- 1. What is the primary factor controlling the course of the Mekong River?
A) Simple dendritic tributary networks
B) Gentle slopes of the surrounding basins
C) Heterogeneous and active underlying geological structure
D) Stable and homogeneous soil composition
- 2. Which large river is noted for having a simple dendritic drainage pattern?
A) Mississippi
B) Yangtze
C) Mekong
D) Salween
- 3. What climatic factor is most influenced by the elevation of the Tibetan Plateau?
A) South-west monsoon
B) Polar jet stream
C) El Niño
D) Trade winds
- 4. What significant sediment source change occurred 8 million years ago?
A) Northern Laos became the primary source
B) Three Rivers area contribution rose to 76%
C) Central Highlands contribution rose from 11% to 51%
D) Khorat Plateau became the primary source
- 5. When did the last glacial period end?
A) 6,000 years ago
B) 8,000 years ago
C) 19,000 years ago
D) 3,500 years ago
- 6. What was the approximate maximum sea level height in the early Holocene?
A) 200 meters
B) 19 meters
C) 8 meters
D) 4.5 meters
- 7. What evidence indicates a historical marine connection to the Tonlé Sap?
A) Volcanic rock formations
B) Large glacial boulders
C) High levels of freshwater fish fossils
D) Sediments with salt marsh and mangrove swamp deposits
- 8. How far has the Mekong Delta advanced over the continental shelf in the last 6,000 years?
A) 62,500 km
B) 17 km
C) 5.3 km
D) 200 km
- 9. What feature is the Cà Mau Peninsula considered to be?
A) The site of the ancient Tonlé Sap confluence
B) One of the most recent features of the delta
C) The oldest part of the Mekong delta
D) A tectonic mountain range
- 10. Where does the Mekong develop alluvial channels free from bedrock control?
A) Throughout the entire length of the river
B) Around Vientiane and downstream of Kratié
C) Only in the Three Rivers area
D) Near the Tibetan Plateau
- 11. What is the typical maximum Richter scale magnitude for earthquakes in the Mekong basin?
A) 4.5
B) 6.5
C) 9.2
D) 8.0
- 12. Which area contributes a very small amount of sediment to the Mekong delta?
A) Three Rivers area
B) Khorat Plateau
C) Tibetan Plateau
D) Central Highlands
- 13. Why is the Mekong basin generally considered not seismically active?
A) The riverbed is composed of soft alluvial soil
B) It is underlain by a relatively stable continental block
C) It is located far from tectonic plate boundaries
D) The water pressure prevents seismic buildup
- 14. What process deflected delta deposition south-eastwards after 3.5 ka?
A) A change in the monsoon pattern
B) Wave action and marine currents
C) Tectonic uplift
D) The damming of the Mekong river
- 15. What are the characteristics of the Mekong’s drainage patterns compared to the Amazon?
A) Homogeneous and simple
B) Complex and non-dendritic
C) Uniform and stable
D) Simple and dendritic
- 16. What percentage of the average dry season flow at Kratié comes from the Yunnan component?
A) Over 75%
B) Less than 10%
C) Exactly 50%
D) Almost 30%
- 17. Which dam did locals blame for the record low water levels in Reach 2 on 19 July 2019?
A) Nam Ngum Dam
B) Nam Theun Dam
C) Xayaburi Dam
D) Se Bang Fai Dam
- 18. By Reach 5, what percentage of the total flow has entered the Mekong system?
A) Approximately 50%
B) About 75%
C) Over 95%
D) Less than 20%
- 19. How much of Reach 6 is flooded during the rainy season every year?
A) Less than 5%
B) 10–20%
C) 75–90%
D) 35–50%
- 20. What is the mean annual runoff depth entering the lower Mekong from China?
A) 600 mm
B) 850 mm
C) 450 mm
D) 250 mm
- 21. Which basin drains 20% of the lower system but has an average annual runoff of only 250 mm?
A) Tibetan Plateau basin
B) Mun-Chi basin
C) Se Kong basin
D) Nam Ngum basin
- 22. During the wet season, what percentage of the flow at Kratié comes from Yunnan?
A) Over 60%
B) Approximately 80%
C) Exactly 40%
D) Less than 20%
- 23. What phenomenon in Reach 4 is closely linked to the Se Kong, Se San, and Sre Pok catchments?
A) Tidal surges
B) Tonlé Sap flow reversal
C) Tibetan snowmelt
D) Salt water intrusion
- 24. Which reach is described as having the most natural and undisturbed hydrological response?
A) Reach 2
B) Reach 5
C) Reach 1
D) Reach 6
- 25. What makes up the balance of the Mekong's low-flow hydrology besides the Yunnan component?
A) Coastal tidal inflows
B) Increased runoff from Thailand
C) High intensity rainfall
D) Over-season catchment storage in the lower basin
- 26. What is the name of the river at its source on the Tibetan Plateau?
