Louisiana Atlas

Online Atlas > Louisiana > Museums • Photographs

Louisiana facts and history plus travel and tourism information.

Capital: Baton Rouge
Abbreviations: LA (postal), La.
Area: 49,651 square miles
State Bird: Eastern Brown Pelican
State Tree: Bald Cypress
State Flower: Magnolia
State Motto: Union, Justice, and Confidence
Nicknames: The Pelican State, Sportsman's Paradise, The Creole State, The Sugar State

Louisiana encompasses low prairie lands as well as swamplands in and around the Mississippi River delta. Parts of Louisiana, especially near the Gulf of Mexico, are susceptible to flooding during hurricanes because of their low elevation. Levees protect some areas where buildings are constructed below sea level, but some of these low-lying areas flooded when Hurricane Katrina breached levees in 2005.

Louisiana's society is composed of French, Spanish, African, and Acadian people, culture, and heritage. Discovered by the Spanish in 1530, French settlers came to Louisiana in 1682. Spain and France battled over the territory until the Louisiana Purchase in 1803. The state entered the Union on April 30, 1812, and is named after King Louis XIV of France. Law in Louisiana is based on the old French Napoleonic Code, and Creoles are people with both Spanish and French heritage. Africans came during the slavery era, and Acadians / Cajuns were originally refugees from L'Acadie (present-day Nova Scotia).

Louisiana benefits from its Mississippi Delta location, where New Orleans attracts tourists every year, especially for its music, spicy Cajun food, and many festivals.

Louisiana Map

Louisiana Information

Louisiana Government - official Louisiana state website.
Louisiana Office of Tourism - Louisiana travel and tourism.
National Parks in Louisiana
Louisiana QuickFacts - from the US Census Bureau.
50States.com - Louisiana

Louisiana Resources