Geography And Climate Of Louisiana
Louisiana is 51,885 total square miles, bordered to the west by Texas, east by Mississippi, north by Arkansas and to the south by the Gulf of Mexico. The state is divided into two low, flat sections. The northern part of the state is uplands, with elevations rising to Driskill Mountain, the highest point in the state at 535 feet. In the southern part, the alluvial includes the coast and swamp regions, much of which is close or next to the Mississippi River, which runs across the edge of the state for 600 miles.
Besides the mighty Mississippi River, there are several other major rivers, including the Sabine, Pearl, Mermentau, Vermilion, Boeuf, Lafourche, Courtableau, Tchefuncte and Atchafalaya. Countless other smaller rivers and streams form a natural and navigable water system.
The state’s humid subtropical climate is largely influenced by the Gulf of Mexico, which creates hot, muggy summers and short, mild winters. Heavy precipitation, especially in southern Louisiana, is very common, while the state experiences thunderstorms on a regular basis. Temperatures range from mild and warm in the winter to extreme heat in the summer.
Given its position next to the Gulf, Louisiana is vulnerable to tropical cyclones, storms and hurricanes. The numerous bayous and marshes in the area make hurricanes especially destructive, while northern areas of the state are prone to tornadoes. Hurricanes Katrina, Camille, Rita, Betsy, Andrew and Audrey are just a few examples of the most damaging hurricanes in recent history.
History Of Louisiana
Originally inhabited by Native Americans, including members of the Choctaw and Natchez nations, Louisiana was first discovered by European explorers in 1528 during a Spanish expedition led by Panfilo de Narvaez. In 1541, Hernando de Soto and his expedition crossed the region. Later, French expeditions established settlements along the Gulf Coast and explorer Robert Cavelier de La Salle named the area after King Louis XIV of France in 1682. France designated the city of New Orleans as its capital due to its importance for trade and increasing population. Later, the capital was moved to Baton Rouge in 1849.
Napoleon Bonaparte had acquired Louisiana and other territories from Spain in 1800, which he intended to keep until he lost a slave revolt to Haitian revolutionaries. President Thomas Jefferson was worried that if the French had unrestricted control over the port in New Orleans, they could stop commerce and river transport at any time. After sending James Monroe and Robert Livingston to negotiate with French Prime Minister Talleyrand over the price of New Orleans, the Louisiana territory -- 828,000 square miles -- was sold for $15 million. Within one business deal, the land area of the U.S. doubled overnight at less than 3 cents an acre and set the precedent for purchasing territory throughout the 1800s.
Trade and shipping grew in port cities, especially New Orleans, which became the major port for exporting cotton and sugar and the third largest city in the Union. Like the rest of the south, Louisiana ran on a plantation economy, in which the wealth of the state came from labor and trade. Interestingly, Louisiana prior to the Civil War had one of largest free black populations in U.S., yet nearly half of state’s population was enslaved.
After seceding from the Union in 1861 and becoming part of Confederate States of America, the Reconstruction period changed the voting laws for African-Americans. However, just like neighboring southern states, the white, elite legislature passed a disfranchising constitution in 1898 that required provisions for voter registration like poll taxes, effectively keeping African-Americans and poor whites from voting. Throughout the early 20th Century, African-Americans migrated north to industrial cities like Chicago, St. Louis and New York searching for better job opportunities.
During the Great Depression, flamboyant Governor Huey Long ran the state. The populist leader, although criticized for his dictatorial leadership style, was popular with poor whites for increasing employment through public works projects. He was assassinated in 1935 in the state's capitol. In the 1960s, the Civil Rights Movement and subsequent acts desegregated much of the state, including its public schools, and gave proper voting rights back to the African-American community.
In 2005, Hurricane Katrina caused widespread devastation from large scale flooding that inundated over 80 percent of New Orleans and its nearby parishes. The category 5 hurricane blasted through the city and breached the levees, and while many residents were able to evacuate, tens of thousands could not and two million were displaced and homeless from the flooding. Over 1,500 people died in this tragedy.
Demographics Of Louisiana
Louisiana has an estimated population of 4,523,638, which was recorded in 2005 before Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. There are 64 parishes in the state. Louisiana has the second largest proportion of African-Americans behind Mississippi at 32 percent.
