Louisiana

I

Introduction

Louisiana, one of the southern states of the United States, bordered on the north by Arkansas; on the east by Mississippi; on the south by the Gulf of Mexico; and on the west by Texas. The Mississippi River forms a portion of the eastern border, and the Sabine River forms much of the western border.

Louisiana entered the Union on April 30, 1812, as the 18th state. In 1861 it became a founding member of the Confederate States of America. The state economy was long dominated by agriculture. By the 1990s, however, exploitation of the state’s vast oil and natural gas deposits had made Louisiana the second most important mineral-producing state in the United States. Tourism was a rapidly growing sector of the economy, and manufacturing was also important. The state’s name derives from the former French territory lying west of the Mississippi River, which was named Louisiane by the French explorer René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle, in honour of King Louis XIV. Louisiana is known as the “Pelican State”.

II

Land and Resources

Louisiana has an area of 128,593 sq km (49,650 sq mi) and is roughly L-shaped; its extreme dimensions are about 440 km (275 mi) from north to south and about 480 km (300 mi) from east to west. Elevations range from 2.4 m (8 ft) below sea level at New Orleans to a maximum of only 163 m (535 ft) at the summit of Mount Driskill in the northern part of the state. Louisana’s coastline along the Gulf of Mexico is 639 km (397 mi) long.

A

Physical Geography

Louisiana is made up of three lowland regions: the West Gulf Coastal Plain, the Mississippi Alluvial Plain, and the East Gulf Coastal Plain. The West Gulf Coastal Plain occupies almost the entire western half of the state. The plains slope gently downward from north to south; the coast is characterized by ridges of sand known as barrier beaches. Inland from the beaches lies a zone of marshes containing numerous salt domes (large underground masses of salt). The remainder of the region is a gently rolling prairie land, underlain by clay-loam soils.

The Mississippi Alluvial Plain in part straddles the Mississippi River. The Mississippi Delta, an enormous geographical feature covering some 38,850 sq km (15,000 sq mi), has been formed and is continually expanded by the accumulation of silt from the river. The Alluvial Plain is underlain by thick deposits of fertile alluvial soil.

The East Gulf Coastal Plain covers a small area north of Lake Pontchartrain. Marshes characterize its southern extremity, gradually giving way in the north to rolling prairies.

Louisiana has a markedly riverine environment. The Mississippi River and its major tributaries, which include the Red, Ouachita, and Atchafalaya rivers, have deposited so much material that their beds are now higher than much of the surrounding land. The Black, Pearl, and Sabine rivers are also important to the state’s drainage system.

The brackish Lake Pontchartrain is the state’s largest inland water body. Oxbow lakes (freshwater lakes occupying naturally cut-off river meanders) are found along the Mississippi River and its tributaries.

B

Climate

Louisiana has a humid subtropical climate, with hot summers and mild winters. Average annual temperatures range from about 20.6° C (69° F) in the south to about 18.3° C (65° F) in the west and north. The high summer temperatures, generally throughout the state, are usually accompanied by high humidity and frequent rainfall. The recorded temperature in the state has ranged from -26.7° C (-16° F) in 1899 to 45.6° C (114° F) in 1936. Hurricanes may strike the coast in late summer and early autumn.