Canals & Dams Trivia

1. The idea of regulating Nile flow has been around for some time. When was the first known feasibility study undertaken into building a dam?

From Quiz Aswan Dam - Taming the Nile

Answer: 11th century

Around 1010 CE, the Fatimid Caliph summoned the Arab engineer Ibn al-Haytham (aka Alhazen) to Egypt to design and build a dam near Aswan, having heard of his theory that he could regulate the flow of the Nile and eliminate the periodic droughts and floods which did so much damage. Unfortunately, once he properly surveyed the area Alhazen concluded that this vast project was impracticable. Legend has it that he then feigned insanity and was placed under house arrest to escape retribution at the caliph's hands. During these ten years (before the caliph's death), he wrote a scientific book on optics. He espoused the scientific method of experimentation and confirmation, some five centuries before the Renaissance scientists. The man was a genius, far ahead of his time. It is possible that he might have been capable of building the dam, had the resources of Pharaonic times been available to him.

From Quiz Canals of the World

Answer: China

In China, the Grand Canal (Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal) is 1,115 miles long. Running from Beijing to Hangzhou, it links the major rivers of China, particularly the Yellow and Yangtze, and is designed to decrease the time needed for shipping. A UNESCO World Heritage site, it was first opened in 485 BCE. It has a long history of building and rebuilding from such problems as floods, earthquake damage, poor maintenance and the like, and has experienced many times when only part of the canal was navigable. It is still used to move cargo and people, and is a major tourist attraction.

From Quiz Suez Canal

Answer: Said & said & Port Said & port said

The Gulf of Suez is an arm of the Red Sea and is connected to Port Said on the Mediterranean Sea. The canal goes from north to south across the Isthamus of Suez.

From Quiz Canals

Answer: s.s. Ancon

15th August 1914 saw the official opening of the canal. It is estimated that 800,000 people were involved in the construction of it.

From Quiz The Panama Canal

Answer: August 15, 1914

The cargo ship Ancon passed through the canal on August 15, 1914, although it wasn't actually the first ship to do so. The SS Cristobal went through two weeks earlier, on August 3rd.

From Quiz Canals around the World

Answer: Karakum Canal

The Karakum Canal is the longest irrigation canal in the world. It is 683 miles long (1,093 km). It provides water for cotton fields in the Karakum Desert. Karakum means "Black Sands".

From Quiz Connecting the Seas - the Panama Canal

Answer: Spain

The Spanish were using mules trains to transport the Conquistadors' gold from Peru to the Atlantic Ocean, where it could be shipped to Spain. In 1534, Charles V ordered a study of the feasibility of a canal to connect the seas. Events in Europe intervened and the study was never carried out.

From Quiz Aswan Dam - Taming the Nile

Answer: Aswan Low Dam

For 70 years (1882-1952) Egypt was a British protectorate with a puppet monarchy. In 1898, the British built a dam across the Nile about 6 km upstream of the present site of Aswan High Dam. The original Aswan Dam was useful in regulating flows; for the first time it was possible to irrigate in times of drought and to reduce flooding. It was not, however, large enough to prevent overflow in particularly wet seasons, and it was only a few decades before a more reliable construction was investigated.

From Quiz Canals of the World

Answer: Panama Canal

The United States took over from the French in 1904 and opened the Panama Canal in 1914. The canal, about 50 miles long, cuts through the Isthmus of Panama and links the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean. It is generally considered one of the greatest engineering feats ever. Once completed, it shortened a ship's voyage from New York to San Francisco from about 13,000 miles to some 5200 miles. [In 1901, the work of a medical team led by Dr. Walter Reed determined that Yellow Fever was transmitted to humans by mosquitoes. This discovery led to a sharp decline in the mortality rate (which had plagued the French), allowing the United States to build the canal.]

From Quiz Suez Canal

Answer: 60m

The canal itself is 101 miles (163km) long. The original depth of the canal was 8m (26 feet) and the surface width was 58m (190 feet). The canal can accomodate ships weighing up to 15,000 tons fully loaded.

From Quiz Canals

Answer: 17th November 1869

Verdi was commissioned to compose an opera for the opening ceremony, but he did not complete it on time. The opera "Aida" was premiered one year later at the Cairo Opera House.

From Quiz The Panama Canal

Answer: John Stevens

John Stevens was the so called "genius" behind the construction of the Panama Canal. Unfortunately, he resigned his post before the completion of the project.

From Quiz History of The Hoover Dam

Answer: $50 Million

The contract, allowing for the construction of the Hoover Dam, was awarded to 6 companies on March 11th, 1931. The actual winning bid was $48,890,995.

From Quiz Canals around the World

Answer: Suez & suez canal

Although the canal is in Egypt, it was constructed with the aid of France and England. The canal was completed in 1869. Tolls are taken from the ships that use it. The toll money is an important source of income for Egypt. The canal is very important because it makes the trip from Europe to Asia much shorter.

From Quiz Connecting the Seas - the Panama Canal

Answer: Ferdinand Lesseps

Ferdinand Lesseps had been responsible for the completion of the Suez Canal and was known as the "Hero of the Suez".

From Quiz Aswan Dam - Taming the Nile

Answer: The revolution and overthrow of the monarchy

Although Egypt had indeed always been subject to sometimes cataclysmic flooding and droughts, they were not the trigger for building the dam. Prior to the 1952 Revolution, King Farouk dismissed ideas of a dam, favouring an alternative plan (never implemented) to store water in Ethiopia and Sudan. In 1952, with the Egyptian Revolution, Farouk was ousted by the Free Officers Movement, with a short-serving president, soon replaced. Shortly after gaining power (formalised in 1956), the new President, Gamal Abdel Nasser, accepted a plan by Adrian Daninos to build a much larger capacity dam than the existing one at Aswan.

From Quiz Canals of the World

Answer: Canal du Midi

The Canal du Midi is a 150 mile network of 328 structures, including locks, bridges, and tunnels. Beginning at the Mediterranean in southern France, it connects to the 120 mile long Canal de Garonne, forming the Canal des Deux Mers and connecting the Atlantic Ocean to the Mediterranean.

From Quiz Can You Ken a Canal?

Answer: Erie Canal

The Erie Canal opened up easy transportation from Albany on the Hudson River in eastern New York State to Buffalo and the Great Lakes in the western portion. The Hudson River's connection with New York City meant merchandise could travel far into the Midwest completely by water from New York City. Mule-pulled canal boats transported tons of freight, until engine-driven canal boats took over, but increasing competition from railroads and trucks finally made the canal unprofitable in the 20th century, despite improvements. Thomas S. Allen wrote the song "Low Bridge" (1905) about the canal's heyday and it has been recorded many times with many variations.

From Quiz Suez Canal

Answer: 0

The Suez Canal does infact have no locks at all, as it connects two pieces of land directly, with no high or raised ground en route.

From Quiz It's Dam Good

Answer: South Fork Dam

On May 31, 1889, the dam burst and a wave half a mile wide and forty feet high rushed down the valley and levelled the city within 10 minutes. 2,209 people were killed and thousands left homeless. The disaster occurred because the spillways were poorly maintained.

From Quiz Canals

Answer: Thomas Telford

Telford was born in Scotland. He became involved in building roads and bridges. Work began on the Caledonian Canal in 1804 but was not finished until 1822.

From Quiz The Panama Canal

Answer: Theodore Roosevelt

Teddy Roosevelt was able to gain a land grant spanning 50 miles in Panama. On this land was built the modern day Canal.

From Quiz History of The Hoover Dam

Answer: Herbert Hoover

Herbert Hoover, the 31st President of the United States, was preceeded by Calvin Coolidge and followed by Franklin D. Roosevelt.

From Quiz Canals around the World

Answer: Grand Canal

The Grand Canal is 1,795 km (1,114 miles) long. It connects the Yellow and the Yangtze Rivers. The canal runs through Suzhou, called the "Venice of the East".

From Quiz Connecting the Seas - the Panama Canal

Answer: Pacific Ocean

A ship traveling from New York to San Francisco can save 7,872 miles using the Panama Canal instead of going around the tip of South America.

From Quiz Aswan Dam - Taming the Nile

Answer: By seizing control of the Suez Canal

There were several offers of loans and material help from Britain, the USA and the USSR while Nasser was seeking finance for the dam. However, his purchase of arms from the USSR prompted both Britain and the USA to withdraw their offers, leaving the USSR as the only major partner. In 1956, President Nasser nationalised the Suez Canal and closed the Straits of Tiran to Israeli shipping, prompting "the Suez Crisis". Britain, France, and Israel promptly invaded Egypt. However they were soon forced to withdraw by the United Nations. With Russian loans secured and revenue rolling in from the Suez Canal, Nasser was now free to commence work on the dam.

From Quiz Canals of the World

Answer: Irish Sea

Built between 1887 and 1894, the Manchester Ship Canal transformed Manchester from a river port to a seaport. It runs 36 miles from Manchester to the Mersey Estuary near Liverpool. Although it turned Manchester into a major port, the canal can no longer handle most modern ocean-going vessels and much of its traffic is containers transported by barge.

From Quiz Suez Canal

Answer: Bitter Lakes & bitter lakes & Bitter lakes

The Bitter Lakes is one stretch of water.

From Quiz It's Dam Good

Answer: Three Gorges Dam

It created a reservoir on the Yangtze river of over 28 billion cubic yard and generates 18.2 million kilowatts of electricity, the equivalent of 18 nuclear power plants or the burning of 40 million tons of coal.

From Quiz History of The Hoover Dam

Answer: Boulder Dam

The Hoover dam started out being named "Boulder Dam". When Herbert Hoover became President, he changed the name in 1930 to "Hoover Dam". Then when Roosevelt became President, the name was changed back to "Boulder Dam" until 1947 when President Truman permanently renamed it "Hoover Dam".

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Last Updated Nov 01 2025 5:46 AM

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