Acadiana - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Acadiana, or The Heart of Acadiana, is the official name given to the French Louisiana

Louisiana (New France)

Louisiana or French Louisiana was an administrative district of New France. Under French control from 1682–1763 and 1800–03, the area was named in honor of Louis XIV, by French explorer René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de la Salle...

region that is home to a large Francophone

Francophone

The adjective francophone means French-speaking, typically as primary language, whether referring to individuals, groups, or places. Often, the word is used as a noun to describe a natively French-speaking person....

population. Of the 64 parishes that make up Louisiana

Louisiana

Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...

, 22 named parishes and other parishes of similar cultural environment, make up the intrastate region.

Etymology

The word Acadiana reputedly has two origins. Its first recorded appearance dates to the mid-1950s, when a Crowley, Louisiana

Crowley, Louisiana

Crowley is a city in and the parish seat of Acadia Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 14,225 at the 2000 census. The city is noted for its annual International Rice Festival. Crowley has the nickname of "Rice Capital of America", because at one time it was a major center for...

, newspaper, the Crowley Daily Signal, coined the term in reference to Acadia Parish, Louisiana

Acadia Parish, Louisiana

Acadia Parish is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The parish seat is Crowley. According to the 2010 census, the population of Acadia Parish is 61,773. The parish was founded from parts of St...

.

However, KATC

KATC (TV)

KATC, channel 3, is an ABC-affiliated television station licensed to Lafayette, Louisiana. It began operations on September 19, 1962.A 1000 kW transmitter for its digital broadcast is located near Branch, Louisiana and became operational November 6, 2007...

TV-10 in Lafayette independently coined "Acadiana" in the early 1960s, gave it a new, broader meaning, and popularized it throughout south Louisiana. Founded in 1962, KATC was owned by the Acadian

Acadian

The Acadians are the descendants of the 17th-century French colonists who settled in Acadia . Acadia was a colony of New France...

Television Corporation. In early 1963, the station received an invoice erroneously addressed to the Acadiana Television Corp. Someone had typed an extra "a" at the end of the word "Acadian." The station started using it to describe the region covered by its broadcast signal.

In 1971 the Louisiana state legislature officially recognized 22 named Louisiana parishes and "other parishes of similar cultural environment" for their "strong French Acadian cultural aspects" (House Concurrent Resolution No. 496, June 6, 1971), and made The Heart of Acadiana the official name of the region. The official name, however, has never been embraced by the public, which instead has used merely the one-word place name Acadiana in reference to the region. The term can, however, be found on regional maps and highway markers.

Today, there are numerous business, governmental and nonprofit organizations that utilize Acadiana in their names, e.g., Mall of Acadiana

Mall of Acadiana

The Mall of Acadiana, originally called Acadiana Mall, is an enclosed regional shopping mall in the city of Lafayette, Louisiana, and is located at the intersection of Johnston Street and Ambassador Caffery Parkway. It opened in 1979 and was developed by Robert B. Aikens & Associates, and is now...

and Acadiana High School

Acadiana High School

Acadiana High School is located in Scott, Louisiana.Acadiana High School opened in 1969 following the consolidation of Judice High School, located in Judice Community, and Scott High School, located in Scott....

. Notably KLFY TV-10, the regional CBS

CBS

CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...

Affiliate, used the term in its very successful "Hello News" branding campaign as "Hello Acadiana."

Flag

In 1965, Thomas J. Arceneaux designed a flag for Acadiana. Arceneaux was a professor at University of Southwestern Louisiana, now University of Louisiana at Lafayette

University of Louisiana at Lafayette

The University of Louisiana at Lafayette, or UL Lafayette, is a coeducational, public research university located in Lafayette, Louisiana, in the heart of Acadiana...

and had derived the flag from the university seal. In 1974, the Louisiana legislature officially adopted Arceneaux's design as the official Acadiana flag, (House Concurrent Resolution 143, passed 5 July 1974). The three white fleurs-de-lis on the blue field represent the French heritage of Acadiana, the gold star on the white field symbolizes Saint Mary, Our Lady of the Assumption

Assumption of Mary

According to the belief of Christians of the Roman Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy, and parts of the Anglican Communion and Continuing Anglicanism, the Assumption of Mary was the bodily taking up of the Virgin Mary into Heaven at the end of her life...

, patron saint

Patron saint

A patron saint is a saint who is regarded as the intercessor and advocate in heaven of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, family, or person...

of Acadiana (the star also symbolizes the active participation of the Cajuns in the American Revolution

American Revolution

The American Revolution was the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen colonies in North America joined together to break free from the British Empire, combining to become the United States of America...

