1. Chapter 2 Piney Hills and Coastal Marshes: The Geography of Louisiana

2. Chapter 2 Themes: State Symbols (pp. 20-21)
Physical and Cultural Geography (pp )
Time Zones (p. 25)
Natural Land Regions (pp )
Rivers and Bayous (pp )
Controlling Louisiana’s Rivers (pp )
Lakes (p. 39)
Climate (pp )
Hurricanes (pp )
Population; Cultural Regions (pp )
Chapter Review (p. 47)

3. State Symbols website

4. Louisiana’s State Flag

5. State Bird: The Brown Pelican

6. State Flower: Magnolia

7. State Tree: The Bald Cypress

8. State Dog: Catahoula Cur (Leopard Dog)

9. State Symbols Flag/Motto: “Union, Justice, and Confidence”
Bird: Brown Pelican
Flower: Magnolia
Tree: Bald Cypress
Dog: Catahoula Cur

10. I. Physical and Cultural Geography
Geography: the study of places, their locations, and their physical and human characteristics
Physical geography: the study of landforms, oceans, weather, and climate
Cultural geography: the study of how people have interacted with, changed, and adapted to different places on the earth
Louisiana’s physical geography has shaped its cultural geography.
GLEs: 2, 3, 7, 11

11. Geopolitical Map of Louisiana

13. Bayou Segnette State Park

14. What do you remember?
Name one way Louisiana’s physical geography has shaped its cultural geography.
A: Waterways often determine where towns will be built, frequent flooding motivates people to move off floodplains and onto higher ground, natural resource development attracts people looking for work.

16. A. Geographic Location Resembles a boot
Florida Parishes stretch from Baton Rouge to Hammond to Bogalusa
Of the 50 states, LA ranks 31st in size
3,600 square miles of water (1/4 of the state is wet)

17. What percentage of our nation’s wetlands is in Louisiana?
A: one-third

18. Louisiana’s Location in the United States

19. West Baton Rouge Include
Florida Parishes
West Baton Rouge Include

20. B. Boundaries Four natural boundaries: Three artificial boundaries:
Mississippi River and Pearl River to the east
Gulf of Mexico to the south
Sabine River to the west
Three artificial boundaries:
33 north latitude: Separates Louisiana and Arkansas
31 north latitude: Separates the Florida Parishes from Mississippi
94 west longitude: Separates Louisiana from Texas

21. Louisiana’s Boundaries

22. Disputed Land

23. **Is it Louisiana . . . or Mississippi? (Read more on page 24)

24. What two islands on the Louisiana side of the Mississippi river belong to the state of Mississippi?
A: Giles island and Davis Island

25. **Time Zones (Read more on page 25)
Earth has 24 time zones.
United States has six.
Pacific, Mountain, Central and Eastern are the four time zones in the contiguous (connected) United States.
GLEs: 1

26. U.S. Time Zones

28. Time increases by one hour in each time zone when you travel in which direction?
A: East

29. II. Natural Land Regions
Determined by climate, soil, vegetation, and relief
Relief: the difference in elevation between the highest and lowest points of area
Flat land = low relief
Hilly land = high relief
Three natural regions:
Coastal Marshes
Floodplains
Uplands
GLEs: 5, 8, 9, 14

30. Louisiana’s Natural Regions

31. Name Louisiana’s three main natural regions.
A: Coastal Marshes, floodplains, and uplands

32. A. Coastal Marshes Louisiana Gulf Coast is mostly coastal marshes.
Vegetation is grasses and other plants; trees are uncommon.

