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Note: Alaska and Hawaii are shown out of
position for reference only and are not to scale.
Blank
Louisiana State Outline Map
Topography
The state is bordered to the
west by the state of Texas; to the north by
Arkansas; to the east by the state of
Mississippi; and to the south by the
Gulf of Mexico.
The surface of the state may
properly be divided into two parts, the uplands, and the
alluvial, coast and swamp regions. The alluvial
regions, including the low swamps and coast lands, cover an area of about 20,000
square miles (52,000 km²); they lie principally along
the Mississippi River, which traverses the
state from north to south for a distance of about 600 miles
(1,000 km) and ultimately emptying into the Gulf of
Mexico, the Red River, the
Ouachita River and its branches, and other minor
streams. The breadth of the alluvial region along the Mississippi is from 10 to
60 miles (15 to 100 km), and along the other streams it averages about 10 miles
(15 km). The Mississippi flows upon a ridge formed by its own deposits, from
which the lands incline toward the low swamps beyond at an average fall of six
feet per mile (3 m/km). The alluvial lands along other streams present very
similar features. These alluvial lands are never inundated, save when breaks
occur in the levees by which they are protected against the floods of the
Mississippi and its tributaries. These floods, however, do not occur annually,
and they may be said to be exceptional. With the maintenance of strong levees,
these alluvial lands would enjoy perpetual immunity from inundation.
The higherlands and contiguous
hill lands of the north and northwestern part of the state have an area of more
than 25,000 square miles (65,000 km²), and they consist of prairie and
woodlands. The elevations above sea-level range from 10
feet (3 m) at the coast and swamp lands to
50 and 60 feet (15–18 m) at the prairie and alluvial lands. In the uplands and
hills the elevations rise to Driskill Mountain
the highest point in the state at only 535 feet (163 m) above sea level. Only
two other states in the union, Florida and
Delaware, are geographically lower than Louisiana,
though several other states, such as Kansas and
Nebraska, are geographically flatter.
Besides the navigable rivers
already named (some of which are called bayous), there are the
Sabine (SAY-bean), forming the
western boundary, and the Pearl,
the eastern boundary, the Calcasieu (KAL-cah-shoe),
the Mermentau, the
Vermilion, the
Teche, the Atchafalaya, the
Boeuf (buff), the
Lafourche (Luff-OOSH), the
Courtableau, the D'Arbonne, the
Macon, the Tensas
(TEN-saw), the Amite, the
Tchefuncte, the Tickfaw, the
Natalbany, and a number of other
streams of lesser note, constituting a natural system of navigable waterways,
aggregating over 4,000 miles in length, which is unequalled in the United
States. The state also has 1,060 square miles (2,745 km²) of land-locked bays,
1,700 square miles (4,400 km²) of inland lakes, and a river surface of over 500
square miles (1,300 km²).
Climate
Louisiana has a
humid subtropical climate (Koppen
climate classification Cfa), perhaps the most "classic" example of a
humid subtropical climate of all the Southeastern states, with long, hot, humid
summers and short, mild winters. The subtropical characteristics of the state
are due in large part to the influence of the Gulf of
Mexico, which even at its farthest point is no more than 200 miles (320 km)
away. Precipitation is frequent throughout the year, although the summer is
slightly wetter than the rest of the year, and there is a dip in precipitation
in October, with Southern Louisiana receiving far more, copious rainfall,
especially during the winter months. Summers in Louisiana are hot and humid with
high temperatures from mid-June to mid-September averaging 90°F (32°C) or more
and overnight lows averaging above 70°F (22°C). In the summer, the extreme
maximum temperature is much warmer in the north than in the south, with
temperatures near the Gulf of Mexico occasionally
reaching 100°F (38°C), although temperatures above 95°F (35 °C) are commonplace.
In northern Louisiana, temperatures frequently reach above 105°F (41°C) in the
summer. Temperatures are generally mildly warm in the winter in the southern
part of the state, with highs around New Orleans, Baton Rouge, the rest of south
Louisiana, and the Gulf of Mexico averaging 66°F (19°C), while the northern part
of the state is mildly cool in the winter with highs averaging 59°F (15°C). The
overnight lows in the winter average well above freezing throughout the state,
with 46°F (8°C) the average near the Gulf and an average low of 37°F (3°C) in
the winter in the northern part of the state. Louisiana does have its share of
cold fronts which frequently drop the temperatures below 20°F (-8°C) in the
northern part of the state, but almost never do so in the southern part of the
state. Snow is not very common near the Gulf of Mexico, although those in the
northern parts of the state can expect one to three snowfalls per year, with the
frequency increasing northwards.
