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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 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) Dam up water north of the structure.
(d) Open up all eleven gates.

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

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

4. After the U.S. Army Corps takes control of the Atchafalaya, Old Cajun bayou life is:
(a) Renewed.
(b) Diminished.
(c) Lost.
(d) Enriched.

5. What is a weir?
(a) Small tugboat.
(b) Small dam.
(c) Large lock.
(d) Large gate.

Short Answer Questions

1. In a conversation between General Sands and Oliver Houck on a floating conference boat, what does the General remind Houck regarding the vital role of the U.S. Army Corps?

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

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

4. 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:

5. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers develops a plan to do what?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. Name some of the companies and industries that are attracted to the regions in and around Baton Rouge and New Orleans as these communities develop.

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

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

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

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

7. In the 1700s, why did people settle in New Orleans and surrounding areas despite the region clearly being a floodplain?

8. What are some of the main points the author tries to make through this work of historical nonfiction?

9. What is the goal of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers with regards to the Atchafalya and Mississippi rivers?

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

(see the answer keys)

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