6 FOKEST CONDITIONS IN LOUISIANA. 



with recent deposits of clay and sand. Bordering the entire coast 

 is a vast sea marsh in process of reclamation by deposits, both from 

 the high tides which cover them and from the streams which seep 

 through them from the north. Only over small areas do elevations 

 exceed 300 feet ; over more than four-fifths of the State no elevation 

 exceeds 100 feet. Geologically, Louisiana is very young. Even in 

 the northwest, the oldest region, the geological history dates back 

 only to the beginning of the Cretaceous period, while the bluff and 

 prairie lands, alluvial bottoms, and sea marshes are, for the most 

 part, still in process of formation. 



The proximity of Louisiana to the Gulf of Mexico gives the State- 

 a uniform climate and cool, moisture-laden winds. The summers are 

 long, though the temperature rarely exceeds 95°. The winters are 

 short and mild, the temperature averaging about 53° in the southern 

 parishes and 45° in the northern. The average annual precipitation 

 ranges from TO inches at New Orleans to about 45 inches in the ex- 

 treme northern part of the State. Most of the rain comes during 

 the summer and winter; the spring and autumn are comparatively 

 dry. Snow seldom falls even in the extreme north. 



TRANSPORTATION. 



Louisiana has 3,800 miles of navigable water, and every part of 

 the State is open to transportation by this means. Many streams 

 find their way into the Mississippi, and Red Rivers from northern, 

 Louisiana and Arkansas, and nearly all of them are navigable 

 through the State. South of the junction of the Red and Mississippi 1 

 Rivers a network of streams and bayous extends to the Gulf. Many 

 of the bayous are navigable, and during periods of high water, at 

 least, bring every portion of the alluvial lands into touch with out-, 

 side markets. A system of levees more than 1,700 miles in extent 

 keeps the main rivers and bayous in their banks. The deepening of 

 channels and the extension of the levee system will give a great im- 

 petus to the clearing of alluvial lands for agriculture. 



Water, the original channel of entry into the State, has within 

 recent years been in a measure superseded by the railroad. Every 

 parish in Louisiana, except Cameron, which is almost entirely within 

 the sea-marsh section, has one or more railroads passing through 

 some portion of it. Most of the trunk roads operate branch lines, 

 and, as in other States, logging roads have often become permanent 

 carriers. It is likely, however, that the comparative unimportance 

 of the waterways as means of transportation will be only temporary, 

 and that in future water traffic will have an important place in the 

 industrial development of the State. Already many steamboat lines 

 are being organized for interior traffic. 



