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