Download Louisiana`s Geography - Tangipahoa Parish School System

LOUISIANA’S GEOGRAPHY
Rivers and Regions
LOUISIANA’S LOCATION
Absolute Location refers to a specific spot
LOUISIANA’S LOCATION
Relative Location explains where a place is in relation to another place
LOUISIANA’S LOCATION
Latitude (also called parallels) measures a location’s
distance north or south of the equator.
LOUISIANA’S LOCATION
Longitude measures how far east or west a
location is from the prime meridian.
LOUISIANA’S LOCATION
If a cartographer (mapmaker) drew a
north-south line through the center of the
United States, Louisiana would lie just
east of that line.
LOUISIANA’S LOCATION
Natural Boundaries vs. Manmade Boundaries
- Natural boundaries are things such as rivers & bodies of water
created by nature.
- Manmade boundaries are things such as longitude, latitude,
manmade lakes or rivers that were created by humans.
LOUISIANA’S LOCATION
BELLRINGER
1. Name one of Louisiana’s Natural Boundaries.
2. Name one of Louisiana’s Manmade Boundaries.
LOUISIANA’S WATERWAYS
Water is not only the dominant
feature of Louisiana’s environment,
it has shaped the state’s physical
landscape.
Louisiana has almost 5,000 miles
of bayous, rivers, creeks, and
canals.
LOUISIANA’S WATERWAYS
Intracoastal Waterway:
 The Gulf Intracoastal Waterway funs
from the Atlantic Ocean to the Gulf of
Mexico.
 It extends more than 1,100 miles from
Intracoastal Waterway provides a safe
channel for ships, fishing boats, and
recreational crafts.
LOUISIANA’S WATERWAYS
Rivers:
- The Mississippi River starts in northern Minnesota and stretches all
the way down through Louisiana to the Mississippi River Delta. It
covers 2,320 miles and it drains at least part of 31 states.
Approximately 375 billion gallons of water funnels through
Louisiana each day. The Mississippi River gives Louisiana its shape
not only along its upper eastern boarder but along the coast line
as well.
- The Red River is the second largest river in Louisiana. It begins as
a creek in New Mexico and ends in Avoyelles Parish
LOUISIANA’S WATERWAYS
Rivers:
- The Atchafalaya River has been altered more than any other
river in Louisiana. In the 1800s the river was cleared of its log to
increase the flow of water so that it could be a shortcut for
steamboats on the Mississippi River. Today, the Atchafalaya gets
much of its water from the Red River and the Mississippi River.
- The Pearl River serves as one of Louisiana’s natural boundaries
between St. Tammany Parish and Mississippi.
- The Sabine River forms a natural boundary between Louisiana
and Texas.
LOUISIANA’S WATERWAYS
Lakes:
- Lake Toledo Bend is one of many manmade lakes in Louisiana. It
was create in 1967 by Louisiana and Texas. It serves as the largest
reservoir in Louisiana covering 186,000 acres. It provides
electricity, a water supply, and great fishing.
- Lake Pontchartrain is the largest natural lake in Louisiana. It
covers 625 square miles. The lake is only about 10-16 feet deep
and serves as a tidal lagoon of the Gulf of Mexico. The water in
the lake is Brackish, a mixture of seawater and freshwater.
LOUISIANA’S WATERWAYS
Lakes:
- Cutoff Lakes are formed as rivers seek shorter, straighter courses
through flat terrain. Many rivers of Louisiana have created cutoff
lakes.
- Marsh Lakes form where high ridges slow the rivers’ progress to
the Gulf of Mexico.
LOUISIANA’S WATERWAYS
Bayous:
- Louisiana is often called “The Bayou State”
- The word bayou comes from the Choctaw Indian language and
means “creek”
- Some of the more well known bayous were once channels of the
Mississippi River.
BELLRINGER
1. What is the largest natural lake in Louisiana?
2. What is Toledo Bend?
LOUISIANA’S NATURAL REGIONS
- Natural Regions are defined
and classified according to the
relief, soil, vegetation, and
climate.
- Geographers have divided the
United States into 8 natural
regions. Louisiana is classified as
being part of the Gulf Coastal
Plain, an area on the coastal
edge of the continent with a
generally low elevation.
LOUISIANA’S NATURAL REGIONS
- Elevation refers to the
height of a place above sea
level. Louisiana’s elevation
ranges from 4 feet below
sea level to 535 feet above
sea level.
- Relief is the difference
between the highest and the
lowest elevation in a given
area. Louisiana’s relief is
539 feet.
LOUISIANA’S NATURAL REGIONS
Stand Up~ Hand Up~ Partner Up
Purple Desk – Mississippi Floodplains Region
Green Desk – Terraces Region
Blue Desk – Marsh Region
Yellow Desk – Red River Valley Region & Hills Region
LOUISIANA’S NATURAL REGIONS
Look Fors:
 Where is the region located?
