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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. What does "City Flow" do in Heimaey?

2. Why do residents of Heimaey hose down oncoming lava?

3. How much water is pumped onto a lava field directly in the path of the moving mountain headed towards Heimaey's town and harbor?

4. The oldest parts of Iceland are how old?

5. How does Sigurdur Steinthorsson monitor volcanic gases during the 1973 eruption?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. What is the "City Flow?"

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

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

5. Describe work crews' first attempts at cooling off the lava flows of Heimaey in 1973.

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

7. Who is Thorbjorn Sigurgeirsson, and what idea does he come up with?

8. Describe how Heimaey residents are evacuated following the eruptions that begin unexpectedly in 1973.

9. How old are the oldest parts of Hawaii and Iceland?

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

1. Describe how the system of rivers encompassing the Mississippi, Atchafalaya, and smaller rivers works over centuries to drain water into the Gulf of Mexico and form the land that's now part of Louisiana.

2. How does the presence of large cities like New Orleans and Baton Rouge affect the natural flow and activity of these major and minor rivers?

3. How are New Orleans, Baton Rouge, and other cities in southern Louisiana at risk because of the region's geology?

Essay Topic 2

Using key characters from "Atchafalaya," show how groups of people (such as environmentalists, government officials, engineers, and residents) are in conflict with each other and with themselves in their attempts to deal with the challenging geography of the region.

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 970 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample