Because it was built on a great turn of the river, it is known as the Crescent City. New Orleans experiences mild winters and hot, humid summers. The population of New Orleans, including Anglos, French, Blacks, Italians, Irish,Spanish, and Cubans, reflects its cosmopolitan past. They speak their own French dialect. The port is one of the world's largest and ranks first in the United States in tonnage handled.
Major exports are petroleum products, grain, cotton, paper, machinery, and iron and steel.
The city's economy is dominated by the petrochemical, aluminum, and foodprocessing industries and by tourism. The Superdome, an enclosed sports stadium, attracts major sporting events and is an element in achieving the city's position as a leading convention center. New Orleans is noted for its fine restaurants, for its Dixieland jazz, and for its numerous cultural and educational facilities. O R Y New Orleans was founded in 1718 by Jean Baptiste Le Moyne, sieur de Bienville, and named for the regent of France, Philippe II, duc d'Orleans. It remained a French colony until 1763, when it was transferred to the Spanish.