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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

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

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

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

4. In 1928, Congress enacts the Flood Control Act to start what?
(a) Atchafalaya River and Levees Project.
(b) Mississippi River and Tributaries Project.
(c) Old and New Rivers Effort.
(d) Rivers, Tributaries, and Levees Effort.

5. 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) Dig a ditch to re-route the water.
(c) Open up all eleven gates.
(d) Dam up water north of the structure.

Short Answer Questions

1. When the author recalls his first time in the Atchafalaya swamps with Charles Fryling in 1980, what does he fondly remember?

2. The author asserts that due to floods in the region, Louisiana loses how much land each year?

3. 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?

4. In the early 1800s, private plantation owners in Louisiana levee riverbanks to:

5. In the 1800s, why do levee districts and boards form in Louisiana?

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe some of the challenges New Orleans faces because of its geographical location.

2. What is James B. Eads' contribution to the Mississippi River?

3. Explain what the author says about Old Cajun bayou life in the Atchafalaya region after the Corps took control.

4. Throughout the 1700s and 1800s, what did people in southern Louisiana do to protect their communities and land against floods?

5. What are some of the predominant problems in the regions populated near the Atchafalaya and Mississippi rivers?

6. Congress enacts the Flood Control Act in 1928 to launch the Mississippi River and Tributaries Project. What is done through this project?

7. What is Major General Sands' concluding thoughts regarding the Old River Control Structure?

8. Describe what McPhee writes about Morgan City, Louisiana.

9. Why does the author state that ever since the Corps took control of the Atchafalaya, the river's name means "collision" to him?

10. Explain how the Mississippi River forms Louisiana over many centuries.

(see the answer keys)

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