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Louisiana is a Southern state of the United States of America. The state is bordered to the west by the state of Texas; to the north by Arkansas; to the east by the state of Mississippi; and to the south by the Gulf of Mexico. The surface of the state may properly be divided into two parts, the uplands, and the alluvial and coast and swamp regions. The alluvial regions, including the low swamps and coast lands, cover an area of about 20,000 square miles; they lie principally along the Mississippi River, which traverses the state from north to south for a distance of about 600 miles and ultimately emptying into the Gulf of Mexico, the Red River, the Ouachita River and its branches, and other minor streams.
The uplands and contiguous hill lands have an area of more than 25,000 square miles, and they consist of prairie and woodlands. In the uplands and hills, the elevations rise to Driskill Mountain the highest point in the state at only 535 feet above sea level. Louisiana contains a number of areas which are, in varying degrees, protected from human intervention. Louisiana has a relatively constant semitropical climate. Rainfall and humidity decrease, and daily temperature variations increase, with distance from the Gulf of Mexico. Prevailing winds are from the south or southeast. During the summer and fall, tropical storms and hurricanes frequently batter the state, especially along the coast.
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