Download NOTES Chapter 2, Section 3 – Louisiana`s Natural Regions

LOUISIANA GEOGRAPHY – NOTES
Chapter 2, Section 3 – Louisiana’s Natural Regions
MISSISSIPPI FLOODPLAIN
Floodplain – (level land along a river that is likely to flood)
Alluvial soil – (fertile soil deposited by a river)
 Natural levee – riverbank built up over time by silt deposited by flooding
 Swamp – (a “seasonally flooded forest”) – lowest part of the river basin
 Passes – routes the Mississippi River takes to empty into the Gulf of Mexico
This area is an estuary – (place where the river meets the sea),
and is sometimes called the “birdsfoot delta” because of its shape.
TERRACES REGION
Contains the old Mississippi floodplains from when the river changed course
 Blufflands – old natural levees – highest part of the terraces
 Prairies – old river channels – flat and grassy
 Flatwoods – prairies with trees
MARSH REGION
Marsh – (a wet, treeless prairie covered with water and grasses)
Transitional zone between the land and the ocean
 Saltwater marsh – closest to Gulf, water is brackish
 Freshwater marsh – further inland, has different plants
Salt domes – (rock layers that have folded upward, rising above the surface)
“Five Islands” – main salt domes that rise above the marsh
Avery Island – famous for the Tabasco factory and Jungle Gardens
RED RIVER VALLEY REGION
Borders the Red River; smaller version of Mississippi Floodplain
Fertile red soil comes from Oklahoma and Texas
HILLS REGION
Covers much of north Louisiana and the “toe of the boot” in the southeast
Soil is poor for farming, but pine trees grow well there
LA’s highest point – Driskill Mountain in Bienville Parish (535 ft. elevation)