in summer, are raced on this stretch of the river.
- Which river forms much of the border between the United States and Mexico? Rio GrandeIn Mexico it is called the Río Bravo, and depending on how it is measured it forms roughly 1,400 to 2,000 km of the border.
- Which is the longest river in Asia? YangtzeFlowing about 6,300 km from the Tibetan Plateau to the East China Sea at Shanghai, it is the third-longest river in the world.
- The shores of which body of water are the lowest land on Earth? Dead SeaWith a salinity of about 34 per cent, it is nearly ten times as salty as the ocean, so swimmers float with ease.
- The Okavango River never reaches the sea. In which country does it spread out into a vast inland delta? BotswanaIn 2014 the Okavango Delta became the 1,000th site inscribed on UNESCO's World Heritage List.
- Which is the longest river in Europe? VolgaRussians affectionately call it 'Mother Volga'. It flows about 3,530 km before emptying into the landlocked Caspian Sea.
- Lake Titicaca lies on the border between Peru and which other country? BoliviaSitting about 3,812 m above sea level, it is home to the Uros people, who live on floating islands built from totora reeds.
- At Khartoum in Sudan, the White Nile is joined by which river? Blue NileRising at Lake Tana in Ethiopia, it supplies most of the Nile's water, especially during the summer rainy season.
- Which lake, shared by Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, has shrunk dramatically since the 1960s? Aral SeaSoviet irrigation schemes diverted its feeder rivers, the Amu Darya and Syr Darya, to grow cotton and other crops.
- Which African lake is the longest freshwater lake in the world? Lake TanganyikaStretching about 670 km, it is also the world's second-deepest lake, plunging to around 1,470 m.
- In which country does the River Rhine rise? SwitzerlandIts source is usually placed at Lake Toma in Graubünden, and it reaches the North Sea through the Netherlands, flowing past Rotterdam.
