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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Who does the author refer to as “an egomaniacal small-time construction tycoon” in Chapter Four?
(a) Wayne Wyatt.
(b) James Marshall.
(c) W. A. Bechtel.
(d) Henry J. Kaiser.

2. William Mulholland’s father held what profession?
(a) Doctor.
(b) Teacher.
(c) Postal clerk.
(d) Car salesman.

3. The Sierra Nevada foothills are how many miles across the Central Valley from San Francisco?
(a) 80.
(b) 35.
(c) 225.
(d) 150.

4. The drop to the Colorado River is nearly how many feet?
(a) 5,000.
(b) 9,400.
(c) 13,000.
(d) 7,600.

5. When was Marc Reisner born?
(a) 1948.
(b) 1955.
(c) 1963.
(d) 1934.

6. When did Francisco Vásquez de Coronado set out on horseback from Mexico with a couple of hundred men, driving into the uncharted North, according to the author in Chapter One?
(a) 1362.
(b) 1474.
(c) 1539.
(d) 1297.

7. Who is quoted in the beginning of Chapter Four as stating, “Ours was the first and will doubtless be the last party of whites to visit this profitless locale”?
(a) Franklin D. Roosevelt.
(b) Viceroy Antonio de Mendoza.
(c) Lieutenant Joseph Christmas Ives.
(d) Marriner Stoddard Eccles.

8. How long does the author say civilization had existed in Utah since Brigham Young led his followers there, in the Introduction?
(a) 134 years.
(b) 56 years.
(c) 328 years.
(d) 212 years.

9. When was Harrison Gray Otis born?
(a) 1879.
(b) 1837.
(c) 1908.
(d) 1856.

10. In 1848, what was the population of San Francisco?
(a) 4,500.
(b) 2,500.
(c) 800.
(d) 9,000.

11. Harry Morrison and Morris Knudsen, two engineers formerly with the Bureau of Reclamation, went into business together where, according to the author in Chapter Four?
(a) Miami, Florida.
(b) Boise, Idaho.
(c) Fargo, North Dakota.
(d) Chicago, Illinois.

12. What is the state capital of Utah?
(a) Moab.
(b) Salt Lake City.
(c) Ogden.
(d) Provo.

13. Almost all of the rain in Napa Valley falls between which months?
(a) November to March.
(b) August to December.
(c) March to July.
(d) May to September.

14. Who was to the man to “discover a malleable yellow rock in the tail race of Sutter’s Mill on the American River above Sacramento” in the 1800s,” according to the author in Chapter One?
(a) Emil Haury.
(b) Floyd Dominy.
(c) C.W. Hollister.
(d) James Marshall.

15. What river is known as the River of No Return?
(a) The Snake River.
(b) The Salmon River.
(c) The Owyhee River.
(d) The Yellowstone River.

Short Answer Questions

1. In 1885, the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railroad linked Los Angeles directly with what city?

2. Which states are touched by the Colorado River?

3. The negotiation of the Colorado River Compact took place in what year, under the guidance of Commerce Secretary Herbert Hoover?

4. In what year was the Boulder Dam authorized and the All-American Canal on the condition that at least six of the seven states ratify the compact?

5. Who did Charles Rockwood convince to join forces with him in irrigation, according to the author in Chapter Four?

(see the answer keys)

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