Louisiana State of America

Louisiana, 18th State

(Union, justice, and confidence)

• Name (in honor of Louis XIV of France): “Louisiana”; “to bring light”.
• Governor: John Bel Edwards (Democratic Party)
• Capital: Baton Rouge
• Population:  4,645,180 (2020), (25^th most populous)
• Location: Louisiana is located in the West South Central region of the mainland.
  1. North; Arkansas,
  2. east; Mississippi,
  3. South; Gulf of Mexico,
  4. West; Texas.
• Area: 134,273 km²/51,843 mi², 31^st by rank
• Postal abbreviation: LA
• Admitted to Union: April 30, 1812
• official language: none

 

1.       State’s Symbols

• State tree: Bald Cypress
• State Grass: none
• State Vegetable Plant: Creole Tomato
• State flower: Magnolia
• State Wildflower: Louisiana Iris
• State food:
  1. State Vegetable: Sweet Potato
  2. State Fruit: Strawberry
  3. State Drink: Milk
  4. State Doughnut: Beignet
  5. State Jellies: Mahaw & Louisiana Sugar Cane Jelly
  6. State Meal: Official Meal of North Louisiana
  7. State Meat Pie: Natchitoches Meat Pie
• State Insect: Honeybee
• State Freshwater Fish: White Perch
• State Marine Fish: Spotted Sea Trout
• State Crustacean: Crawfish
• State Mammal: Louisiana Black Bear
• State Amphibian: Green Tree Frog
• State Dinosaur: none
• State Reptile: Alligator
• State Bird: Brown Pelican
• State Horse: none
• State Dog: Catahoula Leopard Dog
• State Butterfly: none
• State Fossil: Petrified Palmwood
• State Rock: none
• State Gemstone: Cabochon Cut Oyster Shell
• State mineral: Agate
• State Sports: none
• State Songs and poems:
  1. State Songs: You Are My Sunshine, Give Me Louisiana
  2. State Senate Poem: Leadership
  3. State March Song: Louisiana My Home Sweet Home
  4. State Judicial Poem: America, We The People
  5. State Environmental Song: The Gifts of Earth
  6. State Cultural Poem: I am Louisiana
• State Cultural Heritage: Hoop Nets – Castanets – Shrimp Trawls
• State Tartan:

• State Poet Laureate: John Warner Smith
• State Musical Instrument: Cajun Accordion
  • State Folk Dance: Square Dance
• State Cuisine: Gumbo
• State Firearm: none
• State Tall Ship: none
• State Boat: Pirogue
• State Theater: none
• State Painting: Louisiana

• State Symbol: Fleur-de-lis

• State Seal: Seal of Louisiana

• State Natural History Museum: LSU Museum of Natural

 

2.        Geography Facts

• Land: 112,836 km² (43,566 mi²), 33rd
• Water: 21,437 km² (8,277 mi²), 5th
• Coastline: 639 km, (397 mi), 5th
• Shoreline: 12,426 km, (7,721 mi), 3rd
• State Forests: 1
• National Forest: 1
• State Parks: 35
• National Parks: 5
• Water: 17.5%
• Largest city (by area): New Orleans (906.1 km²)
• Largest city (by population): New Orleans (390,128 people)
• Lowest point: Louisiana; 8 feet below sea level; 2nd lowest
• Highest point: Driskill Mountain; 535 feet, (163 m), 48th tallest

 

3.       Facts about Louisiana

• Louisiana is home to US largest alligator population There are about two million alligators in the wild and another 300,000 on alligator farms
• Breaux Bridge, a city in the St. Martin Parish, is known as the “Crawfish Capital of the World,”
• World’s Capitals:
  1. Dubach is called the “Dog Trot Capital of the World” for its many breezeway style houses, Rayne is the “Frog Capital of the World,”
  2. Mamou is the “Cajun Music Capital of the World,”
  3. Gueydan is the “Duck Capital of America,”
  4. Crowley is the “Rice Capital of the World”.
• Louisiana’s capitol building is the tallest in the United States. It has 34 floors and is 450 feet tall.
• Louis Armstrong is from Louisiana, one of the world’s most famous jazz musicians, that’s why New Orleans is sometimes called the “birthplace of jazz,”.
• The first opera in the United States was also performed in New Orleans in 1796.
• Louisiana’s two counties were replaced in 1807 with 19 parishes, the borders of which generally corresponded to areas that had previously been administered by local churches. Today there are a total of 64 parishes in Louisiana.
• Lake Pontchartrain Causeway is the world’s longest bridge. It stretches nearly 24 miles, has two parallel spans, the first of which opened in 1956 and the other in 1969.
• Nickname/s: Pelican State, Bayou State, Creole State
• Key Cities: New Orleans, Baton Rouge, Lafayette, Shreveport, Metairie
• Major industries: Oil, natural gas, commercial fishing, chemicals, agriculture.
• Famous for: Jazz, French Quarter, Mardi Gras
• Area codes: 225, 318, 337, 504, 985

4.       Natural Resources

• Agriculture:

  1. Sugar cane
  2. Rice
  3. Soybeans
  4. Cotton
  5. Corn

• Vegetable crops:

  1. Sweet potatoes
  2. Tomatoes
  3. Fruit crops:
  4. Peaches
  5. strawberries
  6. melons

• Livestock:

  1. Poultry
  2. Crawfish
  3. Shrimp
  4. Alligators
  5. Menhadden
  6. Oyster

• Livestock products:

  1. Eggs
  2. Broilers
  3. Sulfur

• Gemstones and Minerals:

  1. Salt
  2. Opal
  3. Diamond
  4. Lignite
  5. Gravel
  6. Limestone
  7. Sand

• Fossil fuel:

  1. Oil
  2. Natural gas

5.       Hills

 Hills: 3

• Driskill Mountain (State High Point)
• Tunica Hills
• Wild Azalea Trail

 

6.        Divisions

• 64 Counties (called parishes)
• 65 Cities
• 130 Towns
• 105 Villages