Q 01/05

Into which sea does the Mekong empty through its delta, after crossing six countries?

A) The Andaman Sea

B) The Gulf of Thailand

C) The South China Sea

D) The Philippine Sea

Answer · why

C) The South China Sea

The South China Sea receives it; illegal sand mining in the delta has deepened the riverbed and let seawater push farther inland.

Q 02/05

What is the Mekong officially called in China?

A) Yarlung

B) Lancang

C) Heilong

D) Tarim

Answer · why

B) Lancang

Lancang is its official name in China, where a cascade of large dams now holds back the upper river.

Q 03/05

On which high plateau does the Mekong rise?

A) The Deccan

B) The Tibetan

C) The Yunnan-Guizhou

D) The Khorat

Answer · why

B) The Tibetan

The Tibetan Plateau is where it rises, and snowmelt from those heights supplies a big share of the lower river's flow in the dry season.

Q 04/05

Which Mekong catfish, farmed in Vietnam and exported worldwide, is sold in US stores as swai?

A) Channel catfish

B) Pangasius

C) Mekong giant catfish

D) Asian redtail catfish

Answer · why

B) Pangasius

Pangasius is sold cheaply as swai in the US and as panga in Europe, where its low price and mild taste made it a supermarket staple.

Q 05/05

Which glowing lights are said to rise from the Mekong each October, at the end of the Buddhist rains retreat?

A) Aleya marsh lights

B) Naga fireballs

C) Chir batti

D) Hitodama

Answer · why

B) Naga fireballs

Naga fireballs are credited to the river serpent Naga; scientists have suggested flammable phosphine gas from the marshes, but no explanation has held...