Louisiana is often affected by
tropical cyclones and is very vulnerable to
strikes by major hurricanes, particularly the lowlands around and in the
New Orleans area. The unique geography of the region
with the many bayous, marshes and inlets can make major hurricanes especially
destructive. The area is also prone to frequent thunderstorms, especially in the
summer. The entire state averages over 60 days of thunderstorms a year averaging
more thunderstorms than any other state except Florida.
Louisiana averages 27 tornadoes annually, and the
entire state is vulnerable to a tornado strike, with the extreme southern
portion of the state slightly less than the rest of the state. Tornadoes are
much more common from January to March in the southern part of the state, and
from February through March in the northern part of the state.
Hurricanes
-
September 24, 2005, Rita
(Category 3 at landfall) struck southwestern Louisiana, flooding many
parishes and cities along the coast, including,
Cameron Parish, Lake Charles,
Terrebonne Parish,
Houma, and other towns. The storm's winds
further weakened the still damaged levees in New Orleans, re-flooding parts
of the city.
-
August
29, 2005, Katrina (Category
4 at landfall) struck and devastated southeastern Louisiana, while damaged
levees in New Orleans allowed parts of the city to flood. The city was
virtually closed until October. It is estimated that more than two million
people in the Gulf region
were displaced by the hurricane, with more than 1,500 fatalities in
Louisiana alone. Public outcry criticized the government at the local,
state, and federal levels, citing that the response was neither fast nor
adequate. The hurricane and the challenge to protect wetlands are featured
in the documentary film Hurricane on the
Bayou.
-
August 1992,
Andrew (Category 3 at landfall) struck
south-central Louisiana, killing 4 people, knocking out power to nearly
150,000 citizens and destroying hundreds of millions of dollars of crops in
the state.
-
September 9, 1965, Betsy
(Category 3 at landfall) came ashore in Louisiana causing massive
destruction, being the first hurricane in history to cause one billion
dollars in damage (over ten billion in inflation-adjusted USD). The storm
hit New Orleans particularly hard by flooding approximately 35% of the city
(including the Lower 9th Ward,
Gentilly, and parts of Mid-City),
pushing the death toll in the state to 76.
-
August 1969,
Camille (Category 5) had a 23.4 ft. storm
surge and killed 250 people. Although Camille officially made landfall in
Mississippi and the worst impacts were felt there,
it effects were still felt in Louisiana. However, New
Orleans was spared from the brunt of the storm and remained dry with the
exception of some mild rain-generated flooding in only the extremely
low-lying areas.
-
June 1957,
Audrey (Category 4) devastated southwest
Louisiana, destroying or severely damaging 60–80 percent of the homes and
businesses from Cameron to
Grand Chenier. 40,000 people were
left homeless and over 300 people were killed in the state.
Geology
The underlying
strata of the state are of
Cretaceous age and are covered by alluvial
deposits of Tertiary and post-Tertiary origin. A
large part of Louisiana is the creation and
product of the Mississippi River. It was
originally covered by an arm of the sea, and has been built up by the
silt carried down the valley by the great river.
Near the coast, there are many
salt domes, where salt is mined and
oil is often found.
Owing to the extensive flood
control measures along the Mississippi river and to natural subsidence,
Louisiana is now suffering the loss of coastal land area. State and federal
government efforts to halt or reverse this phenomenon are under way; others are
being sought. There is one bright spot, however, the
Atchafalaya River is creating new delta land in
the South-Central portion of the state.
Protected areas
Louisiana contains a number of
areas which are, in varying degrees, protected from human intervention. In
addition to several stations of the National
Park Service, and a federally recognized
national forest, Louisiana itself
operates, among other programs, a system of state parks
and recreation areas throughout the state. Administered by the Louisiana
Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, the
Louisiana
Natural and Scenic Rivers System provides a degree of protection for 48
rivers, streams and bayous in the state.
National Park Service
Areas under the management and protection of the National Park Service include:
National Forest
State parks and recreational
areas
Louisiana operates a system of 19 state parks, 16 state historic sites and one
state preservation area.
Interactive Louisiana State Map
Explore the state of Louisiana with the dynamic map below. You can
zoom, pan and even get a satellite map view.
Move your cursor over the markers on the map to
learn more about Louisiana.
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