Land

Louisiana has fertile alluvial soil because of the presence of the Red and Mississippi rivers. It lies wholly within the Gulf Coastal Plain. The upland districts characterized by gently rolling hills lie on the east and west of this alluvial plain. The coastal-delta section, in the southernmost portion of the state, consists of the Mississippi Delta and the coastal lowlands. The highest elevation in the state at 535 ft is at Driskill Mountain in Bienville Parish. The lowest elevation at 8 ft (2 m) below sea level is in New Orleans.

Louisiana has the most wetlands of all the states including 11,000 sq mi (28,000 sq km) of floodplains and 7,800 sq mi (20,200 sq km) of coastal swamps, marshes, and estuarine waters. The largest lake, actually a coastal lagoon, is Lake Pontchartrain., Toledo Bend Reservoir, an artificial lake along the Louisiana-Texas border, has an area of 284 sq mi (736 sq km). Louisiana’s important rivers are the Mississippi, Red, Pearl, Atchafalaya, and Sabine.