Facts About Louisiana

Louisiana became a state on April 30, 1812. Nicknamed the Pelican State, following are more facts about Louisiana.

Facts About Louisiana

The state capital of Louisiana is located in Baton Rouge. As the tallest state capitol in the United States, the building is 450 feet tall with 34 floors. Twenty-five hundred rail cars were needed to bring in the limestone used on the exterior and the interior marbles which came from distant places, including Vermont and Italy. The cost to complete the building was a modest $5 million. The architects used symbolism throughout the design of the building. As the square tower rises, it is cut away to an octagon at the 22nd floor. At this point four allegorical winged figures guard the corners and they represent Law, Science, Philosophy and Art.

This official flag of Louisiana is that flag now in general use, consisting of a solid blue field with the coat-of-arms of the state, the pelican feeding its young, in white in the center, with a ribbon beneath, also in white, containing in blue the motto of the state, "Union, Justice and Confidence". It was adopted by an Act of the Legislature in 1912.

In 1902, Governor William Henry Wright Heard directed the Secretary of State to use a state seal of this description: "A Pelican, with its head turned to the left, in nest with three young; the Pelican, following the tradition in act of tearing its breast to feed its young; around the edge of the seal to be inscribed 'State of Louisiana'. Over head of the Pelican to be inscribed 'Union, Justice', and under the Pelican to be inscribed 'Confidence'." That is the seal that represents the State of Louisiana today.

• Blue, white and gold became the official colors of the state of Louisiana in 1972.
• Louisiana has two official state songs, "Give Me Louisiana" [1970] and "You Are My Sunshine" [1977]. 
• Louisiana has an official march song [1952], "Louisiana My Home Sweet Home" and an official environmental song [1990], "The Gifts of Earth".
• Milk was adopted as the official drink of Louisiana in 1983.
• The official state freshwater fish as of 1993 is the white perch also known as sac-au-lait and white crappie.          
  

Half of Louisiana is timbered with an abundance of varied and beautiful trees, but no action was taken to designate a state tree until 1963 when the bald cypress was made the official tree of Louisiana. The cypress grows in many areas of the state, particularly the swampy areas. Its shape depends greatly on the amount and duration of flooding in the area, and varies from columnar to conical or bottle shaped. The bark is reddish-brown, fibrous, thin, and divided into small, flat ridges and shallow furrows. Leaves of the cypress tree spread in flat planes in a feathery pattern on its branchlets.

Louisiana has a state dog. The Catahoula Leopard Dog is the only breed of dog native to Louisiana and became the official state dog in 1979. This hound is a cross of a domestic dog the Indians of the Catahoula Lake region raised and a Spanish "war dog" that came through the area in the early 1500's. The dog has glassy eyes, webbed feet, and spotted coat and is gentle with children, loyal to family, and aggressive to strangers, making it a good pet and guard dog. As a hunting dog, the animal is diligent, dependable, efficient and especially good at tracking deer, raccoons and squirrels.
 
South Louisiana is the crawfish capital of the world, supporting a multimillion-dollar a year industry. The crawfish in appearance greatly resembles the lobster, but is much smaller. Its color varies with the water in which it lives and its variety.  Although it is found in swamps and marshes throughout the state, the best wild populations occur in the overflow basins of the Atchafalaya, Red, and Pearl Rivers. Crawfish farms have also been established where the crustaceans are cultivated for local use and for export to other states. The crawfish was adopted as State Crustacean in 1983.

Louisiana's amphibian, the green tree frog, is also known as the Fried Bacon Frog, Cowbell Frog and the Bell Frog, and lives in swamps, borders of lakes and bayous, on floating vegetation, in trees and bushes near water, in Spanish moss or under bark on trees, and any place well supplied with water or dampness. They can often be found clinging to windows or windowsills at night looking for insects that are attracted to light. Their length varies from 32 to 57 centimeters, and their color is usually green but changes frequently. It has a cream colored stripe with dark borders extending along the sides, and a dark stripe down the back. Kermit the Frog is based on the green tree frog.

The alligator was adopted as Louisiana's state reptile in 1983. It lives in waters and low lands of the state and other locations of the southeast United States. Resembling a lizard in shape, grown males (which are larger than females) reach a length of 11 to 12 feet and weigh 450 to 500 pounds. Once common, their numbers were reduced enough to be classified as endangered. Regulated hunting is allowed since the designation was changed to threatened in 1977.

Louisiana’s state mammal is the black bear as of 1992. Black bears are black, some with a distinct white "blaze" on their chest. Adult males generally weigh from 250 to over 400 pounds and adult females range from 120 to over 275 pounds. Body length of adults, nose to tail, ranges up to 6 feet. Although classified as carnivores, Louisiana black bears are not active predators. These intelligent mammals are opportunistic feeders and will eat almost anything that is available. Although natural foods, such as berries and acorns, comprise a majority of a bear's diet, bears readily take advantage of food options provided by humans.

The brown pelican became Louisiana's official bird on July 27, 1966. It nests from South Carolina to Brazil. Pelicans are famous for their large bill, the lower portion of which has a pouch that can be greatly extended. The birds, depending almost entirely on fish for food, scoop up quantities of water into their pouches as they seize prey from salt water. As the bill is elevated the water dribbles from the mandibles, and the pouch contracts as fish are swallowed. Five pounds of fish a day is the average consumption of a one-month old pelican.

The large creamy-white bloom of the magnolia tree was designated the state flower in 1900 because of the abundance of trees throughout the state. The magnolia is an evergreen and the flower is usually fragrant. After the six to twelve petals of the flower have fallen away the large cone shaped fruit of the magnolia is exposed.

The Louisiana Iris is perhaps the most magnificent of its species. Although it is adaptable to all climates, it is seen growing wild mainly in damp, marshy locations in Louisiana's coastal areas and for perhaps 100 miles inland. This graceful beauty grows to a height of 5 or 6 feet and has a wider color range than any other iris, from pale blue to deep indigo. It became the official state wildflower in 1990.

The honeybee is the official state insect of Louisiana. The honeybee is a social, honey-producing bee, recognized as the most economically valuable of all insects. This reputation commonly rests on its production of honey and beeswax. The honeybee's greatest usefulness, however, is actually in the pollination of crops, including fruits, nuts, vegetables, and forage crops, and many uncultivated plants that prevent erosion by keeping topsoil from being carried into the ocean.