Every Lake
Louisiana
The only state with parishes, and a boot whose toe the Mississippi is still building.
Louisiana in relief
The land itself, cut in six steps of birch from the lowlands to the high ground — the cities starred, the summit and rise on the title block. No counties, no roads: just the shape of Louisiana.
About Louisiana
Louisiana's shape is written by the Mississippi. The river runs down the eastern side and then swings out into the Gulf, laying down the birdfoot delta that gives the boot its ragged toe, while the Atchafalaya Basin west of it is the largest river swamp in the country. The Sabine River draws the Texas border, the 31st parallel much of the north line, and the coast dissolves into marsh, bayou and barrier island rather than ending cleanly. Louisiana is divided into 64 parishes, not counties — a name inherited from the Spanish and French church districts.
Louisiana entered on April 30, 1812 as the 18th state, nine years after the Louisiana Purchase doubled the country. Baton Rouge became the capital in 1846, moved upriver from New Orleans to a bluff above the flood line and central to the state. What makes the map worth hanging is the river itself, drawn with its oxbows and the levee towns strung along it: I-10 crossing the Atchafalaya on eighteen miles of bridge, the Great River Road, and New Orleans set in its crescent.
- Six layers of birch — the land in elevation steps
- The summit and total rise on the title block
- The major cities, starred and named
- Title block with the admission date and capital
- A double rule engraved around the edge
- Every county line and the state border
- The interstates with their shields — 11 on this board
- The major cities, starred and named
- Title block with the admission date and capital
- A mile ruler engraved around the frame
