Louisiana: The Pelican State

Louisiana: The Pelican State book cover — ENCYCLOPÆDIA Britannica DISCOVER AMERICA Louisiana The Pelican State CHICAGO LONDON NEW DELHI PARIS SEOUL SYDNEY TAIPEI TOKYO

Louisiana: The Pelican State — page 1 — INTRODUCTION Let the good times roll is a phrase you may hear shouted along the streets of New Orleans Louisiana’s most colorful city during Mardi Gras Of course you may also hear laissez les bon temps rouller which means the same thing but in French Louisiana is one of the most unique states in the United States Its history links it to the French whose influence is still highly visible Its land is shaped by the mightiest river in North America the Mississippi Its people are a mix of cultures that come together every year for Mardi Gras the biggest party in the country 4 LOUISIANA Colorful floats line the streets during New Orleans Mardi Gras celebration QUICK FACTS The state capital of Louisiana is Baton Rouge which is located on the Mississippi River Louisiana is nicknamed the Pelican State because of the pelicans that live along the Gulf coast The state bird is the Eastern brown pelican The magnolia is Louisiana’s state flower At one time citizens of Louisiana tried to designate the iris as the state flower and name the magnolia as the state tree but they were unsuccessful Neighboring Mississippi also has the magnolia as its state flower Louisiana’s state tree is the bald cypress It grows in swampy areas The name Mardi Gras is French for Fat Tuesday On the Christian calendar this is the day before the 40-day period of fasting called Lent which lasts until Easter

Louisiana: The Pelican State — page 2 — The Mississippi River which flows through Louisiana is one of the busiest waterways in the world QUICK FACTS Louisiana has two state songs Give Me Louisiana and You Are My Sunshine Louisiana became the 18th state to enter the Union on April 30 1812 The state insect is the honeybee INTRODUCTION 5 Louisiana lies in the part of the United States known as the Deep South It shares its borders with Arkansas Mississippi and Texas To the south lies the Gulf of Mexico As the place where the Mississippi River empties into the gulf Louisiana’s southern coast is one of the busiest commercial areas in the country Getting to Louisiana from the north is as easy as following the Mississippi River south or driving south along Highway 61 which starts at the Canadian border Running east-west Interstate 20 cuts across the northern half of Louisiana and Interstate 10 a national coast-to-coast expressway cuts through the southern half of the state Highway 61 and Interstate 10 take travelers into the southern port city of New Orleans phur R Louisiana Location Map ARKANSAS R e d R i v e r Bossier City Shreveport ew 20 bin e R hita R c a u O 20 Monroe Boeuf R M i s s i s s i p p i R POVERTY POINT NATʼL MON Jackson 20 Big Black R 55 P e a l R 49 R ed River Toledo Bend Res S A X E T Res r e v i R s e h c e N Sobine River mont 10 Port Arthur Lake Charles Calcasieu L Gulf of Mexico Alexandria MISSISSIPPI Baton Rouge A t Lafayette c h Mississippi River f a a 59 Pearl River 55 12 L Maurepas 12 55 L Kenner t n Po 10 r t r i a a n h c Metairie New Orleans l a y a B a s i n Capital Baton Rouge Population 4,468,976 Interstate highways Mi 0 35 70 0 56 113 Km Scale Size 47,719 square miles Highest peak Driskill Mountain 535 feet

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