View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. By 1812, the east bank of the Mississippi River is levied up to which city?

2. 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?

3. This book is a:

4. 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?

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

Short Essay Questions

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

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

3. Describe Major General Thomas Sands' annual Low Water Inspection Trip along the Mississippi River.

4. In 1927, what happened to the region of the Mississippi River during the great flood?

5. Who is Henry Shreve, and what does he do?

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

7. The Old River Control project began operating in 1963. What happens ten years later?

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

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

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

John McPhee shows how man works hard to control nature in an attempt to protect communities and economic centers.

1. Using one of the three main stories covered in "The Control of Nature," show how man is in conflict with nature.

2. Do people's efforts to redirect or tame natural forces solve problems or make them worse? Explain.

Essay Topic 2

Based on what the author has described about each region, is it viable for residents to continue living there? Provide your answers for the following regions:

1. In Louisiana near the Atchafalaya and Mississippi rivers.

2. By the active volcanoes of Hawaii.

3. In the volcanic island of Heimaey off the coast of Iceland.

4. In the plains below the San Gabriel Mountains of Southern California.

Essay Topic 3

1. Why do people begin to settle in the Atchafalaya-Mississippi region? How do these communities go from being small settlements to large cities that support many important industries?

2. What brings newcomers to the Los Angeles County region where the coastal plains meet the mountains? How do the communities in this region grow and transform over time?

3. Keeping in mind the costs and resources involved, do you feel that protecting the communities in southern Louisiana and in southern California is worthwhile? Why or why not?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,094 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample