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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. According to the author in Chapter Three, regarding the Bureau of Reclamation, “The most auspicious event in its entire history was the election to the presidency in 1932 of a freewheeling, free-spending” what?

2. The annual income of Las Vegas is what percentage of the entire gross national product of Egypt, according to the author in Chapter Four?

3. In 1848, what was the population of San Francisco?

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

5. When did Francisco Vásquez de Coronado set out on horseback from Mexico with a couple of hundred men, driving into the uncharted North, according to the author in Chapter One?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does the author write of the impressions from the Lewis and Clark expedition in the West in Chapter Two?

2. What impressions did the first Europeans to discover the American West have of the environment?

3. Who was General John Wesley Powell? How does the author describe him?

4. How did William Mulholland’s character and career develop in his later years?

5. What actions did Franklin D. Roosevelt take following the Dust Bowl in regard to water projects?

6. What publication does the author describe which was written by John Wesley Powell?

7. What awards has Marc Reisner earned for his environmental and writing work?

8. Who won in the struggles over the Colorado River, according to the author in Chapter Four?

9. When was the Hoover Dam constructed? Where is it located?

10. How does the author describe the American West in Chapter One?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss President Jimmy Carter. When was Carter elected? How many terms did he serve? What was Carter’s position with the Bureau of Reclamation?How did Carter compare with other presidents in this regard?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss Major General William F. Cassidy, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and the Bureau of Reclamation. Why does the author consider these two bureaucracies to be “rivals in crime”? On what date did Major General William F. Cassidy give a speech titled “The Future of Water Development” and what did this speech entail?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the impact of damming in the American South. Why did the South construct as many dams as it did? How do these dams differ from those in California and the West? What has been their impact on the environment?

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