33. **New Orleans’ Cities of the Dead (Read more on page 27)

34. **Louisiana Prairies (Read more on page 28)

35. Ecosystem of the Prairies

36. When the French first came to the Louisiana region, one third of the area was what kind of land?
A: Prairie

37. B. Floodplains Low, flat valleys through which river flow
Includes: Swamps, sloughs, bayous, and lakes
Leafy deciduous trees (cypress, oak, hickory, pecan, magnolia, tupelo gum, and cottonwood)
Canebrakes
Rich, fertile land, which is good for agriculture

38. C. Uplands Areas with Highest elevation in the state
Formed by magma pressure and tectonic forces, which pushed the land upward
Erosion washed away soft material, leaving rocky hills.
Piney Hills (largest upland area)
Driskill Mountain, the highest point in the state, is 535 feet above sea level.
Coniferous, evergreen trees

39. What is Louisiana’s highest landmark, and how high is it?
A: Driskill Mountain, 535 feet above sea level

40. **Kisatchie National Forest (Read more about it on page 29)

41. The Kisatchie Forest

42. Kisatchie Campground

43. Kisatchie National Park Area

44. Kisatchie Website

45. III. Rivers and Bayous Our many waterways make our state: Productive
Famous
Mysterious
Home to a unique ecosystem
GLEs: 2, 9, 11

46. Louisiana’s Waterways

47. A. Mississippi River Main artery of Louisiana
Largest river in the United States
Fourth largest river in the world

48. The Mississippi River

49. Mississippi River Drainage Basin

50. Name three of the 5 main rivers that drain into the Mississippi River.
A: Missouri, Arkansas, Red, Ohio, and Tennessee

52. The Mississippi River begins its journey toward the Gulf of Mexico in which U.S. state?
A: Minnesota

53. Dugdemona

54. B. Red River Second longest river in Louisiana
High salt content because it flows over an underground salt dome
Only major river in Louisiana that has white water rapids
Rapides parish (French for rapids)

55. Locks and Dams on the Red River

56. C. Atchafalaya River and Basin
Longest distributary (branch of a river that flows away from the main stream) of the Mississippi River
Half of all the nation’s migratory birds migrate to the Atchafalaya.
Basin supplies the world with 23 million pounds of crawfish a year.

57. The Atchafalaya Basin

58. D. Ouachita River
Begins in the mountains of Arkansas and runs through northeast Louisiana
Regulated by a series of locks that allow commercial barge traffic to travel to Arkansas

59. Ouachita River

60. The Sabine, Pearl, and Calcasieu Rivers
The Sabine River forms the border between Texas and Louisiana.
The Pearl River forms the border between Mississippi and the toe of the Louisiana boot.
The Calcasieu River lies within the state and is often used for transportation.

61. F. Bayou Teche Joins the Atchafalaya near the Gulf of Mexico
The Acadians (Cajuns) settled along its banks.

62. G. Bayou Lafourche Exits the Mississippi River at Donaldsonville
Many French, Spanish, Africans, and Native Americans settled along its banks.
Highway 1, which runs the length of the bayou, is called the “Longest Street in America.”

63. **Natural and Scenic Rivers (Read more about it on page 33)

64. H. Gulf Intracoastal Waterway
The 3,000-mile Gulf Intracoastal Waterway allows ships to travel from Texas to Florida without sailing into the Gulf.

65. Gulf Intracoastal Waterway

66. What inland route provides safe passage from Texas to Florida?
A: Intracoastal Waterway

68. Lock design for the Panama Canal
Gatun Locks for the Panama Canal

70. Holly Beach

71. I. The Gulf of Mexico Fifth largest sea in the world
Covers almost 600,000 square miles
Warm waters affect Louisiana’s climate and economy.

72. IV. Controlling Louisiana’s Rivers
Levees
Old River Control Structure
Log Jams
Spillways
Locks and Dams
GLEs: 2, 9, 14, 15, 17

73. A. Levees Built along both sides of a river
Earliest ones built by the French in the 1700s.
Raised sides keep water inside the channel, protecting the land outside the levee from flooding.
If too much water is confined during heavy rains, the levee can break and flood the surrounding land. This is what happened in New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina.
Prevent sediment from depositing along the coast, contributing to coastal erosion.

