Quiz: Flood Threats on the National Mall

In 2018, the National Park Service released a report that analyzed the effects of climate change on flooding in our national parks in 2050, along with maps to illustrate those effects.  The maps show that the threat to the National Mall is catastrophic [in “search,” type in “Washington Monument”; click on 2050 plus storm surge].

In this eight-question quiz, see if you can evaluate the scope of the flooding threat to our Smithsonian museums and national monuments.

Consult this National Park Service “Sea Level Rise Viewer” map that predicts in blue the extent of flooding by the year 2050 during storm surge.*  Click here if you need a Mall map to identify individual museums and public buildings.

* Storm surge, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, is the abnormal rise in seawater level during a storm, measured as the height of the water above the normal predicted astronomical tide. The surge is caused primarily by a storm’s winds pushing water onshore.

Click on map to enlarge

Mall Flood Quiz map

During storm surge in 2050, what would be the quickest way to get from the Lincoln Memorial to the Washington Monument?
On foot
By car
By boat
Swimming

Correct!

Wrong!

If storm surge occurred during the Presidential Inaugural parade down Pennsylvania Avenue, how would the President and entourage make their way from the Capitol to the White House?
They would take an alternate route north through Downtown Washington.
By boat
The parade would be cancelled.
Any of the above

Correct!

Wrong!

Which Smithsonian museums would be under water?
National Museum of African American History & Culture
National Museum of American History
National Museum of Natural History
All of the above

Correct!

Wrong!

Which national monuments would be flooded and inaccessible to visitors?
Martin Luther King Memorial
FDR Memorial
Jefferson Memorial
All of the above

Correct!

Wrong!

All federal agency buildings next to the Mall – including Department of Justice and Commerce, – would be under water except for one. Which agency?
Interior
National Archives
Agriculture, on the Mall
IRS

Correct!

Wrong!

To be safe, the Smithsonian’s two new museums – American Latino and Women’s History – could be located where?
Near the Lincoln Memorial
Near the American Indian Museum
Near the Holocaust Memorial Museum
None of the above

Correct!

Wrong!

What does the map reveal about the choices made by Mall designer Peter (Pierre) Charles L’Enfant in 1791?
He chose protected high ground for the Capitol.
He chose protected high ground for the White House.
He chose protected high ground for the Washington Monument.
All of the above

Correct!

Wrong!

If you were planning the National Mall today, would you choose the current location?
No
Yes

Correct!

Wrong!

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Flooding on the National Mall

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