| Capital city | Baton Rouge |
| Population | 4,657,757 (2020) |
| Surface | 134,382 km² |
| Governor | John Bel Edwards (D) |
| Member of the US since | 1812 |
Louisiana is one of the fifty states of the United States. The state is located in the south of the country. Louisiana’s abbreviation is LA, not to be confused with the city of Los Angeles, which has the same abbreviation. Its nickname is ‘The Pelican State’. That means ‘the Pelican State’. A pelican is a bird. Louisiana is named after the French King Louis XIV, in French ‘Louis XIV’. That’s because France used to be the boss in this area, but in 1803 the US bought Louisiana and some other areas of France. This is called the Loisiana Purchase. Because France used to be the boss here, they don’t only speak English in Louisiana, but also French. With 4,574,836 inhabitants, Louisiana is the 24th most populous state in the US. Louisiana borders the states of Texas, Arkansas, and Mississippi. The state is known for its many coastal swamps. The capital of Louisiana is Baton Rouge. Unlike the other states, Louisiana is not divided into Counties, but into Parishes. A parish is a type of municipality. Louisiana has 64 of them.
Towns
There are a number of cities in Louisiana. Here are the five largest.
Largest Cities in Louisiana
| Name | Inhabitants | Parish | |
| 1. | New Orleans | 360,740 | Orleans Parish |
| 2. | Baton Rouge | 230.139 | East Baton Rouge Parish |
| 3. | Shreveport | 200,975 | Caddo Parish |
| 4. | Metairie | 138,481 | Jefferson Parish |
| 5. | Lafayette | 122.130 | Lafayette Parish |
How many counties in Louisiana? The State of Louisiana doesn’t use counties. Instead they use parishes. 64 parishes.
Baton Rouge
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Baton Rouge is the capital of the US state of Louisiana. Baton Rouge has about 225,000 inhabitants. Baton Rouge has been the capital of Louisiana since 1848, previously New Orleans.
New Orleans
The New Orleans Skyline
New Orleans is the largest city in Louisiana, a state in the United States, with a population of 311,853 in 2008. It was founded about 400 years ago by Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville. In recent years the population has decreased by thousands of inhabitants. Yet New Orleans is still the cultural, financial, and industrial center of Louisiana. Geographically, it is located on the Mississippi River and the Gulf of Mexico. The city is beautiful to see. That is because of the many sights. Besides the old town, there are also skyscrapers and a business center. Around the city are many swamps that have sometimes never been explored by humans. Together with Chicago, New Orleans is the cradle of slave music and jazz. In 2005, New Orleans was badly hit by a hurricane. It was called Hurricane Katrina.
Partner cities
- Maracaibo, Venezuela
- Innsbruck, Austria
- Merida, Mexico
- Pointe Noire, Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Caracas, Venezuela
- Durban, South Africa
Vicksburg Bridge
| Vicksburg Bridge | |
| Spans | Mississippi River |
| Lanes | 2×2 |
| Total length | 3,954 meters |
| Main span | 265 meters |
| Bridge deck height | 35 meters |
| Opening | 14-02-1973 |
| Traffic intensity | 30,900 mvt/day |
| Location | Map |
The Vicksburg Bridge is a cantilever truss bridge in the United States, located on the border of the states of Louisiana and Mississippi. The bridge spans the Mississippi River at Vicksburg.
Characteristics
The Vicksburg Bridge is quite long for a river bridge at 3,954 meters, mainly due to the floodplains of the Mississippi on the Louisiana side. There is a ridge on the Mississippi side. The bridge is a standard cantilever truss bridge, with a main span of 265 metres. The bridge deck is 35 meters above the river and is 18 meters wide, with 2×2 lanes but no emergency lanes, which is striking given the relatively young year of construction for a highway bridge over the Mississippi. The bridge is toll-free. Immediately north of the Vicksburg Bridge is the Old Vicksburg Bridge, with a railroad track and an unused road link (the former US 80 ). Interstate 20 runs over the Vicksburg Bridge from Shreveport to Jackson.
History
On May 1, 1930, the Old Vicksburg Bridge off US 80 opened to traffic. The bridge is a combined road/rail bridge. In the 1970s, Interstate 20 was built through northern Louisiana, and a new bridge over the Mississippi River was constructed, which opened to traffic on February 14, 1973. After that, both bridges were used for motorized traffic for some time. Road traffic on the Old Vicksburg Bridge was stopped in 1998, all traffic has since had to cross the Vicksburg Bridge and Interstate 20. The old road still exists and is used for maintenance.
The Vicksburg Bridge is relatively sub -standard for the time in which it was built, with a tight 18-meter cross section, where there is no room for emergency lanes.
Traffic intensities
In 2012, 30,900 vehicles crossed the bridge every day.
