The soil of Louisiana was carried down from the central valley of the United States by the Ouachita, Mississippi, Red, Sabine, and Pearl rivers. Much of the state is a flat, moist, rich-soiled delta with a distinct historic and ethnic atmosphere.

The area was discovered by Spaniards, named by the French (for Louis XIV), and settled by both. People with the blood of those French Canadians driven from Acadia (Nova Scotia) by the British in 1755 are called Acadians ("Cajuns"). Americans of English, Irish, and German origin also helped settle Louisiana.

The land is semitropical, beautifully unusual, full of legend and tradition; a land of bayous with cypress and live oak overhung with Spanish moss. Some of its people live in isolation on the bayous and riverbanks, where they still fish, trap, and do a little farming. Southern and southwestern Louisiana are predominantly Roman Catholic; the northern section is largely Protestant. It is the only state whose divisions are called parishes rather than counties.

The northern and southern parts of the state are quite different topographically. In the southern area are fine old mansions and sugar cane plantation estates, many of which are open to the public. (See BATON ROUGE for a plantation tour.) The north is more rural, with beautiful rivers, hills, forests, and cotton plantation mansions. This is the area from which the colorful Huey Long came; he was born in Winnfield.

Petroleum and natural gas taken from far underground, shipped abroad, or processed in large plants, contribute to Louisiana's thriving industrial and manufacturing economy. As these businesses expand, the service sector continually grows to meet demands.

Hernando de Soto discovered the Mississippi in 1541. La Salle claimed Louisiana for France in 1682. Pierre le Moyne, Sieur d'Iberville, first came to the state in 1699. His brother Jean Baptiste le Moyne, Sieur de Bienville, founded New Orleans in 1718, three years after the founding of Natchitoches by Cavalier St. Denis.

To prevent Louisiana from falling into the hands of the English, Louis XV of France gave it to his cousin, Charles III of Spain. In 1801, Napoleon regained it for France, though no one in Louisiana knew of this until 1803, only 20 days before the Louisiana Purchase made it US territory.

This colorful history established it as the state it is—individual, different, exciting. It remains the old Deep South at its best—gracious, cultured, and hospitable.