, as soldiers under General Bernardo de Gálvez

Bernardo de Gálvez y Madrid, Count of Gálvez

Bernardo de Gálvez y Madrid, Viscount of Galveston and Count of Gálvez was a Spanish military leader and the general of Spanish forces in New Spain who served as governor of Louisiana and Cuba and as viceroy of New Spain.Gálvez aided the Thirteen Colonies in their quest for independence and led...

, Spanish governor of Louisiana). The gold tower on the red field represents Spain, which governed Louisiana when the Acadians arrived.

The flag can be seen in various uses around the Acadiana area. Some local governments will fly the Acadian flag with their respective local colors and the American flag. Many residents of Acadiana will fly the flag on their homes or businesses. To many it is seen as a unifying image of the historic and present socio-economic ties that bind the region. The flag is also very similar to the Philippine flag

Flag of the Philippines

The national flag of the Philippines is a horizontal flag bicolor with equal bands of royal blue and scarlet red, and with a white equilateral triangle at the hoist; in the center of the triangle is a golden yellow sun with eight primary rays, each containing three individual rays, which represent...

People

Cajuns are the descendants of 18th-century Acadian

Acadian

The Acadians are the descendants of the 17th-century French colonists who settled in Acadia . Acadia was a colony of New France...

exiles from what are now Canada's Maritime Provinces, expelled by the British and New Englanders during the French and Indian War

French and Indian War

The French and Indian War is the common American name for the war between Great Britain and France in North America from 1754 to 1763. In 1756, the war erupted into the world-wide conflict known as the Seven Years' War and thus came to be regarded as the North American theater of that war...

(see Expulsion of the Acadians). They prevail among the region's visible cultures, but not everyone who lives in Acadiana is culturally Acadian or speaks Cajun French

Cajun French

Cajun French is a variety or dialects of the French language spoken primarily in Louisiana, specifically in the southern and southwestern parishes....

, nor is everybody who is culturally Acadian or "Cajun" descended from the Acadian refugees.

German settlers

German Coast

The German Coast was a region of early Louisiana settlement located above New Orleans on the Mississippi River – specifically, from east to west, in St. Charles, St. John the Baptist, and St. James parishes of present-day Acadiana. The four settlements along the coast were Karlstein, Hoffen,...

found their way to Acadiana as early as 1721, preceding the Acadians. Since the late 20th century, political refugees from southeast Asia (Laos

Laos

Laos Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ Sathalanalat Paxathipatai Paxaxon Lao, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic, is a landlocked country in Southeast Asia, bordered by Burma and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the south and Thailand to the west...

, Vietnam

Vietnam

Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...

, and Cambodia

Cambodia

Cambodia , officially known as the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia...

, among others) have brought their families, cultures, and languages to the area, and have contributed significantly to its fishing industry

Fishing industry

The fishing industry includes any industry or activity concerned with taking, culturing, processing, preserving, storing, transporting, marketing or selling fish or fish products....

.

Acadiana is home to several Native American

Native Americans in the United States

Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...

tribes, including among others the Chitimacha

Chitimacha

The Chitimacha are a Native American federally recognized tribe that lives in the U.S. state of Louisiana, mainly in St. Mary Parish. They currently number about 720 people. The Chitimacha language is a language isolate.- History :The Chitimacha's historic home was the southern Louisiana coast...

, Tunica-Biloxi

Tunica-Biloxi

The modern Tunica-Biloxi tribe live in Mississippi and east central Louisiana. The modern tribe is composed of descendants of Tunica, Biloxi , Ofo , Avoyel , and Muskogean Choctaw. They speak mostly English and French...

, Attakapas, and Coushatta

Coushatta

----The Coushatta are a historic Muskogean-speaking Native American people living primarily in the U.S. state of Louisiana. When first encountered by Europeans, they lived in the territory of present-day Georgia and Alabama...

. The region also boasts a large population of Creoles, who in Louisiana can be black, white, or mixed-race persons (Creole in its broadest sense meaning "Native to Louisiana"). (See Louisiana Creole people

Louisiana Creole people

Louisiana Creole people refers to those who are descended from the colonial settlers in Louisiana, especially those of French and Spanish descent. The term was first used during colonial times by the settlers to refer to those who were born in the colony, as opposed to those born in the Old World...

and Créole French

Louisiana Creole French

Louisiana Creole is a French Creole language spoken by the Louisiana Creole people of the state of Louisiana. The language consists of elements of French, Spanish, African, and Native American roots.-Geography:...

