Portal:Louisiana

The Louisiana Portal

The State of Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. The capital of Louisiana is Baton Rouge, and the largest city is New Orleans based on March 2007 data which suggest New Orleans population increased by 32,000 people since the Census Bureau's count in July 2006 to bring the population to 255,000. The population within the city limits of Baton Rouge itself was 224,000 pre-Katrina and according to the Census Bureau the population increased by only 8,000 in the year following Katrina to bring it to about 232,000. Other data suggest that even with its many post-Katrina problems, the repopulation of New Orleans is occurring in great numbers.

The largest parish by population is Jefferson Parish and largest by area is Terrebonne Parish (Louisiana is the only state that is divided into parishes; most other states are divided only into counties instead). The New Orleans metropolitan area is Louisiana's largest.

Louisiana has a unique multicultural and multilingual heritage. Originally part of New France, Louisiana is home to many speakers of Cajun French and Louisiana Creole French. African American and Franco-African, and French / French Canadian form the two largest groups of ancestry in Louisiana's population. (read more . . . )

Selected article

The Audubon Aquarium of the Americas is a renowned aquarium in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA.

Recognized as one of the leading aquariums in the United States, the Aquarium of the Americas is run by the Audubon Institute, which also supervises the Audubon Zoo and Audubon Park (in a different part of the city). The Aquarium is located along the banks of the Mississippi River by the edge of the historic French Quarter off Canal Street and opened in 1990.

With 10,000 animals representing 530 species, exhibits include the Mississippi River gallery, featuring catfish, paddlefish, and alligators; a Caribbean reef exhibit featuring a clear, 30-foot-long tunnel surrounded by aquatic creatures; and a Gulf of Mexico exhibit featuring sharks, sea turtles, and stingrays.

The first part of the Aquarium takes you on a journey through the Caribbean. You enter through the 30 foot tunnel surrounded by 17 ft of water which is approximately 132,000 gallons of water.

You then head upstairs to the Amazon Exhibit. This is located in a glass structure that gives the Aquarium an original and noticeable flair. The humidity, mist, and noise all adds the authenticity of this exhibit. Some of the highlights of this area are the Parrots, Anaconda, and Piranhas. (read more . . . )

Selected picture

Selected biography

Louis Armstrong (4 August 1901 – July 6, 1971), nicknamed Satchmo and Pops, was an American jazz musician. Armstrong was a charismatic, innovative performer whose inspired improvised soloing was the main influence for a fundamental change in jazz, shifting its focus from collective melodic playing, often arranged in one way or another, to the solo player and improvised soloing. One of the most famous jazz musicians of the 20th century, he first achieved fame as a cornet player, later on switching to trumpet, but toward the end of his career he was best known as a vocalist and became one of the most influential jazz singers.

In his early years, Armstrong was best known for his virtuosity with the cornet and trumpet. The greatest trumpet playing of his early years can be heard on his Hot Five and Hot Seven records. The improvisations which he made on these records of New Orleans jazz standards and popular songs of the day, to the present time stack up brilliantly alongside those of any other later jazz performer. The older generation of New Orleans jazz musicians often referred to their improvisations as "variating the melody"; Armstrong's improvisations were daring and sophisticated for the time while often subtle and melodic. He often essentially re-composed pop-tunes he played, making them more interesting. Armstrong's playing is filled with joyous, inspired original melodies, creative leaps, and subtle relaxed or driving rhythms. The genius of these creative passages is matched by Armstrong's playing technique, honed by constant practice, which extended the range, tone and capabilities of the trumpet. In these records, Armstrong almost single-handedly created the role of the jazz soloist, taking what was essentially a collective folk music and turning it into an art form with tremendous possibilities for individual expression. (read more . . . )

Did you know...

• ...that the mayor of tiny Logansport, Louisiana, worked for 16 years to keep a new bridge over the Sabine River a high priority?
• ...More than one-half of the species of birds in North America are resident in Louisiana or spend a portion of their migration there?
• ...Louisiana has the greatest concentration of crude oil refineries, natural gas processing plants and petrochemical production facilities in the Western Hemisphere?
• ...Louisiana is the only state with a large population of Cajuns, descendants of the Acadians who were driven out of Canada in the 1700s because they wouldn't pledge allegiance to the King of England?
• ...The town of Jean Lafitte was once a hideaway for pirates?
• ...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?
• ...Louisiana is the nation's largest handler of grain for export to world markets and that more than 40 percent of the U.S. grain exports move through Louisiana ports?
• ...The site of the oldest known Louisiana civilization is Poverty Point in West Carroll Parish, where an Indian village existed 2, 700 years ago?
• ...Louisiana has 2,482 islands, covering nearly 1.3 million acres?
• ...The Lake Pontchartrain Causeway, with a length of 23.87 miles, is the world's longest bridge built entirely over water?
• ...Baton Rouge was the site of the only battle fought outside of the original 13 colonies during the American Revolution?
• ...Louisiana produces more furs (1.3 million pelts a year) than any other state?

State symbols

Louisiana news

• Siegelman being held at federal prison in Oakdale, La.
• Fla. to borrow billions to bolster hurricane fund for this year
• Vitter Returns to Senate; Refuses Questions About Sex Scandal
• Blanco seeking business opportunity in London
• Casino players lose $2.55 billion in 12 months
• Cajundome to appeal demand to repay $1 million
• 4 Natchitoches officers back on job after June chase fatal
• Rosemary Ramirez Barbour's firm not buying Ebbers' country club
• Sen. Vitter denies prostitution accusations, plans return to work
• Foes say VX in waste exceeds shipping standards
• Report: Dead zone in Gulf grows

Archive - More current events...
Current events on Wikinews

Categories

Web resources

• Louisiana State Government
• History and Culture of Louisiana
• Census Statistics on Louisiana
• U.S. Census Bureau
• USDA Louisiana Statistical Facts
• USGS real-time, geographic, and other scientific resources of Louisiana
• Louisiana Geographic Information Center
• Photos of Louisiana - Dept. of Culture, Recreation, and Tourism

Spotlight city

Alexandria is a city in Louisiana and the parish seat of Rapides Parish. It lies on the south bank of the Red River in almost the exact geographic center of the state. It is the principal city of the Alexandria metropolitan area (population 147,000) which encompasses all of Rapides and Grant Parishes. The 2007 population estimate for the city of Alexandria was 49,600.

The area of Alexandria, located along the Red River, was originally home to a community supporting activities of the adjacent Spanish outpost of Post du Rapides. The area developed as a vibrant, yet sometimes debaucherous, assemblage of traders and merchants in the agricultural lands bordering the mostly unsettled areas to the north, and providing a link to from the south to the El Camino Real and then larger settlement of Natchitoches. Alexander Fulton, a Pennsylvania businessman, received a land grant from Spain in 1785, and the first organized settlement was made at that time. In 1805, Fulton and business partner Thomas Harris Maddox laid out the town plan and named the town after Fulton's infant daughter who died around that time. It was first incorporated as a town in 1818 and received a city charter in 1882. (read more . . .)

Louisiana Topics

Things you can do

Related portals

Associated Wikimedia