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Rivers in History

Can you name these rivers based on an anecdote from their history?
Quiz by
Aaron197
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Last updated: October 5, 2022
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First submittedAugust 23, 2022
Times taken32,900
Average score70.0%
Rating4.91
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Hint
Answer
Annual floods of this river ceased with the completion of the Aswan Dam in the 1960s
Nile
River which Tom Sawyer floated down in the stories of Mark Twain
Mississippi
Rivers which flowed through the ancient region of Mesopotamia
Tigris
Euphrates
Rivers which traditionally formed the European border of the Roman Empire
Danube
Rhine
River in which Jesus was baptized
Jordan
Known as both the cradle of Chinese civilization and as "China's Sorrow" due to its many floods
Yellow
Caesar defied the Senate by crossing this river at the Italian border
Rubicon
George Washington crossed this river to launch a surprise attack on Trenton in 1776
Delaware
Under Japanese captivity, British POWs built a bridge near this river
Khwae Noi
The battle of Stalingrad was fought near this river
Volga
Site of the earliest civilization on the Indian subcontinent
Indus
Lewis and Clark reached the end point of their journey where this river meets the Pacific Ocean
Columbia
The dolphins of this Asian river were seen for the last time in 2002
Yangtze
Henry Morton Stanley was the first European to explore the basin of this major river
Congo
River in D.R. Congo after which a scary haemorrhagic fever is named
Ebola
About 1 million men were wounded or killed during the battle of this French river in 1916
Somme
Where Rasputin's body was thrown
Neva
Notre Dame cathedral is built on an island in this river
Seine
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27 Comments
tofani
+3
Level 93
Aug 24, 2022
Great quiz - nominated!
3nchiladas
+2
Level 69
Oct 5, 2022
Decent quiz, docked a star for the unnecessary religiousness
AlmostAGenius
+51
Level 89
Oct 5, 2022
Are you really that upset that he mentioned Jesus? It’s easily the most well known clue for that river and I don’t think it really degrades the quiz overall. Did you want him to put “river that was used to partition Transjordan and Palestine”? That pretty much gives away the answer.
Findlay
+57
Level 80
Oct 5, 2022
As a staunch atheist, it didn't even cross my mind that anyone would take issue with that clue. It does sometimes seem like people are actively trying to be offended.
rocamorar
+50
Level 80
Oct 6, 2022
Very reasonable position. As everyone knows, religion has never played a part in history. And it's not like this Jesus guy may have had any significant historical influence.

I'd also suggest docking an additional star for the unnecessary zoology in the dolphins question, and even another one for the unnecessary architecture with the Notre Dame.

xyzzy
+17
Level 72
Oct 6, 2022
Plus Notre Dame is a a cathedral...
luxint
+3
Level 67
Oct 7, 2022
LOL!!!
kalbahamut
+3
Level 79
Oct 7, 2022
I've been to the spot in the River Jordan where Jesus was baptized. Or, at least one of them. I've read about at least five or six similar places claiming to be the same spot and neglected to visit them. I'm sure they're all equally well attested. Anyway, definitely historical...
JonOfKent
+4
Level 61
Oct 10, 2022
I think in the Middle Ages there were so many "genuine fingers of St Paul" being flogged by itinerant priests that, put together, the poor old apostle must have had hundreds if not thousands of hands.

(He did, of course, exist though)

Texio
+1
Level 84
Jan 8, 2024
You forget the skull of John the Baptist at the age of twelve, preserved in the cathedral of Cologne, as recounted in the Name of the Rose...
GlassMonkeyOLD
+1
Level 69
Jun 22, 2024
Since rivers change course over time, I doubt any of the places were genuine.
luxint
+2
Level 67
Oct 7, 2022
Good grief.
stusum
+1
Level 64
Dec 12, 2025
Pretty much every historian agrees that Jesus existed and was baptised.
AkJMB
+9
Level 70
Oct 7, 2022
Did not know that Ebola disease was named after a river. Love learning interesting stuff like that on Jetpunk Encyclopedia . . . err quizzes.
jamaltepec
+20
Level 65
Oct 7, 2022
Neva heard of it.
LadyDulcinea
+14
Level 67
Oct 7, 2022
That's just a Volga lie...
TheOrca
+8
Level 54
Oct 7, 2022
Somme nasty puns here.
Fianchetto
+6
Level 78
Jan 6, 2024
Jordan big trouble, Indus comment section we're trying to be Seine.
regalragabash
+3
Level 37
Jan 9, 2024
These puns Congo out of control and drive you inSeine if you aren't careful...
Badeghut
+1
Level 74
Nov 1, 2025
these puns are starting to no longer make any Seine-se
SuperPerfundo
+1
Level 66
Dec 8, 2025
Neva woulda guessed it either.
Hectorselector
+4
Level 59
Oct 7, 2022
It wasn't just British POWs who suffered and built the Burma railway. There were a lot of commonwealth (especially Aussies) and Dutch too. But by far the greatest death toll was to the "native" workers from a variety of places around SE Asia. Something like 7 times as many dead as the Allied POWs.
jeandawga
+2
Level 87
Oct 7, 2022
Wikipedia states that Rasputin's body was thrown into the Malaya Nevka river. What gives?
AllenY
+3
Level 68
Oct 9, 2022
it's part of the Neva, it should probably be accepted as an answer nonetheless
blizzrd33
+2
Level 81
Oct 9, 2022
The Nevka is a distributary channel that branches from the Neva at the delta with the Gulf of Finland. The Malaya Nevka (little Nevka) is a distributary channel that branches off the Nevka. Within St Petersburg, the names of the separate channels are important to describe exactly which body of water is meant.
Rachrev
+2
Level 53
Jan 6, 2024
It was Huck Finn who floated down the river, not Tom Sawyer.
JackintheBox
+1
Level 82
Dec 8, 2025
19/20, I only missed the George Washington question 🤦‍♂️ (not American)
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