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This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Who does the author refer to as “horse-drawn Fresnoscraper kind of contractor” in Chapter Four?
(a) W. A. Bechtel.
(b) Harry Morrison.
(c) Jim Casey.
(d) Emil Haury.

2. What from San Bernardino found their way to the 1884 World’s Fair in New Orleans, where they attracted crowds?
(a) Bing cherries.
(b) Red Delicious apples.
(c) Valencia oranges.
(d) Himalayan blackberries.

3. When did Harrison Gray Otis move to Santa Barbara, California?
(a) 1911.
(b) 1855.
(c) 1924.
(d) 1876.

4. How long does the author say civilization had existed in Utah since Brigham Young led his followers there, in the Introduction?
(a) 56 years.
(b) 134 years.
(c) 328 years.
(d) 212 years.

5. In 1885, the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railroad linked Los Angeles directly with what city?
(a) Boston.
(b) Kansas City.
(c) New York City.
(d) Chicago.

6. In 1930, the American West had a population of how many people?
(a) 11 million.
(b) 18 million.
(c) 4 million.
(d) 7 million.

7. Who was to the man to “discover a malleable yellow rock in the tail race of Sutter’s Mill on the American River above Sacramento” in the 1800s,” according to the author in Chapter One?
(a) Floyd Dominy.
(b) Emil Haury.
(c) C.W. Hollister.
(d) James Marshall.

8. The annual income of Las Vegas is what percentage of the entire gross national product of Egypt, according to the author in Chapter Four?
(a) 5%.
(b) 25%.
(c) 10%.
(d) 40%.

9. When was Franklin D. Roosevelt born?
(a) 1882.
(b) 1856.
(c) 1907.
(d) 1921.

10. In what year did Charles Rockwood see the Colorado River for the first time?
(a) 1903.
(b) 1919.
(c) 1926.
(d) 1892.

11. What western city does the author describe “with exotic palms and golf-course lawns and a five-hundred-foot fountain and an artificial surf” in the Introduction?
(a) Albuquerque, New Mexico.
(b) Bakersfield, California.
(c) Phoenix, Arizona.
(d) Reno, Nevada.

12. Who does the author refer to as “an egomaniacal small-time construction tycoon” in Chapter Four?
(a) Wayne Wyatt.
(b) James Marshall.
(c) Henry J. Kaiser.
(d) W. A. Bechtel.

13. William Mulholland’s father held what profession?
(a) Postal clerk.
(b) Teacher.
(c) Doctor.
(d) Car salesman.

14. What was the population of San Francisco in 1851?
(a) 12,000.
(b) 48,000.
(c) 27,000.
(d) 35,000.

15. What is the title of Chapter Three?
(a) “First Causes.”
(b) “A Country of Illusion.”
(c) “Things Fall Apart.”
(d) “The Red Queen.”

Short Answer Questions

1. The author states in Chapter Two, “Brigham Young dispatched a party of his most loyal disciples, in 1851 to follow whose old route to the coast?

2. The drop to the Colorado River is nearly how many feet?

3. How much of the water in California is used for irrigation purposes, according to the author?

4. The population of San Francisco went over how many in 1853?

5. According to the author, “New England was completely forested in 1620 and nearly deforested” how many years later?

(see the answer keys)

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