A) Yangtze
B) Lancang
C) Salween
D) Za Qu
- 27. In which nature reserve does the Mekong originate?
A) Tibetan Headwaters Reserve
B) Hengduan National Park
C) Sanjiangyuan National Nature Reserve
D) Golden Triangle Reserve
- 28. The Lancang River translates literally to what meaning?
A) Ghost lost way
B) Three rivers source
C) Golden triangle river
D) Turbulent green river
- 29. Which river flows to the west of the Mekong in the Three Parallel Rivers area?
A) Yellow River
B) Salween River
C) Yangtze River
D) Bassac River
- 30. The confluence with which river marks a tripoint of Myanmar, Laos, and Thailand?
A) Bassac River
B) Tiền River
C) Ruak River
D) Mỹ Tho River
- 31. What is the meaning of the name 'Khon Pi Long'?
A) Three rivers source
B) Where the ghost lost its way
C) Golden triangle
D) Turbulent green river
- 32. What is the first and main distributary of the Mekong?
A) Mỹ Tho River
B) Bassac River
C) Ba Lai River
D) Tiền River
- 33. What is the Mekong called once it enters Vietnam?
A) Tiền River
B) Za Qu
C) Nu Jiang
D) Lancang River
- 34. The Golden Triangle area is historically notorious for what?
A) Rice farming
B) Tea production
C) Opium production
D) Gold mining
- 35. What is the world rank of the Mekong River in terms of length?
A) Fifth
B) Twentieth
C) Twelfth
D) Tenth
- 36. The word 'Khong' is considered an archaic word for 'river' originally loaned from which language family?
A) Austronesian
B) Sino-Tibetan
C) Indo-European
D) Austroasiatic
- 37. Historian William Dalrymple suggests the name 'Mekong' derives from a Khmer phrase referencing which other river?
A) Indus
B) Ganges
C) Yellow River
D) Yangtze
- 38. Which term in Khmer means 'Big River' or 'Great River'?
A) Mae Nam
B) Mekǒng
C) Tǒnle Thom
D) Sông Cửu Long
- 39. Where does the upper Mekong basin enter the lower basin?
A) The South China Sea
B) The Khorat Plateau
C) The Golden Triangle
D) Phnom Penh
- 40. What percentage of the Mekong's total area is represented by the upper basin?
A) 50%
B) 27%
C) 24%
D) 15%
- 41. What percentage of Laos is farmed using lowland terrace or upland shifting cultivation?
A) 27%
B) 42%
C) 63%
D) 16%
- 42. In which country is shifting cultivation responsible for 27% of total land under rice cultivation?
A) Laos
B) Thailand
C) China
D) Vietnam
- 43. What is the date of the earliest known settlements near the Mekong?
A) 1st century
B) 210 BCE
C) 5th century
D) 1540
- 44. Which early Iron Age culture settlement is cited as an excellent example?
A) Ban Chiang
B) Angkor
C) Oc Eo
D) Tonkin
- 45. Where were coins from the Roman Empire found?
A) Ban Chiang
B) Oc Eo
C) Vientiane
D) Yunnan
- 46. Who was the first European to encounter the Mekong in 1540?
A) Ernest Doudard de Lagrée
B) Gerrit van Wuysthoff
C) Francis Garnier
D) António de Faria
- 47. In what year did the French capture Saigon?
A) 1861
B) 1866
C) 1893
D) 1863
- 48. Who found the source of the Mekong river in 1900?
A) Gerrit van Wuysthoff
B) Pyotr Kuzmich Kozlov
C) Francis Garnier
D) Ernest Doudard de Lagrée
- 49. When was the Mekong River Commission (MRC) established?
A) 2000
B) 1996
C) 2013
D) 1995
- 50. What dangerous legacy was left in the Cambodian section of the Mekong after the 1970s wars?
A) Damaged irrigation dams
B) Chemical pollution
C) Sunken trading vessels
D) Unexploded military ordnance
- 51. Which river basin is considered to have a higher level of biodiversity than the Mekong?
A) The Nile
B) The Yangtze
C) The Amazon
D) The Ganges
- 52. Which order of fish is the most species-rich in the Mekong basin?
A) Perciformes
B) Cypriniforms
C) Catfish
D) Salmoniformes
- 53. How many species of catfish are found in the Mekong river basin?
A) 377
B) 92
C) 145
D) 29
- 54. How many species previously unknown to science were described in the Mekong region in 2009?
A) 145
B) 1,200
C) 430
D) 850
- 55. What is the maximum weight mentioned for the Mekong giant catfish?
A) 500 kg
B) 300 kg
C) 150 kg
D) 70 kg
- 56. How many Irrawaddy dolphins are estimated to remain in the Mekong?
A) 20
B) 145
C) 300
D) 85
- 57. Which of these mammals is mentioned as living in or around the Mekong River?
A) Hippopotamus
B) Platypus
C) Beaver
D) Smooth-coated otter
- 58. What is the status of the saltwater crocodile in the Mekong River?
