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

Short Answer Questions

1. How are residents and livestock evacuated from Heimaey during the 1973 eruptions?

2. What happens when the north side of the volcanic mountain in Vestmannaeyjar breaks loose?

3. Vestmannaeyjar holds how much of Iceland's total population?

4. What ultimately happens to the moving piece of mountain on Vestmannaeyjar?

5. What is Thorbjorn Sigurgeirsson's idea to stop the flow of lava?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is threatened in Heimaey as a result of the unexpected volcanic eruption of 1973?

2. What role does Magnus Magnusson play during the 1973 volcanic eruptions in Heimaey?

3. How is Heimaey's harbor altered after the eruptions and lava flows of 1973?

4. How do the views of Hawaiian natives towards volcanoes differ from the views of the U.S. Army Air Corps?

5. Describe how Thorbjorn Sigurgeirsson and Sveinn Eiriksson work together to fight against the lava that threatens Heimaey's town and harbor.

6. Describe how workers are able to walk upon lava fields as they try to cool down the lava on Heimaey in 1973.

7. Briefly describe Mauna Loa.

8. The author moves away from his discussion of Iceland's 1973 lava eruptions to talk about Hawaii's volcanoes. Describe what he writes about the U.S. Army Air Corps' attempts to stop lava from burying Hawaii's towns and cities.

9. What is the "City Flow?"

10. Is there any warning prior to the eruption in Heimaey that began on January 23, 1973?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Part of the problem is that people settle into regions that are particularly hazardous: floodplains, active volcanic zones, and places prone to mountain landslides, brush fires, and earthquakes.

1. Using examples from the book, elaborate upon some of the reasons the author gives to explain why people settle in regions where natural forces are especially active, posing risks to the communities that develop there.

2. Is the author sympathetic or unsympathetic to man's plight in his efforts to control nature? Explain.

Essay Topic 2

Describe life for the residents of Heimaey before and after their island erupts in 1973. How is life for the islanders different afterward? How is it worse? How is it better?

Essay Topic 3

Using specific examples from "Atchafalaya," describe how engineers, scientists, and politicians create new problems when they try to direct and engineer natural forces in an attempt to help the neighboring communities. What new problems are created? How do experts and officials try to solve these new problems? Are they successful or unsuccessful in their attempts? Explain.

(see the answer keys)

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