What are specific features or characteristics of this region?
Is this region divided into smaller subparts?
BELLRINGER
1. Which region includes Salt domes?
2. Which region includes Passes?
3. Which region includes Prairies?
LOUISIANA CLIMATE
Weather vs. Climate
Weather measures the
current conditions of the
atmosphere: temperature,
precipitation, and wind
Climate is the average
weather of an area over
a long period of time,
such as 25-30 years.
LOUISIANA CLIMATE
3 elements that affect Louisiana’s Climate:
1. The Gulf of Mexico
2. Its distance from the equator
3. Its position on the North American continent
LOUISIANA CLIMATE
Louisiana has a humid subtropical climate.
The summers are as hot as a tropical climate but we do have
freezes in the winter.
Temperature: North Louisiana has the highest temperatures in the
state.
Precipitation – any form of water (liquid or solid) that falls from
the atmosphere and reaches the ground.
Wind: Two types of windstorms affect Louisiana.
 Tornados
 Hurricanes
LOUISIANA CLIMATE
BELLRINGER
1. When a hurricane season produces more storms then the English
alphabet, the National Weather Center uses the Greek Alphabet.
 True
 False
2. Which of the following is not a reason New Orleans flooded
during Hurricane Katrina?
 A. Storm Surge
 B. Heavy Rain
 C. Failed levees
 D. Pump Station Failure
CLIMATE & AGRICULTURE
- Read independently pg. 63. “Climate and Agriculture”
- Discuss with your group and formulate a response to the
following question:
“How does Louisiana’s climate help agriculture?”
LOUISIANA’S NATURAL REGIONS
1. Create a foldable
2. Using your textbook and the notes you took on Louisiana’s
Natural Regions, fill in your foldable.
3. Make sure to include all subparts of each region.
4. Make sure identify any unfamiliar vocabulary words.
EXIT TICKET
1. A swamp is a seasonally flooded forest.
 True
 False
2. The difference between a marsh and swamp is trees grow in a swamp and not in a
marsh.
 True
 False
3. Louisiana’s climate makes for a short growing season.
 True
 False
BELLRINGER
1. Which of the following affects Louisiana’s Climate?
A. The Gulf of Mexico
B. The Mississippi River
C. Lake Pontchartrian
2. Marshes are typically located
A. Along the Gulf Coast
B. In North Louisiana
C. Along the Mississippi River
PEOPLE & THE ENVIRONMENT
For centuries humans have attempted to control the Mississippi
River. When the French colonized Louisiana, levees were built to
protect people and their crops.
In 1927, after the Great Flood, a protective system was built to
keep the river within manmade banks. The U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers became responsible for stopping the flooding by
creating a system of locks, dams, reservoirs, canals, and levees.
PEOPLE & THE ENVIRONMENT
Bonnet Carre Spillway was built in 1935 to protect the city of New
Orleans. It’s a concrete structure running 8,000 feet long with 350
bays. Several times since 1935, the spillway has been opened to
prevent New Orleans from flooding.
Protecting the people along the Mississippi River has been
disastrous for Louisiana’s wetlands, swamps, marsh, and other areas
that have a natural supply of water and are soaked with water at
least part of the year.
PEOPLE & THE ENVIRONMENT
PEOPLE & THE ENVIRONMENT
Vanishing Coastline:
- Louisiana has 30% of the United
States coastline but experiences
90% of the country’s land loss.
- The amount of land Louisiana has
lost is equal in size to the state of
Delaware.
- It is estimated that Louisiana has
lost 24 square miles of coastal
land and wetlands per year.
PEOPLE & THE ENVIRONMENT
Causes:
-The natural process for sustaining the marsh depends on rivers and
water runoff to add freshwater and silt. The silt builds up the land
in the marsh. Vegetation grows which traps more silt. This also helps
keep salt water out of the marsh.
-Subsidence – the process in which soil along the coast sinks slowly
-Without regular deposits of silt results in subsidence.
-Heavy wind also causes damage to the marsh. Hurricanes Katrina
and Rita destroyed more than 100 square miles of wetlands in
2005.
PEOPLE & THE ENVIRONMENT
Impact of Land Loss:
- Louisiana’s coastal marshes are the
nurseries for more than 75 percent of the
Gulf of Mexico’s fish. The changing marsh is
leaving fish without a place to spawn.
- Barrier Islands – islands off the coast that
protect the wetlands, estuaries, and bays
from the direct impact of ocean waves and
hurricanes. Every 4 miles of marshes
reduces the impact of the storm surge by 1
foot.
PEOPLE & THE ENVIRONMENT
Response:
- Breaux Act requires government agencies to work together to
tackle this national problem.
- Scientist agree that the years spent trying to control the river has
caused so much damage to the wetlands
- There are several proposed ideas on how to fix this problem