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This quiz consists of 5 multiple choice and 5 short answer questions through Los Angeles Against the Mountains.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. The writing on Dugie's belt buckle reads:
(a) To help control the Mississippi.
(b) To serve nature and protect man.
(c) To conquer nature and advance humanity.
(d) To tame the wild Atchafalaya.

2. Every thousand years or so, the Mississippi River goes through a major shift that leaves behind what?
(a) Dry mudflats.
(b) Bayous and natural levees.
(c) Large, deep saltwater lakes.
(d) Stranded bird colonies.

3. In describing Los Angeles, McPhee states that the city sits where:
(a) Two tectonic plates grind against each other.
(b) Forest fires rage on a monthly basis.
(c) An enormous inland sea used to exist.
(d) The rich and famous strut down boulevards.

4. To cool the lava flows of 1973, what does Valdimar Jonsson suggest?
(a) Using ice and snow.
(b) Stacking ice blocks along the lava's path.
(c) Redirecting the flow towards an iceberg.
(d) Using ten times more water.

5. After Bob Genofile is rescued, why does he rebuild his home in the same place?
(a) He can't afford to move.
(b) The house is sturdy, built like a fort.
(c) He believes another debris flow will not happen again.
(d) His family has lived there for many generations.

Short Answer Questions

1. The author mentions that when he met Rabalais, he wore what in his pocket?

2. Thorbjorn Sigurgeirsson decides to try to stop the chunk of mountain moving towards Heimaey's town and harbor by:

3. As the author surveys a one-street neighborhood named Pasadena Glen going up a mountainside in Southern California, what does he compare it to?

4. How many bowl-shaped excavations line the San Gabriel Mountains to catch debris falling from the mountains?

5. During the debris flow, what lands on the roof of the Genofile family's home?

(see the answer key)

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