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Louisiana

Capital	Baton Rouge
Population	4,468,976 Source: U.S. Census Bureau GCT-PH1-R. Population, Housing Units, Area, and Density (geographies ranked by total population): 2000 Data Set: Census 2000 Summary File 1 (SF 1) 100-Percent Data
Governor	Bobby Jindal (R, to January 2011)
Entered the Union	April 30, 1812 as the 18th state
Motto	Union, Justice, and Confidence
Nickname	Pelican State, Sportsman's Paradise, Creole State, and Sugar state
Flower	Magnolia
Bird	Pelican
Song	Give Me Louisiana and You Are My Sunshine
Professional Sports Teams (sports listing policy)	New Orleans Saints (Football), New Orleans Hornets (Men's Basketball)
Origin of Name	Named in honor of Louis XIV of France
Major Industries	Manufacturing, minerals, petroleum products, Fishing, Tourism
Historical Sites	French Quarter (New Orleans), Plantation Homes, Cajun country (Mississippi delta region), Chalmette National Historical Park
Points of Interest	Jean Lafitte National Historical Park & Preserve, Kisatchie National Forest, Confederate Museum(New Orleans), Superdome (New Orleans)
Bordering States	Lousiana borders Arkansas, Mississippi, and Texas.
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Follow these links to read articles about Louisiana from Encyclopedias and Almanacs:

• Encarta Concise Encyclopedia
• Columbia Encyclopedia
• Information Please Almanac

• Louisiana.gov: The Official Web site of the State of Louisiana
  http://www.louisiana.gov/wps/portal/
  This is the official website for the State of Louisiana.
• State Library of Louisiana
  http://www.state.lib.la.us/
  Here is the homepage for the Louisiana State Library.
• Louisiana Historical Society
  http://www.louisianahistoricalsociety.org/
  Here is the homepage for the Louisiana State Historical Society.
• Louisiana State Museum
  http://lsm.crt.state.la.us/
  Here is the homepage for the Louisiana State Museum.
• The Louisiana State Archives
  http://www.sec.state.la.us/archives/archives/archives-index.htm
  Here is the homepage for the Louisiana State Archives.
• Louisiana State Parks
  http://www.crt.state.la.us/crt/parks/
  Here is the homepage for Louisiana State Parks.
• Louisiana Office of Tourism
  http://www.crt.state.la.us/crt/tourism/tourism.htm
  Here is the official state tourism website for Louisiana.
• Louisiana Govenor's Page Just For Kids
  http://gov.louisiana.gov/kids.asp
  Here is a special page for kids from the Louisiana Governor's Office.

• 50states.com: Louisiana
  http://www.50states.com/louisian.htm
  The site provides a wealth of information about Louisiana. It includes everything from the highest point to county profile to climate.
• Things To Do in Louisiana
  http://www.thingstodo.com/states/LA/index.htm
  ThingsToDo.com is an online guide to information about Louisiana's entertainment, recreation, and travel, and includes the state's interesting facts, famous people, and special events.
• Roadside America: Louisiana Attractions
  http://www.roadsideamerica.com/map/la.html
  Roadside America describes itself as an online guide to offbeat attractions. This site offers reviews of "weird sites along the highway" in Louisiana.
• Encyclopedia of Cajun Culture
  http://www.cajunculture.com/
  Here is a guide to everything you ever wanted to know about Cajun culture.
• Real Cajun Recipes
  http://www.realcajunrecipes.com/
  Try your hand at Cajun cooking with this constantly growing collection of Cajun recipes, gathered from hundreds of Cajun cooks. Be sure to check out the Heritage link at the top to learn all about Acadiana, the Cajun Heartland.
• FedStats: MapStat: United States: Louisiana
  http://www.fedstats.gov/qf/states/22000.html
  Fast access to statistics from more than 100 federal agencies on "economic and population trends, crime, education, health care, aviation safety, energy use, farm production and more" in Louisiana.

• Mardi Gras is a celebration that is known world wide. It is an ancient custom that originated in southern Europe. It celebrates food and fun just before the 40 days of Lent: a Catholic time of prayer and sacrifice. This custom was brought to Louisiana by the French.
• Louisiana marshes supply most of the nation's muskrat fur as well as that of opossum, raccoon, mink, and otter, and large numbers of game birds.
• The state tree is the Bald cypress, state insect is the Honeybee, state dog is the Catahoula Leopard Dog, state gemstone is Agate, state fossil is Petrified palmwood, and the state colors are gold, white, and blue.
• Planters initially produced indigo and tobacco, but these crops were replaced by cotton in north Louisiana and sugar cane in the more tropical southern Louisiana. Today, Louisiana is among the top ten states in the production of sugar cane (2nd), sweet potatoes (2nd), rice (3rd), cotton (5th) and pecans (5th).
• Louisiana has the greatest concentration of crude oil refineries, natural gas processing plants and petrochemical production facilities in the Western Hemisphere.
• Louisiana is the nation's largest handler of grain for export to world markets. More than 40 percent of the U.S. grain exports move through Louisiana ports.
• Because of its many bays and sounds, Louisiana has the longest coastline (15,000 miles) of any state and 41 percent of the nation's wetlands.

• Louis Armstrong (1900 - 1971), jazz musician and entertainer.
• Sieur de Jean Baptiste le Moyne Bienville (1680 - 1768), explorer, governor of Louisiana colony, founder of New Orleans, and referred to as the "Father of Louisiana."
• Fats Domino, musician.
• Bryant Gumbel, TV newscaster.
• John James Audubon (1785 - 1851), naturalist and artist, some of whose paintings for Birds of America were done in Louisiana.
• Truman Capote (1924 - 1984), writer, noted for evocative prose style.