Q 01/05

Which bay, bordered by Maryland and Virginia, is the largest estuary in the United States?

A) Narragansett Bay

B) Chesapeake Bay

C) Biscayne Bay

D) Buzzards Bay

Answer · why

B) Chesapeake Bay

Chesapeake Bay formed about 10,000 years ago, when rising seas flooded the valley of the Susquehanna River.

Q 02/05

Which predator of tropical estuaries from India to northern Australia is the largest living reptile on Earth?

A) Komodo dragon

B) Green anaconda

C) Leatherback sea turtle

D) Saltwater crocodile

Answer · why

D) Saltwater crocodile

The saltwater crocodile is also called the estuarine crocodile, or informally the saltie.

Q 03/05

Which ocean predator has swum up the Mississippi as far as Illinois and also lives in Lake Nicaragua?

A) Bull shark

B) Tiger shark

C) Lemon shark

D) Blacktip shark

Answer · why

A) Bull shark

The bull shark can thrive in both salt and fresh water, so it hunts in estuaries and the lower reaches of rivers.

Q 04/05

Which New York river, called the 'river that flows two ways' by the Mohicans, is tidal as far north as Troy?

A) Mohawk

B) Genesee

C) Hudson

D) Susquehanna

Answer · why

C) Hudson

The Hudson is an estuary for its whole lower half, so its current changes direction with the tides far inland from New York City.

Q 05/05

Which 'living fossil' comes ashore to spawn on Delaware Bay beaches in greater numbers than anywhere else on Earth?

A) Coelacanth

B) Horseshoe crab

C) Chambered nautilus

D) Atlantic sturgeon

Answer · why

B) Horseshoe crab

The horseshoe crab lays so many eggs there that migrating red knots stop to refuel on them after their long journey.