In the southern part of the state, Cajuns and Creoles of French ancestry are prominent. Nearly five percent of the population speaks French or Cajun French, according to the 2000 U.S. Census. Cajuns are descendents of Acadians, who come from colonial French Acadia, now known as Nova Scotia. Creoles are split between white and French, Spanish, African or Native American ancestry. Other ethnic groups include Germans, who settled in rural areas along the lower Mississippi valley before the Louisiana Purchase, as well as Irish, Italian, Chinese, Vietnamese, Haitian and Cuban immigrants.
Economy Of Louisiana
Louisiana’s total gross state product (GSP) was $168 billion in 2005, while the per capita personal income was $30,952.
The Mississippi River’s dominating presence has largely affected the economy of the state, acting as a gateway for imports and exports. The Port of South Louisiana between New Orleans and Baton Rouge is the largest volume shipping port in the Western Hemisphere and the largest bulk cargo port in the world.
Agriculture is still a large industry, producing cotton, sugarcane, soybeans, rice and 90 percent of the world’s crawfish. Since the 1940s, oil, gas and refining have led Louisiana’s economy, along with chemical products, coal and petroleum. In fact, the first oil-drilling site in the world is located in Louisiana.
Louisiana Law And Government
Louisiana is represented by four Republicans and three Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives. Republican Bobby Jindal, the first Indian-American to be elected governor, is the current Louisiana governor. Democrat Mary Landrieu and Republican David Vitter serve as the U.S. senators.
The leftover political and legal organization from colonial times makes Louisiana stand out as an example of French government in the U.S. For example, Louisiana is the only state to use the term “parish” instead of county. Louisiana’s legal system of deductive civil law, which is based on French and German codes, varies in some important areas from the country’s use of inductive English common law. The state also uses a state and local elections system that closely resembles that of modern France. Candidates run in a nonpartisan blanket primary, where candidates with the highest vote total compete in a runoff election a month later if no one has more than 50 percent of the vote.
Louisiana Transportation
Louisiana has a number of interstate highways. I-10 runs through the southern part of the state through New Orleans, Baton Rouge, Lafayette and Lake Charles, while I-20 travels through Shreveport. I-12 goes from Baton Rouge to Slidell outside of New Orleans, while the I-49 connects Lafayette to Shreveport.
The Intracoastal Waterway transports commercial goods like petroleum, building materials, manufactured goods and agricultural products.
For more information, visit the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development.
Major Cities And Towns Of Louisiana
New Orleans is a major port city famous for its cultural events and unique history. Mardi Gras is an annual celebration of parades, parties and food, while the Jazz & Heritage Festival honors jazz greats from the city that started the music movement. The city is renowned for its Cajun and Creole cuisine as well as the iron-wrought balconies and bars along Bourbon Street.
Baton Rouge is the state’s capital and sits upon the Istrouma Bluff, which helps protect the residents from floods and natural disasters. An industrial and chemical port center, Baton Rouge is a mixture of Cajun and Creole Catholic influences with Baptists and Methodists set against a college town background.
Shreveport is the third-largest city in the northern part of the state and was founded in 1836 by the Shreve Town Company. The city is growing a reputation as the “Hollywood South” for its studios and film production, which is third behind California and New York.
Louisiana Educational System
Loyola University New Orleans and Tulane University are two top private schools located in New Orleans, while Xavier University and Dillard University are among the list of historically black colleges in America. The Louisiana State University system has nine campuses, with LSU A&M College’s specialized institutes and division as the biggest in Baton Rouge.
As a side note, due to Louisiana’s colonial heritage, there are a large number of French-speaking residents. In order to preserve and continue teaching French, immersion programs have been created in school to teach children French starting in kindergarten or first grade, receiving instructions in French for about two-thirds of the day.
For more information, visit the Louisiana Department of Education.
Louisiana Sports Teams And Recreational Activities
Football is a proud Louisiana pastime, with the state cheering every year for the Tigers from LSU or the Jaguars from Southern University. New Orleans has two major franchises: the Saints for the National Football League and the Hornets for the National Basketball Association. There are also several minor league baseball teams in Shreveport, Alexandria and New Orleans, as well as some minor league hockey teams in Shreveport and Lake Charles.
Due to the vast number of rivers, streams and lakes, boating and fishing are popular recreational activities.
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