74. Levees

75. Flood of 1927

76. Flood of 1927

77. B. Old River Control Structure
Built in the 1960s at the head of the Atchafalaya River
Channels half of the Mississippi River’s water and all of the Red River’s water into the Atchafalaya River
Kept the Mississippi River from changing courses

78. The Old River Control Structure complex, showing the three dams at the outlet to the Atchafalaya River. View is to the east-southeast. Concordia Parish, Louisiana is on the right / foreground and Wilkinson County, Mississippi on the left / background

79. Dams

80. C. The “Old” Atchafalaya
Log jam blocked the head of the river and acted as a dam, preventing water from the Mississippi River from flowing into it.
In 1831, Captain Henry Miller Shreve cut a shorter channel from the Mississippi to the Red River to give steamboats easier access.
The channel washed out more and became Old River, allowing more Mississippi River water to flow into the Atchafalaya.
The log jam was cleared, and the Red River began flowing into the Atchafalaya, bringing a large amount of sediment with it.

81. D. The “New” Atchafalaya
Increased sediment from Red River created natural levees.
The Atchafalaya became a larger river.
Swamps and lakes filled in.
Deciduous forests sprang up.
Six Mile Lake and most of Grand Lake disappeared.
The Atchafalaya Bay is predicted to fill with sediment over the next 50 years, making it a coastal marsh.

82. E. More Changes for the Atchafalaya?
The Atchafalaya River’s route to the Gulf is shorter and lower than the Mississippi’s and could cause problems for the river economy
The Mississippi could change course and take the easier route, causing:
Morgan City and other towns to flood
Ocean-going vessels to be unable to travel due to shallow waters.
Destruction of the economies of Baton Rouge and New Orleans.
Saltwater intrusion, which would ruin the drinking water in Baton Rouge and New Orleans.
Failed crops and erosion.
The lower Mississippi River to become a bay of the Gulf.

83. **The Three Rivers (Read more about it on page 37)

84. F. Bonnet Carré and Morganza Spillways
Bonnet Carré is on the east bank of the Mississippi, upstream from New Orleans.
Morganza is on the west bank of the Mississippi, upstream from Baton Rouge.
During floods, one-quarter of the Mississippi’s water can be diverted through the spillway into Lake Pontchartrain.
Morganza protects the levee system by diverting water out of the Mississippi into the Atchafalaya Basin.
It relieves pressure on the state’s levee system.

85. Spillways

86. J. Bennett Johnston Waterway
Is on the Red River
Has five locks and dams
Deepened the river so barge traffic could reach Shreveport
Controlled flooding more effectively
Improved water quality
Slowed the current, so salt and sediment settle, making the water cleaner

87. V. Types of Lakes Oxbow Depression Raft Coastal Reservoirs
GLEs: 8, 9, 15

88. A. Oxbow Lakes Crescent or horseshoe-shaped lakes are oxbow lakes
Examples: False River and Lake Bruin
How an Oxbow Lake Forms
A river floods and cuts off a meander.
The meander fills with sediment, which forms a lake.

89. Oxbow Lake along Red River

90. B. Depression Lakes
Created when land sinks along a fault and fills with water
Examples:
Catahoula Lake
Calcasieu Lake
Lake Maurepas
Lake Pontchartrain

91. Lake Pontchartrain Ariel View

92. C. Raft Lakes Found only along the Red River
Dams caused bayous to flood which resulted the formation of lakes
Examples:
Lake Bistineau
Black Lake
Saline Lake
Iatt Lake

93. Lake Bistineau

94. D. Coastal Lakes Found along the Gulf Coast
Formed when cheniers slowed the flow of the rivers into the Gulf, causing pools of brackish water to build up
Examples: White Lake and Grand Lake

95. White Lake Coastal Lake

96. Reservoirs E. Reservoirs Examples: Caney Lake, Lake
Manmade lakes, found mostly in North Louisiana.
Examples: Caney Lake, Lake
D’Arbonne, Lake Claiborne, Poverty Point,
and Toledo Bend

97. Toledo Bend Reservoir

98. VI. Climate Weather is temperature, wind, and rain on a daily basis.
Climate is the long-term weather pattern in a region.
Climate is affected by latitude, altitude, and nearness to large land masses or large bodies of water.
The state’s southern latitude and nearness to the Gulf of Mexico gives the state a warm, stable climate.
GLEs: 15

99. Name 4 influences that affect a region’s long-term climate.
A: Latitude, altitude, nearness to large landmass or large bodies of water.

