Louisiana Administrative Code › Title 48 - PUBLIC HEALTH-GENERAL › Part I - General Administration › Subpart 5 - Health Planning › Chapter 103 - Overview of the State › Subchapter A - Physical Description › Section I-10301 - Geographic and Climatic Characteristics

Current through Register Vol. 50, No. 6, June 20, 2024
A. Louisiana lies at the south end of the
					 Mississippi River Valley, and with the exception of Florida and Texas, extends
					 farther south than any other continental state in the United States. The state
					 is bounded on the north by Arkansas, on the west by the Sabine river and Texas,
					 on the east by the Pearl and Mississippi rivers and the state of Mississippi,
					 and on the south by the Gulf of Mexico.
B. Louisiana ranks 31st in land size among
					 the 50 states with 48,523 square miles of land and water. Over 4,000 square
					 miles of this total area are water-3,500 square miles in lakes and 650 square
					 miles in rivers, bayous, and streams. The state measures nearly 300 miles, at
					 its widest part, from east to west, and about 275 miles from north to south.
					 Diagonally, from the northwestern corner of Caddo parish to the mouth of the
					 Mississippi, the distance is approximately 400 airline miles.
C. There is wide variation in land elevation
					 and in soil types in Louisiana. The lowlands include plains along the gulf
					 coast, southwestern prairies, and land along major rivers. Rolling, hilly areas
					 of the northwest and southwest are called the uplands.
D. There are three sections of Louisiana
					 uplands, which range in altitude from lower levels of one hundred feet to
					 higher levels of over 500 feet. The Florida parishes uplands lie east of the
					 Mississippi river and north of Lake Pontchartrain. This area slopes from north
					 to south and averages about 200 feet in altitude.
E. The uplands in the north and northwest
					 sections of the state lie roughly between the Red and Ouachita river valleys.
					 There are points in this area that reach over 500 feet. The west Louisiana
					 uplands lie west of the Red river and north and northeast of the Calcasieu
					 river. The entire area is crisscrossed with bluffs and ravines.
F. The lowland areas have an elevation
					 normally less than 50 feet above sea level. This area may also be divided into
					 three sections. The gulf coastal plain lies west of the Atchafalaya river.
					 Coastal marshes of this area are protected from the Gulf of Mexico by beaches,
					 composed of sand and soil held together by undergrowth and a few trees. The
					 Mississippi river plain is narrow in the north, but widens as one moves
					 southward. Higher portions of this plain are called frontlands, then backlands,
					 and finally swamps. Throughout this area are numerous lakes, lagoons, and
					 marshes. The third lowland area is the prairie section of southwest Louisiana.
					 This section is fairly level, sparsely timbered, and cut by numerous streams
					 and bayous.
G. The Mississippi is
					 Louisiana's most important river and from the viewpoint of political history is
					 the most important river of the Western Hemisphere. It has served to carry much
					 of the inland commerce of the entire central portion of the United
					 States.
H. The Red River is the
					 second most important Louisiana waterway. Rising in northwestern Texas, it
					 enters Louisiana near the northwestern corner of the state. It was an important
					 water highway during the colonial period and greatly contributed to the
					 economic and commercial life of the state.
I. At this time approximately 55 percent of
					 the land area of the state is timberland. Furniture, lumber, and paper
					 manufacture, all dependent on the state's forest resources, produce over 500
					 million dollars in revenue each year and employ over 40,000 workers.
J. An unusual combination of diversified
					 natural resources occurs in Louisiana. Rich alluvial soils and a favorable
					 climate produce a great variety of agricultural products and valuable forests;
					 salt, sulfur, oil and natural gas are the primary mineral resources; lakes,
					 rivers, and the Gulf provide fresh-water fish and seafood, as well as sand,
					 gravel, and shells; game and fur-bearing animals abound.
K. Most of Louisiana has a semitropical
					 climate. The average temperature is 60 degrees in the north and 71 degrees in
					 the extreme southern part. Louisiana has frequent rains with the average yearly
					 rainfall over 57.0 inches. But despite its rainfall, Louisiana is a "sunshine"
					 state since over one-half of the days are sunny and warm. The growing season in
					 the south is 320 days; in the north 220 days.
L. As with other coastal states, Louisiana
					 has had its share of violent weather. Hurricanes form in the Caribbean Sea and
					 the Gulf of Mexico, and such storms occasionally hit the coastal areas and
					 carry for some distance inward.
AUTHORITY NOTE:
						Promulgated in accordance with P.L. 93-641 as amended by P.L. 96-79, and
						R.S.
						36:256(b).