Q 01/05

What has the Colorado River rarely done since the 1960s because farms and cities take nearly all its water?

A) Reach the sea

B) Freeze over

C) Support any fish

D) Cross into Mexico

Answer · why

A) Reach the sea

Dams and diversions have dried up the river's last 100 miles, so it has failed to reach the sea in most years since the 1960s.

Q 02/05

The Colorado River takes its Spanish name from which feature of its water?

A) Its icy chill

B) Its salty taste

C) Its reddish color

D) Its roaring rapids

Answer · why

C) Its reddish color

Its reddish color came from the mud the river once carried in vast amounts; the name Rio Colorado first appeared on a missionary's map in 1701.

Q 03/05

Which one-armed Civil War veteran led the first boat expedition through the Grand Canyon in 1869?

A) Jedediah Smith

B) John Wesley Powell

C) George Armstrong Custer

D) John C. Frémont

Answer · why

B) John Wesley Powell

John Wesley Powell lost his right arm at the Battle of Shiloh, yet in 1869 he spent three months riding wooden rowboats through uncharted rapids.

Q 04/05

Which European landmark was bought, shipped to Arizona and rebuilt at Lake Havasu City on the Colorado River?

A) London Bridge

B) Tower Bridge

C) Charles Bridge

D) Rialto Bridge

Answer · why

A) London Bridge

London Bridge was bought by developer Robert McCulloch, who rebuilt its granite facing over a channel he dredged to draw tourists and home buyers to h...

Q 05/05

Which California lake formed by accident when the Colorado River burst through an irrigation canal in 1905?

A) Mono Lake

B) Salton Sea

C) Lake Tahoe

D) Tulare Lake

Answer · why

B) Salton Sea

The Salton Sea filled a dry desert basin for two years while the entire river poured in, and it is now the largest lake in California.