.) Acadiana also is home to other ethnic groups, including Anglo-Americans

English American

English Americans are citizens or residents of the United States whose ancestry originates wholly or partly in England....

, who came into the region in increasing numbers beginning notably with the Louisiana Purchase

Louisiana Purchase

The Louisiana Purchase was the acquisition by the United States of America of of France's claim to the territory of Louisiana in 1803. The U.S...

of 1803. In recent years (post-Hurricane Katrina

Hurricane Katrina

Hurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was a powerful Atlantic hurricane. It is the costliest natural disaster, as well as one of the five deadliest hurricanes, in the history of the United States. Among recorded Atlantic hurricanes, it was the sixth strongest overall...

and Hurricane Rita

Hurricane Rita

Hurricane Rita was the fourth-most intense Atlantic hurricane ever recorded and the most intense tropical cyclone ever observed in the Gulf of Mexico. Rita caused $11.3 billion in damage on the U.S. Gulf Coast in September 2005...

[2005]) a significant number of Hispanics have moved into the region.

Geography

Despite the frequent association of Cajuns with swamplands and bayous, Acadiana consists mainly of low gentle hills in the north section and dry land prairies, with marshes and bayous in the south closer to the coast. The wetlands increase in frequency in and around the Calcasieu River

Calcasieu River

The Calcasieu River is a river on the Gulf Coast of southwestern Louisiana, U.S.A.. Approximately long, it drains a largely rural area of forests and bayou country, meandering southward to the Gulf of Mexico. The name "Calcasieu" comes from the Native American Atakapa language katkosh, for...

, Atchafalaya Basin

Atchafalaya Basin

The Atchafalaya Basin, or Atchafalaya Swamp, is the largest swamp in the United States. Located in south central Louisiana, it is a combination of wetlands and river delta area where the Atchafalaya River and the Gulf of Mexico converge. The river stretches from near Simmesport in the north...

, and Mississippi Basin. The area also is cultivated with fields of rice

Rice

Rice is the seed of the monocot plants Oryza sativa or Oryza glaberrima . As a cereal grain, it is the most important staple food for a large part of the world's human population, especially in East Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, the Middle East, and the West Indies...

and sugarcane

Sugarcane

Sugarcane refers to any of six to 37 species of tall perennial grasses of the genus Saccharum . Native to the warm temperate to tropical regions of South Asia, they have stout, jointed, fibrous stalks that are rich in sugar, and measure two to six metres tall...

.

Acadiana, as defined by the Louisiana legislature, refers to the area that stretches from just west of New Orleans to the Texas

Texas

Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...

border along the Gulf of Mexico

Gulf of Mexico

The Gulf of Mexico is a partially landlocked ocean basin largely surrounded by the North American continent and the island of Cuba. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States, on the southwest and south by Mexico, and on the southeast by Cuba. In...

coast, and about 100 miles (160.9 km) inland to Marksville

Marksville, Louisiana

Marksville is a city in and the parish seat of Avoyelles Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 5,537 at the 2000 census. Louisiana's first land-based casino, Paragon Casino Resort, opened in Marksville in June 1994...

. This includes the 22 parishes of Acadia

Acadia Parish, Louisiana

, Ascension

Ascension Parish, Louisiana

Ascension Parish is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is the fastest growing parish in the state. Its population is 107,215 which is 39.9% greater than the 2000 census...

, Assumption

Assumption Parish, Louisiana

Assumption Parish is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana, and was formed in 1807 as an original parish of the Louisiana Territory. Its parish seat is Napoleonville. In 2000, its population was 23,388. Assumption is one of the 22 Acadiana parishes. Its major product is sugarcane...

, Avoyelles

Avoyelles Parish, Louisiana

Avoyelles is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The parish seat is Marksville. In 2000, its population was 41,481. The parish is named for the Avoyel Indian tribe.-History:...

, Calcasieu

Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana

Calcasieu Parish[p] is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The parish seat is Lake Charles. As of 2010, the parish population was 192,768...

, Cameron

Cameron Parish, Louisiana

Cameron Parish is the parish with the most land area in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The parish seat is Cameron and as of 2010, the population was 6,839...

, Evangeline

Evangeline Parish, Louisiana

-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 35,434 people, 12,736 households, and 9,157 families residing in the parish. The population density was 53 people per square mile . There were 14,258 housing units at an average density of 22 per square mile...

, Iberia

Iberia Parish, Louisiana

Iberia Parish is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The parish seat is New Iberia. As of 2000, the population was 73,266.Iberia Parish is part of the New Iberia Micropolitan Statistical Area as well as the Lafayette–Acadiana Combined Statistical Area.Iberia, along with...

, Iberville

Iberville Parish, Louisiana

Iberville Parish is a parish located south of Baton Rouge in the U.S. state of Louisiana. Its seat is Plaquemine. The 2010 population of the parish was 33,387....

, Jeff Davis

Jefferson Davis Parish, Louisiana

Jefferson Davis Parish is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The parish seat is Jennings. As of 2000, its population was 31,435. Jefferson Davis Parish is named after the president of the Confederacy during the American Civil War, Jefferson Davis. It is located in southwestern...

, Lafayette

Lafayette Parish, Louisiana

Lafayette Parish is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The parish seat is Lafayette. According to the 2010 Census, its population was recorded as 221,578....

, Lafourche

Lafourche Parish, Louisiana

Lafourche Parish is a parish located in the south of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It was originally the northern part of Lafourche Interior Parish, which consisted of the present parishes of Lafourche and Terrebonne. The parish seat is Thibodaux...

, Pointe Coupee

Pointe Coupee Parish, Louisiana

Pointe Coupee Parish, pronounced "Pwent Koo-Pay" and , is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The parish seat is New Roads. As of 2000, the population was 22,763....

, St. Charles

St. Charles Parish, Louisiana

St. Charles Parish is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The parish seat is Hahnville. In 2010, its population was 52,780. In the eighteenth and nineteenth century, this was part of the German Coast, an area along the Mississippi River settled by numerous German pioneers in the...

, St. James, St. John The Baptist

St. John the Baptist Parish, Louisiana

St. John the Baptist Parish is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana.The parish seat is Edgard, an unincorporated area and the unofficial parish captial is LaPlace, an unincorporated area. St. John the Baptist is one of the original 19 parishes in Louisiana. In 2010, its population was...

, St. Landry

St. Landry Parish, Louisiana

St. Landry Parish is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is at the heart of Acadian/Cajun culture and heritage in Louisiana. The parish seat is Opelousas. According to the 2010 census, the population of St. Landry Parish is 83,384.St...

, St. Martin

St. Martin Parish, Louisiana

St. Martin Parish is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The parish seat is St. Martinville. As of the 2000 census, the population was 48,583.St...

, St. Mary

St. Mary Parish, Louisiana

St. Mary Parish is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The parish seat is Franklin. As of 2000, the population was 53,500.The Morgan City Micropolitan Statistical Area includes all of St. Mary Parish.-Geography:...

, Terrebonne

Terrebonne Parish, Louisiana

Terrebonne Parish is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The parish seat is Houma. Its population was 111,860...

, Vermilion

Vermilion Parish, Louisiana

Vermilion Parish is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The parish seat is Abbeville. As of the 2010 census, the population was 57,999....

, and West Baton Rouge

West Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana

West Baton Rouge Parish is one of the sixty-four parishes in the U.S. state of Louisiana, and is the smallest in total area. The parish seat is Port Allen and as of 2010, the population was 23,788. The parish has a highly-rated school system and is one of the few in Louisiana that has privatized...

. The total land area is 14,574.105 square miles (37,746.756 km²). At the 2000 census

United States Census, 2000

The Twenty-second United States Census, known as Census 2000 and conducted by the Census Bureau, determined the resident population of the United States on April 1, 2000, to be 281,421,906, an increase of 13.2% over the 248,709,873 persons enumerated during the 1990 Census...

its total population was 1,352,646 residents.

Three of the parishes, St. Charles, St. James, St. John the Baptist, are considered the River Parishes
River Parishes
The River Parishes are those parishes in Louisiana between New Orleans and Baton Rouge that span both banks of the Mississippi River, and are officially part of the Acadiana region. Traditionally they are considered to be St. Charles Parish, St. James Parish and St. John the Baptist Parish. St....

. Ascension Parish is occasionally included with them. Present-day St. Charles and St. John the Baptist parishes also made up an area formerly known as the German Coast
German Coast
The German Coast was a region of early Louisiana settlement located above New Orleans on the Mississippi River – specifically, from east to west, in St. Charles, St. John the Baptist, and St. James parishes of present-day Acadiana. The four settlements along the coast were Karlstein, Hoffen,...

(les côtes des Allemands) because of settlement by German immigrants of the 18th century. St. James and Ascension Parish were originally known as the Comté d'Acadie (Acadia County) because of the initial settlement of 18th century exiled Acadians. St. James Parish was known as the First Acadian Coast and Ascension Parish was known as the Second Acadian Coast. Collectively they were known as les côtes des Acadiens.

