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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. When the author recalls his first time in the Atchafalaya swamps with Charles Fryling in 1980, what does he fondly remember?
(a) Seeing lightning bugs for the first time.
(b) The water rushing through locks and gates.
(c) His first encounter with a baby alligator.
(d) Floating among trees under silently flying birds.

2. The Old River Control began its operations in what year?
(a) 1988.
(b) 1963.
(c) 1917.
(d) 1931.

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

4. Henry Shreve changes the Mississippi River by introducing what?
(a) Gambling along the river.
(b) New fish breeds.
(c) Vegetation native to Mexico.
(d) Mississippi steamboat.

5. The author notes that many regard the Old River Project as what?
(a) A remarkable feat of engineering.
(b) An arrogant enterprise.
(c) A worthwhile endeavor.
(d) A colossal expense.

6. What is the author's role in this book?
(a) Passive observer.
(b) Investigative reporter.
(c) Influential politician.
(d) Trained scientist.

7. Of the Old River Control Project, LeRoy Dugas, also known as Dugie, is what initially?
(a) Furious.
(b) Indifferent.
(c) Supportive.
(d) Critical.

8. What does the author say happens in the area of the Atchafalaya River in the spring of 1973?
(a) Three hurricanes devastate the region, leaving millions homeless.
(b) Dry conditions bring the river levels down, grounding countless boats.
(c) Freak storms from the north bring snow to the region, freezing the rivers solid.
(d) River levels rise and surrounding fields are covered in brown floodwater.

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

10. During high spring waters, what danger forms unseen beneath turbulent waters at the outflow to the Atchafalaya?
(a) An enormous hole larger and deeper than a football stadium.
(b) The partial collapse of one of the pylons.
(c) A crack in a gate of the control structure.
(d) Treacherous new rip currents.

11. The livelihood of approximately how many people is affected by the Old River Control?
(a) 13 hundred.
(b) 31 thousand.
(c) 3 thousand.
(d) 3 million.

12. The author asserts that due to floods in the region, Louisiana loses how much land each year?
(a) Seven hundred acres.
(b) A thousand square miles.
(c) Three acres.
(d) Fifty square miles.

13. On General Sand's floating conference boat, Oliver Houck is the only board member who is active in what?
(a) Taking the census.
(b) Cancelling the Old River project.
(c) Environmental movement.
(d) Local political life.

14. 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) Prosperous economic boom.
(b) Extended, raised levees.
(c) Concrete seawalls.
(d) Drought conditions.

15. Throughout the book, a predominant theme is that the following gets in the way of man's plans:
(a) Environmental Protection Agency.
(b) Nature.
(c) Machinery.
(d) The economy.

Short Answer Questions

1. 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?

2. The author tells stories of the following people in conflict with forces of nature:

3. Atchafalaya is a what?

4. Initially, Rabalais is hired as a construction inspector to watch for what at the navigation lock?

5. Congress mandates that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers survey the Mississippi and tributaries in order to assure and improve what?

(see the answer keys)

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