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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. A navigation lock on the bank of the Mississippi River lowers ships down to where?
(a) Atchafalaya River.
(b) Gulf of Mexico.
(c) Red River.
(d) Atlantic Ocean.

2. Every thousand years or so, the Mississippi River goes through a major shift that leaves behind what?
(a) Bayous and natural levees.
(b) Dry mudflats.
(c) Stranded bird colonies.
(d) Large, deep saltwater lakes.

3. Rabalais says he remembers being taught in high school that one day, these would be built:
(a) Lighter and sturdier barges.
(b) Skyscrapers along the river banks.
(c) Ships to travel faster along rivers.
(d) Structures to control water flows.

4. The author states that how much of New Orleans lies fifteen feet below sea level?
(a) Ten percent.
(b) One quarter.
(c) All of it.
(d) Half.

5. Over a number of centuries, how does the Mississippi River form the state of Louisiana?
(a) By creating all of the state's boundaries.
(b) By overflowing river banks.
(c) By irrigating carefully cultivated fields.
(d) By cutting deep, rocky canyons into the land.

6. During high spring waters, what danger forms unseen beneath turbulent waters at the outflow to the Atchafalaya?
(a) An enormous hole larger and deeper than a football stadium.
(b) The partial collapse of one of the pylons.
(c) A crack in a gate of the control structure.
(d) Treacherous new rip currents.

7. Sympathetically, who does McPhee blame for destructive actions against the natural order of the environment?
(a) The Executive branch of government.
(b) Foreign policy.
(c) The United Nations.
(d) Man.

8. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers distributes Atchafalaya river water to swamps, bayous, towns, and cities in:
(a) Shreveport, Louisiana.
(b) Neighboring Mississippi.
(c) French Acadia.
(d) Houston, Texas.

9. In 1973, what happens to the Old River Control structure despite engineers drilling it and filling it with cement?
(a) The entire project is cancelled.
(b) Funding to strengthen the structure is cut.
(c) The foundation is eroded and undermined.
(d) The structure is knocked down and rebuilt.

10. When was the Kent, a small towboat used by the U.S. Army Corps, put into service?
(a) 1989.
(b) 1952.
(c) 1964.
(d) 1973.

11. The livelihood of approximately how many people is affected by the Old River Control?
(a) 13 hundred.
(b) 3 thousand.
(c) 3 million.
(d) 31 thousand.

12. Henry Shreve changes the Mississippi River by introducing what?
(a) Mississippi steamboat.
(b) New fish breeds.
(c) Gambling along the river.
(d) Vegetation native to Mexico.

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

14. A towboat is designed to:
(a) Push barges.
(b) Pull barges.
(c) Pull large cargo ships.
(d) Push large cargo ships.

15. From St. Louis down to the Atchafalaya, General Sands takes note of what?
(a) Storms.
(b) Number of private boats.
(c) Number of bird colonies.
(d) Complaints.

Short Answer Questions

1. What is the author's role in this book?

2. Of the Old River Control Project, LeRoy Dugas, also known as Dugie, is what initially?

3. What is a weir?

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

5. From the time that the U.S. Army Corps takes control of the Atchafalaya, what word does the author associate with the river and the region?

(see the answer keys)

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