100. A. Humid Subtropical Climate
Hot summers, mild winters, and abundant precipitation
Favorable to tourism and agriculture
Lower winter energy costs can help make operating a business, school, or agency less expensive.
Certain plants and animals thrive in this climate.

101. Climate of Southeastern U.S.

102. B. Precipitation 58 inches of rain fall each year
Florida Parishes receive the most rain.
Northwestern parishes receive the least rain.

103. **Two Extremes (Read more about it on page 40)

104. C. Spring and Summer
Spring weather is typically mild, and tornadoes can appear during thunderstorms.
Summer temperatures reach over 100 degrees in North Louisiana.
High humidity throughout state

105. D. Fall and Winter
Autumn: the weather is typically mild although the temperature sometimes dips below freezing.

106. Autumn in Louisiana

107. **Strange Snowfall (Read more about it on page 41)

108. December 11, 2008 Rare Snow day at FJH

109. VII. Hurricanes Intro with Flipchart
GLEs: 8, 15

110. Hurricanes

111. Hurricane Andrew

112. A. Hurricane Ratings and Formation
Hurricanes start in the moist air over warm waters, such as the Gulf of Mexico or the Atlantic Ocean.
Hurricane season is June 1 through November 30.
Severity is rated on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale.
Categories range from 1 to 5, depending on the storm’s severity
Category 1: wind speeds are miles per hour
Category 5: winds over 155 mph
Southeastern Louisiana is hit most often.

113. B. Storm Surge Most dangerous part of a hurricane
Ocean water rises several feet higher than normal.
High winds push the wall of water onshore.
Can reach as high as 20 feet

114. C. Naming Hurricanes
Only female names were used until 1979, at which time male names were added.
Male and female names are used alternately in alphabetical order.
Noteworthy hurricane names may be retired and never used again .
Audrey and Andrew were the most powerful hurricanes to hit Louisiana until Katrina and Rita.
Audrey hit Cameron Parish on June 28, 1957—killing 400.
Andrew struck Atchafalaya Basin in 1992 as a Category 3—killed 17.

115. D. Katrina and Rita
New Orleans is vulnerable to hurricanes because it is below sea level and depends on the levees to protect it.
August 2005: Katrina’s rain caused the levees to break; water poured into the city.
Approximately 1,000 people were killed, 1 million people lost homes, and the city suffered more than $100 billion in damages.
Rita hit the Gulf a few weeks later, flooding New Orleans and the surrounding parishes a second time.

116. Flooding from Hurricane Katrina

117. Aerial view of New Orleans

119. **Tornadoes! (Read more about it on page 43)
Form over land and are created by thunderstorms.
Most common during the spring, when cold and warm fronts collide.
Ranked from 1 to 5 using the Fujita Scale
Category 1: wind speeds from mph
Category 5: wind speed from mph
Northwest Louisiana experiences the most.

120. Tornadoes

121. VIII. Population
GLEs: 5, 10, 12

122. A. Growth Rates
Louisiana attracts fewer immigrants than any other state.
Growth rate is 5.9 percent (1/2 the national average).
Birth rate is dropping.
Population is aging.
Louisiana offers few jobs in high-tech industries; difficult times in the oil and gas industries have caused additional job loss.
This has a negative impact on the state’s economy and the quality of education and services that can be provided to Louisiana’s citizens.

123. B. Population Density
Definition: The average number of people living in an area
Average population density in LA is 103 people per square mile.
Average population density without New Orleans is 66 people per square mile.
Average population density in the U.S. is 79 people per square mile.

124. C. Cultural Regions South Louisiana
Strong French culture
Catholic Church is prominent.
Traditional Cajun foods, architecture, and music remain popular.
North Louisiana and the Florida Parishes
More like other parts of the Deep South
Settled by English-speaking Protestants
Little French influence is evident.
Western Louisiana
Spanish cultural influences dating back to settlers who began arriving in the 1700s.

125. Stuffed Mirlitons

126. Chapter Review
GLEs: 4, 15