- 1. The Missouri River is approximately how many miles long?
A) 1,000 miles
B) 2,341 miles
C) 4,800 miles
D) 3,500 miles
- 2. Which river is the Missouri River a tributary of?
A) Columbia River
B) Ohio River
C) Colorado River
D) Mississippi River
- 3. The Missouri River was important for which historical event in the early 19th century?
A) American Civil War
B) California Gold Rush
C) Lewis and Clark Expedition
D) Underground Railroad
- 4. What is the name of the plains region through which the Missouri River flows in the United States?
A) Cascade Range
B) Great Plains
C) Sierra Nevada
D) Appalachian Mountains
- 5. The Missouri River played a crucial role in the development of which industry in the United States?
A) Automobile manufacturing
B) Pharmaceuticals
C) Fur trade
D) Film production
- 6. Which dam on the Missouri River is one of the largest earth-filled dams in the world?
A) Table Rock Dam
B) Oahe Dam
C) Fort Peck Dam
D) Garrison Dam
- 7. Which U.S. President signed the Missouri River Basin Project into law in 1944?
A) Dwight D. Eisenhower
B) John F. Kennedy
C) Richard Nixon
D) Franklin D. Roosevelt
- 8. Which Native American tribe has a historical association with the Missouri River?
A) Cherokee
B) Iroquois
C) Navajo
D) Sioux
- 9. What is the largest artificial lake in the United States by surface area formed by the Missouri River?
A) Garrison Lake.
B) Lake Oahe.
C) Fort Peck Lake.
D) Lake Sakakawea.
- 10. Which major city is located at the confluence of the Missouri and Platte Rivers?
A) Kansas City, Missouri – Kansas City, Kansas.
B) Denver, Colorado.
C) St. Louis, Missouri.
D) Omaha, Nebraska.
- 11. What percentage of the annual flow of the Mississippi past St. Louis is accounted for by the Missouri River?
A) 25 percent.
B) 70 percent.
C) 60 percent.
D) 45 percent.
- 12. What is the highest point in the Missouri River's watershed?
A) Brower's Spring.
B) Mount Jefferson.
C) The Continental Divide.
D) Mount Lincoln at 14,293 feet (4,357 m).
- 13. Which major city in the Missouri River watershed is located north of the confluence with the Yellowstone River?
A) Williston, North Dakota.
B) Bismarck, North Dakota.
C) Great Falls, Montana.
D) Omaha, Nebraska.
- 14. How many significant tributaries feed the Missouri River?
A) 120
B) Over 95
C) 30
D) 50
- 15. How many reservoirs affect the Missouri River's discharge?
A) 10,000
B) Over 17,000
C) 5,000
D) 20,000
- 16. What is the average discharge of the Missouri River at Bismarck?
A) 21,920 cu ft/s (621 m3/s)
B) 87,520 cu ft/s (2,478 m3/s)
C) 55,400 cu ft/s (1,570 m3/s)
D) 181,800 cu ft/s (5,150 m3/s)
- 17. What is the largest discharge ever recorded on the Missouri River?
A) 87,520 cu ft/s (2,478 m3/s)
B) 181,800 cu ft/s (5,150 m3/s) in 1993
C) Over 750,000 cu ft/s (21,000 m3/s) on July 31, 1993
D) 602 cu ft/s (17.0 m3/s)
- 18. How much of the Missouri River basin does the area drained at Kansas City represent?
A) 98.7%
B) 35%
C) 50%
D) About 91%
- 19. What is the aggregate capacity of reservoirs affecting the Missouri River?
A) 100 million acre-feet
B) 200 million acre-feet
C) 141 million acre-feet (174 km3)
D) 50 million acre-feet
- 20. What percentage of the Missouri River basin does the drainage area at Bismarck represent?
A) 35%
B) 50%
C) 98.7%
D) 91%
- 21. During which geological period did the Rocky Mountains first rise?
A) Quaternary Period
B) Jurassic Period
C) Cretaceous Period
D) Laramide Orogeny
- 22. What was the name of the vast shallow sea that stretched from the Arctic Ocean to the Gulf of Mexico?
A) Western Interior Seaway
B) Atlantic Inland Sea
C) Great Plains Sea
D) Mississippi Seaway
- 23. Before the Quaternary Ice Age, into which body of water did the upper portion of the Missouri River likely drain?
A) Gulf of Mexico
B) Hudson Bay
C) Pacific Ocean
D) Atlantic Ocean
- 24. How many species of crayfish are endemic to the lower Missouri?
A) Twenty species
B) Five species
C) Thirteen species
D) No species are endemic
- 25. Which of the following is a proposed solution to revive shipping on the Missouri River?
A) Closing alternative transportation routes
B) Expanding the navigation channel
C) Reducing agricultural production
D) Building more locks and dams
- 26. Since when has human activity severely polluted the Missouri River?
A) The late 21st century
B) The early 1900s
C) The mid-20th century
D) The 1800s
- 27. What has hampered the Missouri River shipping industry due to inconsistent maintenance?
A) Barge designs
B) Locks and dams
C) River banks
D) Navigation channel
- 28. In what year did France expand its territorial claims to include land on the western side of the Mississippi River?
A) 1682
B) 1607
C) 1754
D) 1701
- 29. By what decade had steamboat commerce on the Missouri nearly vanished?
A) 1900s
B) 1890s
C) 1858
D) 1819
- 30. What is a limiting factor for tree growth near the riverbanks?
