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Louisiana became the 18^th state on April 30^th 1812. Louisiana is commonly known as the Pelican state which is also the state bird.

Origin of state's name: The states name was given in honor of French King Louis XIV

Population: Louisiana has a population in excess of 4.4 million people based on the last census of 2000.

Driving

Driver's license information, applications, testing requirements, Driver's manuals and testing locations can all be found on the Louisiana Office of Motor Vehicles website.

http://omv.dps.state.la.usehiles

Capital City: The capital city of Louisiana is Baton Rouge and the state is surrounded by several other states including Arkansas, Mississippi, Texas and the Gulf of Mexico. The state has approximately 400 miles of coastline.

Economy: The state is famous for its seafood and fishing is one of the major sources industries as is cattle and dairy production, poultry and egg production and cotton growing. The state is also famous for its coal mines which provide many jobs with food production, chemical production and tourism the other major industries driving the states economy.

State Bird: The state bird is the Brown Pelican. The Brown Pelican is really a bird that likes salt water and warm climate and it is rarely found too far north of Louisiana. The Brown Pelican is often considered to be clumsy and slow on land and very graceful in flight.

State Flower: The state flower is the beautiful Magnolia which has small, numerous creamy white flowers with an intoxicating fragrance in springtime when the tree blooms.

State Song: The state song is "Give Me Louisiana" by D. Fontane which sings about the state flower, the Magnolia and the cotton growing in the state.

State Motto: The sate motto is "Union, Justice and Confidence"

Louisiana – Interesting Facts

• Louisiana is famous for having a large population of Cajun people who left Canada in the 18^th century rather than swear allegiance to an English King. In fact, Kaplan is often known as the most Cajun place on the earth and the city of Mamou refers to itself as the Cajun music capital.
• Louisiana has the longest bridge over water in the world. It is the bridge over Lake Pontchartrain which is 24 miles in total.
• The world famous "Mardi Gras" is celebrated in New Orleans. Mardi Gras is an ancient custom that originated in southern Europe. It celebrates food and fun just before Lent: a Catholic time of prayer and sacrifice.
• Louisiana is home to the famous Superdome in New Orleans.

Louisiana – Famous People

Louisiana is home mot many famous people and many more famous people were born in this very French like state. Many Musicians, artists, athletes, politicians and entertainers all come from Louisiana. This includes Truman Capote the author and one time darling of New York society before his very public fall from grace, Jerry Lee Lewis the singer and the famous black and white era movie star Dorothy Lamour. Also from the state is the well-known TV newscaster Bryan Gumbel.