Map of Louisiana (LA)

The Maestri Bridge or Lake Pontchartrain Causeway in Louisiana

The Maestri Bridge, also known as Lake Pontchartrain Causeway, carries US Route 11 over Lake Pontchartrain in southeastern Louisiana.
Image: Navin75

Louisiana State Flag

About Louisiana

Where in the United States is Louisiana? Location map of Louisiana in the US.

Louisiana is one of the 50 states in the US, located in the West South Central region of the mainland, between Texas and Mississippi, and south of Arkansas. The state features 4,800 km (3,000 mi) of twisty, meandering shorelines along the Gulf of Mexico in the south.

The Sabine River forms two-thirds of the border with Texas, the Mississippi and the Pearl River define sections of the border with the state of Mississippi.

Louisiana originally designated the vast region of the Mississippi basin, which the French explorer La Salle claimed for France in 1682. The French sold the land to the USA as part of the Louisiana Purchase of 1803. The smaller area now known as Louisiana became the 18th state of the USA in 1812.

Louisiana State Map

General Map of Louisiana, United States.

The detailed map shows the US state of Louisiana with boundaries, the location of the state capital Baton Rouge, major cities and populated places, rivers and lakes, interstate highways, principal highways, and railroads.

You are free to use this map for educational purposes (fair use); please refer to the Nations Online Project.

Short History

Topographic Regions Map of Louisiana. (Click the map to enlarge)

Groups of indigenous peoples have inhabited the territory of what is now Louisiana for at least 5,500 years. Archeologists have identified more than 100 sites as belonging to this mound-builder culture, which also formed an extensive trading network throughout the eastern part of what is now the United States.

The Watson Brake archaeological site in present-day Ouachita Parish is considered the oldest earthwork mound complex in North America, dating back about 5400 years ago.

First European explorers came to visit Louisiana in 1528 when Spanish conquistadors led by Panfilo de Narváez located the mouth of the Mississippi River. In the late 17th century, French and French Canadian expeditions established footholds on the Mississippi River and the Gulf Coast.

The US acquired almost the entire area of Louisiana with the Louisiana Purchase in 1803. Louisiana was admitted to the union on 30 April 1812 as the 18th state.

More about Louisiana State

Some Geography

Area

Agricultural country near Poverty Point in Louisiana.
Image: Google Map

With a total area of 135,658 km² (52,378sq mi) ^[1], the Pelican State (Louisiana's official nickname) is about half the size of Colorado or somewhat larger than Greece.

There are no counties in Louisiana, the U.S. state of Louisiana is divided into 64 parishes.

Louisiana's landscape is mostly flat; the highest point is Driskill Mountain, the hill with an elevation of 163 m (535 ft) is the highest natural summit in the state, located 80 km (50 mi) east of Shreveport.

The state's geography offers a coastal marsh, known as the wetlands of Louisiana, a water-saturated coastal swamp region of bayous (more or less standing water) and cheniers (ridges) in the southern part of the state.
But the wetlands of Louisiana in the Mississippi Floodplain, have suffered severely from human interference in the last decades. Other features of Louisiana's landscape are the Red River Valley, the Terraces, and the Hills.

Lakes

City Park in New Orleans, Louisiana.
Image: Susan Yin

The largest lake is Lake Pontchartrain (not really a lake but an estuary), other major lakes are Calcasieu Lake, the Grand and the White lakes, and the Toledo Bend Reservoir on the Sabine River between Texas and Louisiana. The Sabine Lake is a saltwater estuary shared by Texas and Louisiana.

Rivers
Important rivers are the Mississippi, the Red River, the Ouachita River, the Atchafalaya River, and the Sabine River.

Islands
The largest island in Louisiana is the marshy uninhabited Marsh Island southwest of the Atchafalaya Delta.

World Heritage Site
Louisiana has one amazing UNESCO World Heritage Site, known as the Monumental Earthworks of Poverty Point

. The site is a vast area of earthen architecture built by an ancient indigenous hunter-gatherer society that inhabited the area of the Lower Mississippi Valley. The site consists of a complex of earthen monuments constructed 3,700-3,100 years ago in the Late Archaic period. It is the oldest earthworks of this size in the Western Hemisphere.

Poverty Point World Heritage Site
The Story of Poverty Point World Heritage Site by the Louisiana Office of Tourism.

Panorama from the top of Mound A at Poverty Point Historic Park. What you see in the image is supposed to be a 3,000-year-old giant earthen bird, with the south wing to the left, the north wing to the right, and the bird's body in the center.
Image: Michael Homan

Population

Rendered image of the Louisiana State Capitol in Baton Rouge, the state capital. The Art Deco building, opened in 1932, houses the bicameral State Legislature of Louisiana. At 137 m (450 ft), it is the tallest capitol in the United States.
Image: Google

Louisiana has a population of 4.7 million people (est. 2019) ^[2]; state capital is Baton Rouge.

The largest cities are New Orleans, Baton Rouge, Shreveport, Metairie (part of the New Orleans Metropolitan Area), Lafayette, and Lake Charles.

Race and Ethnic groups
The population of Louisiana is composed of White alone 58.6%, African American 32.7%, Hispanic or Latino 5.2%, Asian 1.8%, and Native American 0.8%. ^[3]

The busiest airports in the state are Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport (IATA code: MSY), and Baton Rouge Metropolitan Airport (Ryan Field; IATA code: BTR).

Cities and Towns in Louisiana

New Orleans Central Business District and Mercedes-Benz Superdome, Louisiana

New Orleans CBD and Mercedes-Benz Superdome, Louisiana.
Image: Nowhereman86

The map shows the location of following cities and towns in Louisiana:

The largest city is New Orleans (391,500).
Second largest city is Baton Rouge, the capital city, 227,500.

Shreveport (195,000), Metairie (138,500), Lafayette (127,600)
Population figures in 2017

Other cities and towns in Louisiana:
Abbeville, Alexandria, Bastrop, Bogalusa, Bossier City, Bunkie, Chalmette, Crowley, De Ridder, Eunice, Ferriday, Franklin, Hammond, Houma, Jennings, Kenner (part of New Orleans metro), Kinder, Lake Charles, Leesville, Mansfield, Minden, Monroe, Morgan City, Natchitoches, New Iberia, Oakdale, Opelousas, Ruston, Slidell, Springhill, St. Francisville, Sulphur, Tallulah, Thibodaux, Tullos, Ville Platte, Winnfield, and Winnsboro.

ExxonMobil oil refinery in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, seen from the Capitol tower. The refinery alongside the riverbank of the Mississippi is the fourth-largest oil refinery in the United States.
Image: Adbar

More about Louisiana and the US

Cities -- Information about, and searchable maps of:

Searchable Map and Satellite view of Louisiana's capital Baton Rouge

Searchable Map and Satellite view of the City of New Orleans

U.S. States: