Iowa Water Trivia

All Questions are from the book Iowa Trivia by Janice E. Stock, Allen Beck, and Ken Beck and published by Rutledge Hill Press. They are included here with permission from Rutledge Hill Press. If you hunger for more Iowa Trivia this book is for you.

1. What is the average annual rainfall in Iowa?
2. What is Iowa's average annual snowfall?
3. What is considered the greatest natural disaster in Iowa's history?
4. During the flood of 1993, for how many days was the entire city of Des Moines without drinking water?
5. What was the first man-made lake in Iowa?
6. Clam shells found at the bend of a river near Muscatine lead to what industry?
7. On the bluffs of what river is one of the only locations in the world where cliff-dwelling pigeons can be found?
8. When a dike broke after torrential rains in 1986, Crystal Lake, a thirty-five-acre lake near DeWitt, drained in how many minutes?
9. In what year was the first railroad bridge built across the Mississippi River?
10. What Spencer woman is credited with creating the word Blizzard in 1868 after reading a story about a man named Mr. Blizzard who had a raging temper?
11. What is the Iowa record amount of snowfall for one day?
12. What underground river cavern is near McGregor?
13. What Iowa lake is one of the three 'blue lakes' of the world?
14. What wildlife refuge contains nearly 8K acres of the Missouri River flood plain between Iowa and Nebraska?
15. In 1891 a large glacial boulder found in Black Hawk County was used to construct what building in Waterloo?
16. Rainwater falling on the east side of what county courthouse eventually flows into the Mississippi River, while that falling on the west side flows into the Missouri River?
17. Situated at Fort Madison, what is the name of the largest double-deck, swing-span bridge in the world?
18. What is the only natural substance that can be restored to its original rocklike state by adding water?
19. In what town did an artesian well drilled in August 1886 sprout so strong that efforts to harness it continued until October 1887?
20. Large artesian wells beneath the town gave Goldfield what nickname?