How Well Do You Know the Rivers of the World?
Written by Jason Forbes
Last updated · 7 min play time
Do you wish there was a way you could demonstrate how much you know about the rivers of the world? Then you've come to the right place with our expert level Rivers of the World Quiz!
Quiz written by
Jason ForbesJason is currently working on his Master’s of Business Administration at the University of Minnesota. He enjoys studying history, theater, film, and games, and loves trivia - participating yearly in the world’s largest trivia contest.
Rivers of the World Quiz Questions
20 Questions · 1K Plays · 2 Comments
Question 1
This river empties into the Atlantic Ocean in Brazil, has an estimated length of roughly 4,000 miles (6,400 km), and is largely surrounded by rainforest. What is the name of the longest river in South America?
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AAmazon River
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BColorado River
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COrinoco River
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DNile River
Amazon River
The longest river in South America, and likely the second longest in the world, the Amazon River stretches deep into the heart of the Amazon rainforest. The source of the Amazon River was highly debated for years until 2007 when an expedition using GPS and satellite technology measured a few possible sources and determined that Apacheta Creek in Peru was the river's true source.
Question 2
This river that empties into the Gulf of Mexico divides the United States roughly in half vertically. What is the name of this river whose source is Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota?
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AMinnesota River
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BOhio River
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CMississippi River
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DYellow River
Mississippi River
With a length of 2,340 miles (3,766 km) the Mississippi River ranks as the 20th longest river in the world. However when combined with the Missouri-Jefferson (Red Rock) water systems that feed into the Mississippi, it counts as the 4th longest river in the world.
Question 3
This large tributary of the Mississippi River runs from Montana to just north of St. Louis, Missouri where it meets up with the Mississippi River. What is the name of this second longest river in North America?
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AMackenzie River
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BYukon River
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CMissouri River
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DAmazon River
Missouri River
The Missouri River on its own has a length of 2,315 miles (3,726 km) and is the second longest river in North America. This river creates the natural parts of the borders between South Dakota and Nebraska, Nebraska and Iowa, Nebraska and Missouri, and Kansas and Missouri.
Question 4
Running a length of approximately 1,900 miles (3,060 km) this river's headwaters are located in the San Juan Mountains of southern Colorado. What is the name of this river that creates much of the natural border between Texas and Mexico?
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ARio Grande
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BColorado River
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CYukon River
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DIndus River
Rio Grande
The Rio Grande is the 5th longest river in North America and 20th longest in the world. The river forms much of the natural border between Texas and Mexico, though due to the riverbed shifting over the years, places where the border used to be the river, are now on land.
Question 5
This Chinese river is the longest in Asia. What is the name of this river that reaches from the Plateau of Tibet to the East China Sea?
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AMississippi River
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BYangtze River
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CEuphrates River
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DYellow River
Yangtze River
The Yangtze River is the third longest river in the world and the longest in Asia. It covers so much area that it provides a natural border between ten provinces or regions. More than three-fourths of the Yangtze runs through mountains.
Question 6
Discharging into the Bering Sea, this river has an estimated length of 1,980 miles (3,190 km). What is the name of this river that flows through Alaska and Canada?
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ADarling River
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BMissouri River
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CMackenzie River
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DYukon River
Yukon River
The main headwaters of the Yukon river flow from Atlin Lake and Tagish Lake through the Yukon territory of Canada and central Alaska out to the Bering Sea. Due to natural obstacles such as rapids and narrow canyons, the river proved difficult for travel during the gold rush era, and precipitated the need for the railroad from Skagway, Alaska, to Whitehorse in the Yukon Territory.
Question 7
If you started at this river's source in Germany and wanted to follow it to its end, you'd end up at the Black Sea. What is the name of this second longest river in Europe?
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ADanube River
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BVolga River
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CDnieper River
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DOrange River
Danube River
The Danube River is the second longest river in Europe after the Volga River in Russia. It served as the northern boundary of the Roman Empire for a time, and some of Europe's major cities were settled during that time along its banks such as Vienna, Budapest, and Belgrade.
Question 8
With a length of roughly 2,700 miles (4,350 km), this river that runs through much of Southeast Asia and enters the South China Sea in Vietnam. What is the name of this 12th longest river in the world?
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AMississippi River
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BOb River
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CMekong River
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DYangtze River
Mekong River
The source of the Mekong River is in Qinghai province, China and it flows through Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam before entering the South China Sea. A large majority of the people who live along the river work in agriculture with rice being the major crop.
Question 9
What is the name of the river that originates in Lake Hazer in Turkey and later meets up with the Euphrates River to flow into the Persian Gulf?
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ANile River
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BYukon River
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CTigris River
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DIndus River
Tigris River
On its own the Tigris River is the second largest river in southwest Asia. Together the Tigris and Euphrates river systems define the ancient area of Mesopotamia.
Question 10
This great African river is the longest in the world and runs from Lake Victoria all the way up to the Mediterranean Sea. What is the name of this river?
