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The Louisiana Purchase was in 1803. The United States bought 1 million square miles from France for the pittance of fifteen million ($15,000,000) dollars. What a deal! Too bad we had to include the fire ants for that price... Louisiana became the 18th state in 1812.

"Louisiana - we're really cooking!"

That was a slogan used a few years ago to encourage tourists to visit Louisiana. The state is well known for the Cajun influence on its cooking, but there is more to experience than great food.

"Cypress Sunset" Atchafalaya Swamp, Louisiana Big Picture

Coming soon...

• Atchafalaya Swamp
  Case in point: the Atchafalaya Swamp. Pronounced uh - cha - fuh - lie - uh, the area boasts an incredible diversity of wildlife. The more obvious are the birds and the fish (and the mosquitoes, of course).

  Surprisingly enough, the Atchafalaya River is not considered to be one of the five major rivers of the state. They are the Mississippi, Red River (part of the western boundary), Ouachita (Wah - shi - tah), Sabine (border with Texas), and Pearl (eastern boundary with Mississippi).

• Avery Island
  This natural salt dome formation in the middle of a swamp is home to the Tabasco company. To go along with that, there is a bird sanctuary, some beautiful oak trees, and the occasional alligator.