A) High salinity levels
B) Lack of sunlight
C) Excessive rainfall
D) Soil erosion during floods
- 31. Which formation lies atop the Arikaree Group and is slightly younger?
A) Arikaree Group
B) White River Formation
C) Ogallala Group
D) Broadwater Formation
- 32. Which land bridge is mentioned as a migration route during the end of the last glacial period?
A) Bering land bridge
B) Kra Isthmus
C) Land Bridge of Gibraltar
D) Isthmus of Panama
- 33. In what year did the United States acquire the Louisiana Territory from France?
A) 1783
B) 1795
C) 1803
D) 1812
- 34. What natural condition in the early 21st century contributed to the decline of river traffic on the Missouri?
A) Drought conditions
B) Earthquakes
C) Tornadoes
D) Floods
- 35. How does biodiversity change from the headwaters to downstream on the Missouri River?
A) Biodiversity decreases proceeding downstream.
B) Biodiversity generally increases proceeding downstream.
C) Biodiversity is highest at the cold, subalpine headwaters.
D) Biodiversity remains constant throughout the river.
- 36. Which explorer published 'The Route To Be Taken To Ascend The Missouri River' in 1714?
A) Étienne de Veniard, Sieur de Bourgmont
B) Jacques Marquette
C) Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne
D) Louis Jolliet
- 37. When did the USACE begin widening the Missouri River's navigation channel to 200 feet?
A) 2006
B) 1912
C) 1945
D) 1925
- 38. In what year was the USACE authorized to maintain a six-foot depth for navigation on the Missouri River from Kansas City to its mouth?
A) 1912
B) 1945
C) 1925
D) 2006
- 39. Which type of steamboats were preferred on the Missouri due to their maneuverability?
A) Keelboats
B) Sternwheelers
C) Side-wheeler steamboats
D) Mackinaws
- 40. Which was the first steamboat on the Missouri River?
A) The Western Engineer
B) The Yellowstone
C) The Independence
D) The Missouri Breaks
- 41. What is the age of the Ogallala Formation?
A) Jurassic-age
B) Miocene-age
C) Cretaceous-age
D) Pliocene-age
- 42. Where are sapphires found along the Missouri River?
A) Nebraska
B) Eastern Montana
C) Western Montana
D) South Dakota
- 43. What was the purpose of Fort Raymond constructed in 1807?
A) To serve as a trading post for bartering with Native Americans for furs.
B) To act as a military stronghold against Native American tribes.
C) To house fur trappers from various companies.
D) To serve as a permanent settlement for European settlers.
- 44. What percentage of total silt that empties into the Gulf of Mexico is still transported by the Missouri River?
A) Less than a quarter
B) More than half
C) Nearly all
D) About one third
- 45. What was one of the first large motives for river transport on the Missouri?
A) Transporting settlers to new lands.
B) Moving military supplies.
C) Carrying agricultural products from farms.
D) The transport of thousands of beaver pelts.
- 46. How many lock and dams are there on the upper Mississippi River?
A) 50
B) 5
C) 12
D) 29
- 47. Which treaty recognized American rights to navigate the Mississippi River and store goods for export in New Orleans?
A) Treaty of Paris
B) Jay Treaty
C) Pinckney's Treaty
D) Treaty of Ghent
- 48. Which ecoregion has the greatest diversity of plants and animals?
A) Middle Missouri
B) Central Prairie
C) All have equal diversity
D) Upper Missouri
- 49. What is one of the primary reasons for decreasing river traffic on the Missouri River besides drought?
A) Competition from railroads
B) Overfishing in the river
C) Lack of demand for agricultural products
D) Increased shipping costs
- 50. What year did the Independence start running between St. Louis and Keytesville, Missouri?
A) 1858
B) 1890s
C) Around 1819
D) 1830
- 51. Which species is mentioned as endangered in the Missouri River basin?
A) Beaver
B) Pallid sturgeon
C) Mink
D) River otter
- 52. What type of climate is found at the headwaters of the Missouri River in Montana?
A) Semiarid shrub-steppe
B) Temperate and moist
C) Cold, subalpine
D) Characterized by large seasonal temperature fluctuations
- 53. What glaciation diverted the Missouri River southeastward toward its present confluence with the Mississippi?
A) Pleistocene Glaciation
B) Wisconsin Glaciation
C) Pre-Illinoian or Illinoian Glaciation
D) Holocene Glaciation
- 54. What nickname is inspired by the Missouri River's enormous loads of sediment or silt?
A) Silty Flow
B) Big Muddy
C) Muddy Stream
D) Sandy Waters
- 55. Which of these tribes was not mentioned as living along the Missouri River in pre-European contact writings?
A) Dakota
B) Navajo
C) Mandan
D) Otoe
- 56. Which war resulted in a complete Native American victory?
A) The Battle of Boonville.
B) The Great Sioux War of 1876–77.
C) Red Cloud's War.
D) Bleeding Kansas.
- 57. What structures enable barge traffic on the Lower Missouri River by directing its flow?
A) Locks
B) Levees
C) Hydroelectric dams
D) Wing dams
- 58. In which year did the tonnage of goods shipped by barges on the Missouri River see a significant increase to 334,000 short tons?
A) 2006
B) 1977
C) 2000
D) 2010
- 59. In what year did steamboat navigation on the Missouri River peak?
A) 1819
B) 1890s
C) 1830
D) 1858
|