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ACongo River
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BTigris River
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CThames River
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DNile River
Nile River
The Nile River is the longest river in the world stretching from Lake Victoria in the south, all the way up to the Mediterranean Sea. Ancient peoples along the Nile were some of the first on the continent to cultivate agriculture due to the fertile land along its banks.
Question 11
With a length of roughly 2,900 miles (4,700 km), this river flows through much of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and then enters the Atlantic Ocean. What is the name of this second largest river in Africa?
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ACongo River
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BNile River
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CZambezi River
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DIndus River
Congo River
The Congo river finds its source in northeastern Zambia between Lake Tanganyika and Lake Nyasa. Along with the Amazon, the Congo river is one of the larger rivers of the world that flows out of an equatorial zone that sees heavy rainfall for most of the year. The capitals Brazzaville of the Republic of the Congo, and Kinshasa of the Democratic Republic of the Congo are located right across the river from one another.
Question 12
This river begins in the Himalayan mountains and flows down through India into the Bay of Bengal. What is the name of this holy river?
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AGanges River
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BIndus River
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CEuphrates River
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DNile River
Ganges River
Despite its relatively short length of 1,560 miles (2,510 km) compared to other large rivers in Asia, the Ganges River holds a very important status of being the holy river of Hinduism. Many people of Hindu faith make a holy pilgrimage to the Ganges to bathe in its waters.
Question 13
This river begins in Turkey and flows through Syria and Iraq where it joins with the Tigris River and flows into the Persian Gulf. What is the name of this longest river in southwest Asia?
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ANile River
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BJordan River
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CEuphrates River
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DOrinoco River
Euphrates River
The Euphrates and Tigris Rivers combined roughly outline the ancient area known as Mesopotamia. Once the two rivers combine, the name of the river changes to Shatt Al-Arab and flows into the Persian Gulf.
Question 14
You would have to dress warmly if you wanted to follow the largest river system in Canada. What is the name of the river that runs across the Northwest Territories emptying into the Beaufort Sea in the Arctic ocean?
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AVolga River
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BMackenzie River
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CZambezi River
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DYukon River
Mackenzie River
The Mackenzie River system runs for 2,635 miles (4,241 km) through the Northwest Territories in Canada. Due to its harsh winter climate, few resources in the area, and difficulty to reach, it follows one of the few areas in the world relatively untouched by humanity.
Question 15
If you wanted to travel down this river, you'd go through, or along the border of, Angola, Zambia, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, and Mozambique. What is the name of this river that would eventually let you out into the Indian Ocean?
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AZambezi River
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BCongo River
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CYellow River
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DMekong River
Zambezi River
The Zambezi River has a rough length of 2,200 miles (3,540 kilometres) and flows from the Central African Plateau out into the Indian Ocean. Along this river, between the borders of Zambia and Zimbabwe, lies Victoria Falls, a waterfall that is twice as wide and deep as Niagara Falls.
Question 16
What is the name of the major river that creates part of the border between Colombia and Venezuela and runs through Venezuela and out to the Atlantic Ocean?
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AOrinoco River
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BAmazon River
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COhio River
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DRio Grande
Orinoco River
The Orinoco River flows in a giant arc through Venezuela out into the Atlantic Ocean with a length of roughly 1,700 miles (2,740 km). This river's basin covers roughly four-fifths of Venezuela and one-fourth of Colombia.
Question 17
This river originates in the eastern Tibetan Plateau and has a delta at the other end where it meets the Bohai Sea. What is the second longest river in China called?
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AYangtze River
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BYellow River
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CAmazon River
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DDanube River
Yellow River
As the second longest river in China, the Yellow River has a length of 3,395 miles (5,464 km). The Yellow River basin is often described as the cradle of Chinese civilization, as local people had been irrigating there since the 3rd century BCE.
Question 18
One of the longest rivers in Russia, this river's source is found in the Altai Mountains. What is the name of this river that continues through the West Siberian Plain and into the Arctic Ocean?
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AOb River
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BTigris River
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CVolga River
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DMississippi River
Ob River
The Ob river flows through a diverse array of topographies including plains, hills, mountains, semidesert, grassland, taiga, marshland, tundra, and glaciers. This waterway serves as a major means of transportation of goods and people for Siberia.
Question 19
Discharging into the Caspian Sea, this is the longest river in Europe. What is the name of this river?
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AVolga River
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BYenisei River
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CDanube River
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DCongo River
Volga River
The source of the Volga River is in the Valdai Hills just northeast of Moscow and flows into the Caspian Sea. With a length of roughly 2,193 miles (3,530 kilometres), the Volga is the longest river in Europe. The basin of the Volga River covers roughly two-fifths of the European part of Russia, and contains almost half of the entire population of Russia.
Question 20
This river and its tributaries run from its source in southwestern Tibet, into India and Pakistan, and eventually into the Arabian Sea. What is the name of this river?
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AIndus River
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BGanges River
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CTigris River
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DOb River
Indus River
A large amount of the water in the Indus River is provided by snow melts from the Karakoram, Hindu Kush, and Himalayan mountain ranges. The country of India gets its name from the writings of the Rigveda, written around 1,500 BCE, which originally mentions the Indus River.
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Cool and it helps me learn