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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. The author mentions that when he met Rabalais, he wore what in his pocket?
(a) Silver pocket watch.
(b) Checkered bandana.
(c) Red bandana.
(d) Gold pocket watch.

2. The author states that how much of New Orleans lies fifteen feet below sea level?
(a) One quarter.
(b) Ten percent.
(c) All of it.
(d) Half.

3. In the 1800s, why do levee districts and boards form in Louisiana?
(a) To establish water claims.
(b) To control water levels.
(c) For diplomatic reasons.
(d) To spread levee costs.

4. Initially, Rabalais is hired as a construction inspector to watch for what at the navigation lock?
(a) Trapped seals.
(b) Oversized ships.
(c) Illegal drug shipments.
(d) Escaping water.

5. Sympathetically, who does McPhee blame for destructive actions against the natural order of the environment?
(a) Man.
(b) The United Nations.
(c) Foreign policy.
(d) The Executive branch of government.

6. During the fifty years between New Orleans' floods of 1735 and 1785, what does the author say brings a false sense of security against flooding?
(a) Drought conditions.
(b) Concrete seawalls.
(c) Extended, raised levees.
(d) Prosperous economic boom.

7. What river does the author mention that connects the Atchafalaya and the Mississippi to form an H?
(a) New River.
(b) Red River.
(c) Old River.
(d) Black River.

8. What does the 1927 flood in Louisiana teach officials about levees?
(a) More need to be constructed faster.
(b) They make the flooding problem worse.
(c) They need to be built taller.
(d) They work beautifully.

9. Over a number of centuries, how does the Mississippi River form the state of Louisiana?
(a) By irrigating carefully cultivated fields.
(b) By creating all of the state's boundaries.
(c) By overflowing river banks.
(d) By cutting deep, rocky canyons into the land.

10. The author retells the time when Raphael G. Kazmann walks out onto the five hundred and sixty-six foot structure over the Old River but leaves quickly because:
(a) A hurricane is headed his way.
(b) An intense lightning storm develops over the area.
(c) The two-hundred thousand ton structure is vibrating.
(d) A freak tidal wave is coming towards the structure.

11. Congress mandates that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers survey the Mississippi and tributaries in order to assure and improve what?
(a) Water rights.
(b) Aquatic recreation.
(c) Inland navigation.
(d) Farmland irrigation.

12. For how many years after the Old River Control begins does the operation appear to be successful?
(a) Sixteen.
(b) Twenty-one.
(c) Two.
(d) Ten.

13. A navigation lock on the bank of the Mississippi River lowers ships down to where?
(a) Atlantic Ocean.
(b) Atchafalaya River.
(c) Red River.
(d) Gulf of Mexico.

14. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers develops a plan to do what?
(a) Protect the fish population of the Atchfalaya River.
(b) Develop communities along the Mississippi River.
(c) Build twenty large dams on the Atchafalaya River.
(d) Control natural shifts of the Mississippi River.

15. In the spring of 1973, what does the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers do to try to alleviate the tremendous force of water against the control structure?
(a) Dig a ditch to re-route the water.
(b) Purposely flood the entire region.
(c) Open up all eleven gates.
(d) Dam up water north of the structure.

Short Answer Questions

1. While aboard the Mississippi on his annual trip, General Sands tries to:

2. Every thousand years or so, the Mississippi River goes through a major shift that leaves behind what?

3. What does Major General Thomas Sands do each year on the Mississippi in late summer or early fall?

4. From St. Louis down to the Atchafalaya, General Sands takes note of what?

5. In the early days of New Orleans, residents build their homes on what?

(see the answer keys)

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