North American River Cities Trivia Quiz

Answer: Quebec City

Quebec City, capital of the Canadian province of Quebec, was established on the north bank of the Saint Lawrence River where it meets the Saint-Charles River. This was in 1608, making it one of the oldest European settlements in North America. The Saint-Charles River is now the main watercourse crossing the city and emerges from Lake Saint-Charles, which is partially within the city boundaries, and flows some 33.8 km (21 mi) to the Saint Lawrence River.

Answer: Little Rock

Little Rock became state capital of Arkansas Territory in 1821. It sits on the south side of the Arkansas River and takes its name from a rock outcrop sitting on the south bank of the river first named 'Little Rock' in 1722 by a French explorer and used as a landmark. It has now been reduced in size and sports a bronze plaque. The state capital was originally at Arkansas Post however that was prone to flooding. After enough powerful men had bought land around Little Rock, the capital was moved there. The name "Arkopolis" for the city lost out to Little Rock.

Answer: Winnipeg

Situated at the confluence between the Assiniboine River and the Red River of the North, Winnipeg takes its name from the lake some 55 km (34 mi) to the north and is capital of the Canadian province of Manitoba. The Red River in fact starts in USA, forming most of the boundary between the states of Minnesota and North Dakota before crossing the Canadian border into Manitoba. The Assiniboine River flows some 1,700 km (660 mi) from the west across Canadian prairie land and takes its name from the Assiniboine First Nation.

Answer: Albany

Albany, the New York state capital, lies on the west bank of the Hudson River below its confluence with the Mohawk River. Albany has the distinction of being the oldest city in New York although the site started off as the location of two Dutch forts: Fort Nassau built in 1614 followed by Fort Orange in 1624. Fur trading was the initial driver.

The English took over the Dutch settlements in 1664 with the name Albany coming from a title belonging to the future King James II. The river is 507 km (315 mi) long flowing north to south mostly through the east of the state and reaching the Atlantic through New York City.

Answer: Whitehorse

The Yukon River starts off in British Columbia, Canada and ends emptying into the Bering Sea from Alaska, USA. It was a major transport route during the Klondike Gold Rush around the start of the 20th century. Whitehorse, capital of the Canadian territory of Yukon, takes its name from the former rapids near Miles Canyon, however in 1958 a hydroelectric dam submerged them and they are now under Schwatka Lake. Whitehorse is now on both sides of the river.

It is the largest city in the three territories of Canada and had a population of around 28,000 in 2021, or 70% of the territory's population.

Answer: Baton Rouge

The Mississippi River passes through or along the border of ten US states and there are as many, if not more, major cities on its banks. This includes two state capitals of which Baton Rouge, Louisiana is one with the other being St. Paul, Minnesota. Baton Rouge sits on the east bank of the river at a location chosen for the Istrouma Bluff, the first natural elevated site upstream of the river delta safe from seasonal flooding.

A French explorer came upriver in 1698 and noticed a red pole marking the boundary between tribal hunting grounds, calling it "bāton rouge" in French (or "red stick"), the source of the city's name.

Answer: Fredericton

Bisecting the city of Fredericton, capital of the Canadian province of New Brunswick, Saint John River was named by a French explorer when he visited the mouth of the river on the feast day of John the Baptist in 1604. The city where the river reaches the Bay of Fundy is also called Saint John. The first European settlement at what is now part of Fredericton was by the French who built Fort Nashwaak, which was at one time the capital of Acadia.

Answer: Frankfort

The Kentucky River lies entirely within Kentucky state before it merges into the Ohio River, which forms the state's northern boundary. The official state boundaries were based on the courses of the Ohio River and the Mississippi River in 1792 when Kentucky became a state. Rivers move and so there are parts of Kentucky now on the opposite bank.

The state capital Frankfort used to be a ford across the river, part of a buffalo trail. A pioneer Stephen Frank was killed in a skirmish at the crossing in 1780 which was named Frank's Ford in his memory and may be the source of the city's name.

Answer: Edmonton

Edmonton is the capital city through which the North Saskatchewan River flows. This is in the Canadian province of Alberta, and not Saskatchewan, as might be suggested by the river's name. The river is fed by glacial water from the Canadian Rockies and eventually ends in Hudson Bay.

Although the area had been occupied for thousands of years, the first Europeans arrived in this commercially-remote region to pursue fur trading in the second half of the 18th century. Agriculture followed, however since the 1940s it has been oil and gas that has driven the economy.

Answer: Denver

The Platte River is within the state of Nebraska, however its two main tributaries, the South Platte River and the North Platte River, both arise in Colorado. The 1851 Treaty of Fort Laramie recognised the land where Denver now sits as Cheyenne and Arapaho territory, however the discovery of gold in Colorado in 1858 brought a flood of immigrants. Montana City, Kansas Territory, was formed in 1858 as a mining town on the site of what would later become Denver, state capital of Colorado. Montana City died off and land speculators moved in to create Denver.

The Colorado War of 1864 and 1865 followed and ended with the effective removal of this area from Indian treaty lands.