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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. While aboard the Mississippi on his annual trip, General Sands tries to:
(a) Fine environmentalists.
(b) Settle differences.
(c) Generate new contracts.
(d) Capture poachers.

2. Rabalais says he remembers being taught in high school that one day, these would be built:
(a) Ships to travel faster along rivers.
(b) Structures to control water flows.
(c) Lighter and sturdier barges.
(d) Skyscrapers along the river banks.

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

4. When was the Kent, a small towboat used by the U.S. Army Corps, put into service?
(a) 1989.
(b) 1952.
(c) 1964.
(d) 1973.

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

6. Who is Raphael G. Kazmann?
(a) Developer of tripod pilings.
(b) Author of Modern Thermodynamics.
(c) Author of Modern Hydrology.
(d) Developer of electromagnetic therapy.

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

8. 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.

9. In the early days of New Orleans, residents build their homes on what?
(a) Metal bridges.
(b) Concrete risers.
(c) Natural levees.
(d) Sand piles.

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

11. In feet, how long is the towboat Mississippi?
(a) 42.
(b) 217.
(c) 459.
(d) 23.

12. 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) Purposely flood the entire region.
(b) Dam up water north of the structure.
(c) Open up all eleven gates.
(d) Dig a ditch to re-route the water.

13. At one point, Rabalais drives the author first to the Mississippi River and then to the Atchafalaya River, showing him that the Mississippi is 18 feet above sea level while the Atchafalaya is how many feet above sea level?
(a) Nineteen.
(b) One.
(c) Twenty-five.
(d) Five.

14. What does Major General Thomas Sands do each year on the Mississippi in late summer or early fall?
(a) Trains new U.S. Army Corps of Engineers recruits.
(b) Takes a Low Water Inspection Trip.
(c) Hosts the Water Recreation Festival.
(d) Conducts Homeland Security military exercises.

15. From St. Louis down to the Atchafalaya, General Sands takes note of what?
(a) Number of private boats.
(b) Complaints.
(c) Storms.
(d) Number of bird colonies.

Short Answer Questions

1. Throughout the book, a predominant theme is that the following gets in the way of man's plans:

2. What are residents of French Acadia called?

3. When floodwaters cover twenty-six thousand square miles in 1927, how is New Orleans saved?

4. The author states that how much of New Orleans lies fifteen feet below sea level?

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

(see the answer keys)

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