Published: May 25, 2010, 04:51 PM   SITUATED AT THE MOUTH of the
Mississippi River on the coast of the Gulf of Mexico, Louisiana
and its people have long been influenced by the intersection of
these two major water features. The physical geography of
Louisiana can be examined in terms of its five natural regions:
the Coastal Marsh; the Mississippi Flood Plain; the Red River
Valley; the Terraces; and the Hills. Each has played an
important role in the history of the state. The southernmost of
these regions is the Coastal Marsh, which serves as a
transitional area between land and sea. Characterized by fresh
and saltmarsh vegetation as well as peat soils, this natural
region serves to provide rich fishing grounds that support the
second-largest seafood industry in the United States today.
Heading northward away from the coastal areas, rivers dominate
not only the physical landscape but also the economic geography
of Louisiana. The Red and Mississippi rivers are distinguished
as separate natural regions because