A) Extinct
B) Endangered
C) Recovering
D) Common
- 59. Where are the headwaters of the Mekong located?
A) An Giang, Vietnam
B) Zadoi County, Qinghai, China
C) The Thai-Lao border
D) Phnom Penh, Cambodia
- 60. Which country contains the largest lake in Southeast Asia?
A) Cambodia
B) Thailand
C) Vietnam
D) Laos
- 61. Where do the Naga fireballs take place?
A) The Mekong Delta
B) Tonle Sap Lake
C) Sanjiangyuan National Nature Reserve
D) The Thai-Lao border
- 62. What kind of fish inhabit low oxygen, slow-moving, shallow waters?
A) Migratory stingrays
B) White fish
C) Aquatic mammals
D) Black fish
- 63. Which type of fishery plays the most important role in supporting livelihoods?
A) Wild capture fisheries
B) Aquaculture
C) Commercial reservoir farming
D) Recreational fishing
- 64. Which fish habitat yields the largest percentage (66%) of wild catch landings?
A) Rain-fed wetlands
B) Tonle Sap
C) The main river and tributaries
D) Large water bodies outside the flood zone
- 65. What was the species of the largest recorded freshwater fish caught in the Mekong in 2005?
A) Mekong giant catfish
B) Black fish
C) White fish
D) Giant freshwater stingray
- 66. How many rural people in the lower Mekong basin are estimated to be engaged in wild capture fishery?
A) 40 million
B) 80 million
C) 10 million
D) 5 million
- 67. What percentage of rural households in Laos rely on fisheries for subsistence or income?
A) 71%
B) 95%
C) 45%
D) 20%
- 68. As of February 2024, how many hydropower plants are under construction in Laos?
A) 1
B) 14
C) 3
D) 15
- 69. How many mainstream dams are currently located in China?
A) 1
B) 13
C) 15
D) 2
- 70. What is the minimum installed capacity for a hydropower plant to be included in the dam data?
A) 0.5 Megawatts
B) 300 Megawatts
C) 500 Megawatts
D) 15 Megawatts
- 71. What feature defines the boundary between the upper and lower Mekong?
A) Cai Mep port
B) Khone Falls
C) Chiang Saen port
D) The border of China
- 72. During which months does the low water season occur in the upper Mekong?
A) April–August
B) June–January
C) December–March
D) September–November
- 73. What is the primary nationality of ships carrying cargo to and from Chiang Saen Port?
A) Vietnamese
B) Chinese
C) Lao
D) Thai
- 74. What was the reason for the decrease in cargo volumes in 2009 at Can Tho port?
A) Drought conditions
B) 2008 financial crisis
C) Closing of Cai Mep port
D) Political instability
- 75. In what year was the Agreement on Commercial Navigation on the Lancang-Mekong River adopted?
A) 2015
B) 1995
C) 2000
D) 1994
- 76. What is a main export from Thailand identified in the text?
A) Vegetables
B) Construction materials
C) Dried longan
D) Fertilisers
- 77. When did the First Thai–Lao Friendship Bridge open?
A) 8 April 1994
B) 11 December 2013
C) 9 January 2007
D) 20 March 2004
- 78. The First Thai–Lao Friendship Bridge includes which special feature in the middle?
A) A cable-stayed tower
B) A single railway line
C) A pedestrian walkway
D) A toll plaza
- 79. Where does the railway extension from the First Thai–Lao Friendship Bridge lead to?
A) Vientiane city center
B) Nong Khai
C) Savannakhet
D) Tha Nalaeng
- 80. The Third Thai–Lao Friendship Bridge is part of which international route?
A) Lao-Thai Express Route
B) Asian Highway 3
C) Asian Highway 1
D) Mekong River Road
- 81. Where is the only bridge over the Mekong located that is entirely within Laos?
A) Savannakhet
B) Thakhek
C) Pakse
D) Vientiane
- 82. In which city is the Kizuna Bridge located?
A) Pakse
B) Vĩnh Long
C) Phnom Penh
D) Kampong Cham
- 83. When did the Prek Tamak Bridge open?
A) 2000
B) 2010
C) 2015
D) 2001
- 84. Which bridge was built at Neak Leung with Japanese assistance?
A) The Kizuna Bridge
B) The Neak Leung Bridge
C) The Prek Tamak Bridge
D) The Mỹ Thuận Bridge
- 85. What is the state of sewage treatment in towns along the Mekong?
A) Highly advanced
B) Non-existent
C) Regulated by international law
D) Rudimentary
- 86. The Mekong is one of how many rivers responsible for flushing 90 percent of ocean plastic?
A) Ten
B) Five
C) Fifty
D) Twenty
- 87. What effect does sand mining have on salinity levels in the Mekong?
A) Decreased salinity levels
B) No change to salinity levels
C) Increased salinity levels
D) Eliminated salinity risks
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