The Louisiana Swamp

Name Origin

            What does the name “Louisiana” mean? In the mid 1600's, explorer René-Robert Cavelier named Louisiana (La Louisianne) to honor King Louis XIV of France. When René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle claimed the territory drained by the Mississippi River for France, he named it La Louisiane. This means "Land of Louis". President Thomas Jefferson purchased the Louisiana territory from Napoleon in 1803. Today, the original Louisiana territory is  divided between 13 states.

State Flower

            Louisiana’s state flower is a magnolia. The magnolia blossom was designated the state flower of Louisiana in 1900. The southern magnolia is a medium size hardwood tree that grows in the southest USA. The large, fragrant white flowers and evergreen leaves make the magnolia tree popular around the world as an ornamental. Magnolia is a large genus of 210 flowering plant species in the subfamily Magnolioideae of the family Magnoliaceae. It is named after French botanist Pierre Magnol. Magnolia is an ancient genus.

Introduction to Louisiana

            Louisiana, also known as the Pelican state, is one of 50 states that make up the United States of America. Louisiana is the 31st most extensive and the 25th most populous of the 50 United States. It is located in the southeastern part of the United States. The U.S. state of Louisiana is divided into 64 parishes in the same way that 48 of the other states of the United States are divided into counties. Louisiana is also made up of 7 cities: New Orleans, Baton Rouge, Shreveport, Lafayette, Lake Charles, Monroe, and Alexandria. Whereas, its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans.