Louisiana Heritage

Louisiana designated Cajun / Creole as the official state heritage in 1992, stating that hoop nets, castnets, and shrimp trawls are part of the cajun and creole heritage of Louisiana and should be preserved to help maintain the cajun and creole culture.

Louisiana Sate Repile

The American alligator (Alligator mississippiensis) was designated the state reptile of Louisiana in 1983. The word Alligator comes from the Spanish "el lagarto" (the lizard). Native to the Southeastern United States, alligators construct burrows, or "alligator holes" for shelter and hibernation. They are also known to find shelter in swimming pools during the dry months. Alligators are an important part of their ecosystem - they control the population of prey species, create peat through their nesting activities, and benefit several other species with 'alligator holes' and nests (including the Florida Red-bellied turtle which incubates its own eggs there).

Louisiana State Drink

Milk was designated the official state drink of Louisiana in 1983. Milk has been called a nearly perfect food - a source of protein, calcium, and several other important nutrients.

Louisiana State Vegetable

Louisiana designated the sweet potato as the official state vegetable in 2003. Sweet potatoes come in many varieties and are a highly nutritious, versatile food that tastes great.

The sweet potato is only distantly related to the potato (Solanum tuberosum). Sweet potatos are often called yams in parts of North America, although they are only very distantly related to the other plant that is widely known as yams (in the Dioscoreaceae family) which is native to Africa and Asia

Louisiana State Animal

The Louisiana black bear was designated the official state mammal of Louisiana in 1992. The US Fish and Wildlife Service listed the Louisiana black bear as threatned in 1992. Once common, biologists estimate the current population to be only 3-400 animals. There are 16 recognized subspecies of black bears in North America - black bears living in Louisiana, lower Mississippi, and eastern Texas are designated Ursus americanus luteolus - the Louisiana black bear.

Louisiana Insect

Louisiana designated the honeybee as official state insect in 1977. Bee pollination is critical to plant and human survival - beeswax and honey are just surplus gifts from this tiny wonder of nature. The plant world expends a lot of energy attracting bees and other insects with brilliantly colored flowers and sweet nectar (nectar is produced solely to attract pollinating insects). The honeybee is recognized as an official state symbol in seventeen states, primarily because honeybees play such an important role in agriculture.

Hurricane Katrina

Early in the morning on August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast of the United States. When the storm made landfall, it had a Category 3 rating on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale–it brought sustained winds of 100–140 miles per hour–and stretched some 400 miles across. The storm itself did a great deal of damage, but its aftermath was catastrophic. Levee breaches led to massive flooding, and many people charged that the federal government was slow to meet the needs of the people affected by the storm. Hundreds of thousands of people in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama were displaced from their homes, and experts estimate that Katrina caused more than $100 billion in damage.