Most populous areas

The largest metropolitan areas in Acadiana are Lafayette, Lake Charles, and Houma-Thibodaux

Houma-Bayou Cane-Thibodaux Metropolitan Area

The Houma-Bayou Cane-Thibodaux Metropolitan Statistical Area is a metropolitan area in the Acadiana region of southern Louisiana that covers two parishes - Lafourche and Terrebonne...

. Other large cities and towns within Acadiana are Abbeville

Abbeville, Louisiana

Abbeville is a town in and the parish seat of Vermilion Parish, Louisiana, United States, 150 miles west of New Orleans. The population was 12,257 at the 2010 census...

, Berwick

Berwick, Louisiana

Berwick is a town in St. Mary Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 4,418 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Morgan City Micropolitan Statistical Area....

, Breaux Bridge

Breaux Bridge, Louisiana

Breaux Bridge is a city in St. Martin Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population is 8,139 as of the 2010 census. It is part of the Lafayette Metropolitan Statistical Area....

, Broussard

Broussard, Louisiana

Broussard is a small city in Lafayette and St. Martin parishes in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The population was 6,754 from the 2005 Census Est.Broussard is part of the Lafayette Metropolitan Statistical Area.-History:...

, Carencro

Carencro, Louisiana

Carencro[p] is a small city in Lafayette Parish, Louisiana, United States. It is a suburb of the nearby city of Lafayette. The population was 6,120 at the 2000 census. Its name comes from the Louisiana Creole word for buzzard: the spot was one where large flocks of buzzards roosted in the bald...

, Crowley

Crowley, Louisiana

, Donaldsonville

Donaldsonville, Louisiana

Donaldsonville is a city in and the parish seat of Ascension Parish, Louisiana, United States, along the west bank of the Mississippi River. The population was 7,605 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Baton Rouge Metropolitan Statistical Area.-History:Acadians began to settle in the area in...

, Erath

Erath, Louisiana

Erath is a town in Vermilion Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 2,187 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Abbeville Micropolitan Statistical Area.Erath is home of the Acadian Museum....

, Eunice

Eunice, Louisiana

Eunice is a city in Acadia, Evangeline and St. Landry parishes in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The population was 11,499 at the 2000 census.The St...

, Franklin

Franklin, Louisiana

Franklin is a city in and the parish seat of St. Mary Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 8,354 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Morgan City Micropolitan Statistical Area.-History:...

, Gonzales

Gonzales, Louisiana

Gonzales is a city in Ascension Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 8,156 at the 2000 census. It has been called the "jambalaya capital of the world" and is famous for its annual Jambalaya Festival. Gonzales is part of the Baton Rouge Metropolitan Statistical Area.State...

, Jeanerette

Jeanerette, Louisiana

Jeanerette is a city in Iberia Parish, Louisiana, United States. Known as "Sugar City", it had a population of 5,997 at the 2000 census. It is part of the New Iberia Micropolitan Statistical Area.-Early years:...

, Jennings

Jennings, Louisiana

Jennings is a small city in and the parish seat of Jefferson Davis Parish, Louisiana, United States, near Lake Charles. The population was 10,986 at the 2000 census....

, Kaplan

Kaplan, Louisiana

Kaplan is a small city in Vermilion Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 5,177 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Abbeville Micropolitan Statistical Area.-History:...

, Marksville

Marksville, Louisiana

, New Roads

New Roads, Louisiana

New Roads is a city in and the parish seat of Pointe Coupee Parish, Louisiana, United States. The center of population of Louisiana is located in New Roads . The population was 4,996 at the 2000 census. The city's ZIP code is 70760...

, Morgan City

Morgan City, Louisiana

Morgan City is a city in St. Martin and St. Mary parishes in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The population was 12,404 at the 2010 census....

, New Iberia

New Iberia, Louisiana

New Iberia is a city in and the parish seat of Iberia Parish, Louisiana, United States, 30 miles southeast of Lafayette. In 1900, 6,815 people lived in New Iberia; in 1910, 7,499; and in 1940, 13,747...

, Opelousas

Opelousas, Louisiana

Opelousas is a city in and the parish seat of St. Landry Parish, Louisiana, United States. It lies at the junction of Interstate 49 and U.S. Route 190. The population was 22,860 at the 2000 census. Although the 2006 population estimate was 23,222, a 2004 annexation should put the city's...

, Patterson

Patterson, Louisiana

Patterson is a small city in St. Mary Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 6,530 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Morgan City Micropolitan Statistical Area.-History:...

, Plaquemine

Plaquemine, Louisiana

Plaquemine is a city in and the parish seat of Iberville Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 7,064 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Baton Rouge Metropolitan Statistical Area....

, Port Allen

Port Allen, Louisiana

Port Allen is a city in and the parish seat of West Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana, United States. Port Allen is located between Interstate 10 and US Highway 190 on the West bank of the Mississippi River. The population was 5,180 at the 2010 census...

, Rayne

Rayne, Louisiana

Rayne is a city in Acadia Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 8,552 at the 2000 census. It is nicknamed the "Frog Capital of the World", as well as the "Louisiana City of Murals".Rayne is part of the Crowley Micropolitan Statistical Area....

, Scott

Scott, Louisiana

Scott is the second largest municipality in Lafayette Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population rose to over 8,000 according to the 2010 census results.Scott is a suburb of Lafayette and is part of the Lafayette Metropolitan Statistical Area....

, St. Gabriel

St. Gabriel, Louisiana

St. Gabriel is a city in Iberville Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 6,677 at the 2010 census. The city of St. Gabriel includes the areas of Sunshine and Carville. It is part of the Baton Rouge Metropolitan Statistical Area....

, St. Martinville

St. Martinville, Louisiana

St. Martinville is a city in and the parish seat of St. Martin Parish, Louisiana, United States. It lies on Bayou Teche, sixteen miles south of Breaux Bridge, eighteen miles southeast of Lafayette, and nine miles north of New Iberia. The population was 6,989 at the 2000 census. It is part of the...

, Sulphur

Sulphur, Louisiana

Sulphur is a city in Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 22,512 at the 2000 census. Sulphur is a suburb of Lake Charles, and is part of the Lake Charles Metropolitan Statistical Area.-History:...

, Ville Platte

Ville Platte, Louisiana

Ville Platte is a city in and the parish seat of Evangeline Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 8,145 at the 2000 census. Its name is derived from the French ville plate, or "flat town."-History:...

, and Youngsville

Youngsville, Louisiana

Youngsville is a city in Lafayette Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 5,289 as of the 2005 Census Bureau estimates. It is part of the Lafayette Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:Youngsville is located at ....

Transportation

The traditional industries of the area, agriculture

Agriculture

Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...

, petroleum

Petroleum

Petroleum or crude oil is a naturally occurring, flammable liquid consisting of a complex mixture of hydrocarbons of various molecular weights and other liquid organic compounds, that are found in geologic formations beneath the Earth's surface. Petroleum is recovered mostly through oil drilling...

, and tourism

Tourism

Tourism is travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes. The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people "traveling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes".Tourism has become a...

, initially drove the need for transportation development. In recent years, hurricane evacuation plans for the area's growing towns and cities have hastened the planning and construction of better roadways. The abundance of swamps and marshes previously made Acadiana difficult to access, a major reason for the near isolation of the early Cajun people, until oil

Petroleum

was found in the area in the early 1900s.

Land

High-capacity, modern highways are the lifelines of the region. US Highways 90, 190, and 167 were the main connectors through south Louisiana until the 1950s. Interstates 10, 210

Interstate 210 (Louisiana)

Interstate 210 in Louisiana is a bypass route in Lake Charles, in the southwestern part of the state. As a bypass of I-10, both of the ends of I-210 meet with I-10.-Route description:...

, 55, and 49 now play the major role in transportation. US and state highways also cross the region.

Rail transport through the area is limited by the difficult terrain and the sheer number of bridges required to build over numerous streams and bayous. A robust railroad system was being built at the time of the American Civil War

American Civil War

The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

, but much of it was destroyed during the conflict. By the end of the war, river transport via paddlewheeler had taken over as the preferred mode of travel. The major railway in operation through the region is the Southern Pacific Railroad

Southern Pacific Railroad

The Southern Pacific Transportation Company , earlier Southern Pacific Railroad and Southern Pacific Company, and usually simply called the Southern Pacific or Espee, was an American railroad....

, now part of the Union Pacific Railroad

Union Pacific Railroad

The Union Pacific Railroad , headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, is the largest railroad network in the United States. James R. Young is president, CEO and Chairman....

.

As of late 2009, there has been a push among the local municipalities, notably the city of Opelousas, to research and develop a regional bus (and possibly train) transportation network. Currently incorporated Lafayette

Lafayette, Louisiana

Lafayette is a city in and the parish seat of Lafayette Parish, Louisiana, United States, on the Vermilion River. The population was 120,623 at the 2010 census...

and Lake Charles are the only areas to see regular public transportation service. The cities of Abbeville and New Iberia have also expressed interest in the creation of such a system, both beginning research into their own city's public transportation futures. It is hoped that this system can be incorporated into the state's LA Swift commuter bus system. The "Swift" currently only serves Baton Rouge, Kenner

Kenner

Kenner Products was a toy company founded in 1947 by three brothers, Albert, Phillip, and Joseph L. Steiner, in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States, and was named after the street where the original corporate offices were located, which is just north of Cincinnati's Union Terminal.Kenner introduced its...

and New Orleans along with their respective suburbs.

Water

Waterways are vital to the commercial and recreational activities of the region. Seaports, river

River

A river is a natural watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, a lake, a sea, or another river. In a few cases, a river simply flows into the ground or dries up completely before reaching another body of water. Small rivers may also be called by several other names, including...

s, lake

Lake

A lake is a body of relatively still fresh or salt water of considerable size, localized in a basin, that is surrounded by land. Lakes are inland and not part of the ocean and therefore are distinct from lagoons, and are larger and deeper than ponds. Lakes can be contrasted with rivers or streams,...

s, bayou

Bayou

A bayou is an American term for a body of water typically found in flat, low-lying areas, and can refer either to an extremely slow-moving stream or river , or to a marshy lake or wetland. The name "bayou" can also refer to creeks that see level changes due to tides and hold brackish water which...

s, canal

Canal

Canals are man-made channels for water. There are two types of canal:#Waterways: navigable transportation canals used for carrying ships and boats shipping goods and conveying people, further subdivided into two kinds:...

s, and spillway

Spillway

A spillway is a structure used to provide the controlled release of flows from a dam or levee into a downstream area, typically being the river that was dammed. In the UK they may be known as overflow channels. Spillways release floods so that the water does not overtop and damage or even destroy...

s dot the landscape, and served as the primary source of shipping and travel through the early 1930s. The Mississippi River

Mississippi River

The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...

is important to the eastern section, the Atchafalaya River

Atchafalaya River

The Atchafalaya River is a distributary of the Mississippi River and Red River in south central Louisiana in the United States. It flows south, just west of the Mississippi River....

to the middle. Calcasieu River

Calcasieu River

flowing through Lake Charles enables shipping traffic in the western portion, while the Sabine River forms the western border of both Acadiana and Louisiana. Fresh and saltwater lakes, along with almost the entire Louisiana portion of the Intracoastal Waterway

Intracoastal Waterway

The Intracoastal Waterway is a 3,000-mile waterway along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts of the United States. Some lengths consist of natural inlets, salt-water rivers, bays, and sounds; others are artificial canals...

, enable the flow of people and materials.

Air

The area's larger airports in Houma

Houma, Louisiana

Houma is a city in and the parish seat of Terrebonne Parish, Louisiana, and the largest principal city of the Houma–Bayou Cane–Thibodaux Metropolitan Statistical Area. The city's powers of government have been absorbed by the parish, which is now run by the Terrebonne Parish...

, Lafayette

Lafayette, Louisiana

Lafayette is a city in and the parish seat of Lafayette Parish, Louisiana, United States, on the Vermilion River. The population was 120,623 at the 2010 census...

, and Lake Charles

Lake Charles, Louisiana

Lake Charles is the fifth-largest incorporated city in the U.S. state of Louisiana, located on Lake Charles, Prien Lake, and the Calcasieu River. Located in Calcasieu Parish, a major cultural, industrial, and educational center in the southwest region of the state, and one of the most important in...

provide regional leisure travel. Most air travel in the area, not counting the extreme amount of flyover traffic from hubs like New Orleans and Houston

Houston, Texas

Houston is the fourth-largest city in the United States, and the largest city in the state of Texas. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 2.1 million people within an area of . Houston is the seat of Harris County and the economic center of , which is the ...

, is local in nature and provided by small planes and helicopters. Helicopter pilots service the oilfields in the Gulf of Mexico

Gulf of Mexico

. Small planes are used for short trips and agricultural needs. Small regional airports serve communities throughout the area.

Natural Disasters

Hurricane Lili

On October 3, 2002, the central Acadiana region suffered a direct hit from category one Hurricane Lili

Hurricane Lili

Hurricane Lili was the deadliest and costliest hurricane of the 2002 Atlantic hurricane season for the United States. Lili was the twelfth named storm, fourth hurricane, and second major hurricane of the 2002 Atlantic hurricane season. The storm developed from a tropical disturbance in the open...

. The hurricane caused most of Acadiana to lose power, and some areas lost phone service. In addition, some high-rise buildings in downtown Lafayette

Lafayette, Louisiana

Lafayette is a city in and the parish seat of Lafayette Parish, Louisiana, United States, on the Vermilion River. The population was 120,623 at the 2010 census...

had windows broken and many homes throughout the region had roof damage. The high winds of Lili toppled the tower of KLFY TV-10, the regional CBS affiliate, onto the station's studio facilities. Only one injury inside the station was reported from the tower's collapse.

Hurricane Katrina

The eastern Acadiana region was among those affected by Hurricane Katrina

Hurricane Katrina

on August 29, 2005 (although the storm was not nearly as severe as from Greater New Orleans eastward). The region was used by many returning evacuees as a "last stop" of temporary domicile before returning to the Greater New Orleans region. This was due in large part to the Greater Baton Rouge area already being inundated with evacuees. Then state Governor Blanco made a public request that those returning not try to seek lodging in the capital due to this crisis of overpopulation. Lafayette and several other municipalities had both public and church-run shelters set up to handle the influx. The largest of these shelters, run by the Red Cross, was the Lafayette sports area the Cajundome

Cajundome

The Cajundome is a 13,500 seat multi-purpose arena in Lafayette, Louisiana. It is home to the Louisiana's Ragin' Cajuns basketball teams of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, Lafayette Wildcatters of the Southern Indoor Football League and the Louisiana high school basketball state...

, holding a reported 9,800 persons.

Hurricane Rita

The western Acadiana region and east Texas were most affected by Hurricane Rita

Hurricane Rita

on September 24, 2005. The Greater Lake Charles region saw the majority of the damage.

Hurricane Gustav

On Labor Day 2008, Hurricane Gustav

Hurricane Gustav

The name Gustav has been used for five tropical cyclones in the Atlantic Ocean:* 1984's Tropical Storm Gustav - Spent most of its existence as a tropical depression hovering over Bermuda, no major damage was reported....

caused severe damage to the region. Although Lafayette, Saint Martinville and Crowley

Crowley, Louisiana

had little damage (comparatively) and some still had power, the rest of the region was not as lucky. From Alexandria

Alexandria, Louisiana

Alexandria is a city in and the parish seat of Rapides Parish, Louisiana, United States. It lies on the south bank of the Red River in almost the exact geographic center of the state. It is the principal city of the Alexandria metropolitan area which encompasses all of Rapides and Grant parishes....

to the coast and Baton Rouge

Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Baton Rouge is the capital of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is located in East Baton Rouge Parish and is the second-largest city in the state.Baton Rouge is a major industrial, petrochemical, medical, and research center of the American South...

to Lake Charles

Lake Charles, Louisiana

there were reports of massive power failures and flooding. Most notable was the flooding south of Louisiana Highway 14 and the communities there. US 90 was shut down for several days due to the flooding caused by Gustav.

The total death toll from Gustav

Hurricane Gustav

in Acadiana was limited. This was attributed to the evacuation and mitigation plans that had been drilled by state and local official and to a strong presence of both the Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Emergency Management Agency

Federal Emergency Management Agency

The Federal Emergency Management Agency is an agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security, initially created by Presidential Reorganization Plan No. 1 of 1978 and implemented by two Executive Orders...

. In total, almost two million people along the Louisiana coast were evacuated in just over two days. This made Gustav preparations the largest evacuation in Louisiana history and one of the most successful evacuations in the nation's history.

2011 Mississippi River floods

the US Army Corps of Engineers believes that if the Morganza Spillway

Morganza Spillway

The Morganza Spillway or Morganza Control Structure is a flood-control structure in the U.S. state of Louisiana along the western bank of the Mississippi River at river mile 280, near Morganza in Pointe Coupee Parish. The spillway stands between the Mississippi and the Morganza Floodway, which...

is not opened to funnel 300000 cuft/s of water from the Mississippi River into the Atchafalaya River basin, that water which would be diverted by opening the spillway could potentially cause levees to fail along the river from Morganza to Plaquemines Parish, including all of the New Orleans area, resulting in as much as 25 feet (7.6 m) of floodwater. Opening the Morganza Spillway to this extent would only use 50% of the spillway's designed flow capacity.

See: 2011 Mississippi River floods

2011 Mississippi River floods

The Mississippi River floods in April and May 2011 were among the largest and most damaging recorded along the U.S. waterway in the past century, comparable in extent to the major floods of 1927 and 1993. In April 2011, two major storm systems deposited record levels of rainfall on the Mississippi...

External links

Acadiana Wiki - Wiki for the Acadiana area

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.

Etymology

Flag

People

Geography

Most populous areas

Transportation

Land

Water

Air

Natural Disasters

See also

External links