Map of Acadiana Region with the Cajun Heartland subregion highlighted in dark red.

Acadiana (also called Cajun Country) is the official name given to the French Louisiana region that is home to a large Cajun population. Cajuns ('keʒən les Cadiens are an Ethnic group mainly living in Louisiana, consisting of the descendants of Acadian exiles and peoples of other Of the 64 parishes that comprise Louisiana, 22 parishes, or about one-third of the total, make up Acadiana. The US state of Louisiana is divided into 64 parishes in the same way that 48 of the other states of the United States The State of Louisiana ( or, État de Louisiane, pronounced) is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America ^[1]

Origin of the term

The word Acadiana reputedly has two origins. Its first recorded appearance dates to the mid-1950s, when a Crowley, Louisiana, newspaper, the Crowley Daily Signal, coined the term in reference to Acadia Parish, Louisiana. The 1950s Decade refers to the years of 1950 to 1959 inclusive Crowley is a city in and the Parish seat of Acadia Parish, Louisiana, United States. Acadia Parish ( French: Paroisse de l'Acadie) is a Parish located in the U ^[2]

However, KATC TV-3 in Lafayette independently coined "Acadiana" in the early 1960s, gave it a new, broader meaning, and popularized it throughout south Louisiana. KATC is an ABC -affiliated television station licensed to Lafayette Louisiana. Television ( TV) is a widely used Telecommunication medium for sending ( Broadcasting) and receiving moving Images, either monochromatic The 1960s decade refers to the years from the beginning of 1960 to the end of 1969 Founded in 1962, KATC was owned by the Acadian Television Corporation. Year 1962 ( MCMLXII) was a Common year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1962 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. This article is about the Acadian people and culture The Acadians (Acadiens are the descendants of the seventeenth-century French In early 1963, the station received an invoice erroneously addressed to the Acadiana Television Corp. Someone had typed an extra "a" at the end of the word "Acadian. " The station started using it to describe the region covered by its broadcast signal. ^[3]

In 1971 the Louisiana state legislature officially recognized 22 Louisiana parishes for their unique Cajun and Acadian heritage (House Concurrent Resolution No. Year 1971 ( MCMLXXI) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar of the 1971 Gregorian calendar. The US state of Louisiana is divided into 64 parishes in the same way that 48 of the other states of the United States 496, June 6, 1971), and made Acadiana the official name of the region. Events 1508 - Maximilian I Holy Roman Emperor, is defeated in Friulia by Venetian forces; he is forced to sign a three-year Year 1971 ( MCMLXXI) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar of the 1971 Gregorian calendar. ^[4]

Today, there are numerous business, governmental and nonprofit organizations that utilize Acadiana in their names, e. g. , Mall of Acadiana, Acadiana CARES, and Acadiana High School. The Mall of Acadiana, originally called Acadiana Mall is an enclosed regional Shopping mall in the city of Lafayette Louisiana, and is located at the intersection Acadiana High School is located in Lafayette Parish, Louisiana

Flag

Official flag of Acadiana

In 1965, Thomas J. Arceneaux designed a flag for Acadiana^[5]. Arceneaux was a professor at The University of Louisiana at Lafayette and had derived the flag from the University seal. History Timeline 1898 - State approved the creation of an "industrial institute and academy In 1974, the legislature officially adopted Arceneaux's design as the official Acadiana flag, (House Concurrent Resolution 143, passed 5 July 1974). Year 1974 ( MCMLXXIV) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the 1974 Gregorian calendar. ^[6] The three silver fleurs-de-lis on the blue field represent the French heritage of Acadiana, the gold star on the white field symbolizes Our Lady of the Assumption, patron saint of Acadiana (the star also symbolizes the active participation of the Cajuns in the American Revolution, as soldiers under General Bernardo de Gálvez, Spanish governor of Louisiana). The fleur-de-lys (or fleur-de-lis, plural fleurs-de-lis ˌfləː(rdəˈliː (ˌfləː(rdəˈlɪs in Quebec) translated from French as "lily This article is about the theological concept For the works of art with this title see Assumption of the Virgin Mary in Art and Roman Catholic Marian art. The patron saint of a particular group of people is a Saint who would protect and 'love' the group and its members In this article the inhabitants of the thirteen colonies that supported the American Revolution are primarily referred to as "Americans" with occasional references to "Patriots" Bernardo de Gálvez y Madrid Viscount of Galveston and Count of Gálvez (Bernardo de Gálvez y Madrid vizconde de Gálveztown y conde de Gálvez ( July 23, 1746 The gold tower on the red field represents Spain, which governed Louisiana at the time the Acadians arrived. ^[7] (Purely by coincidence, this flag closely resembles the Philippine flag. )

People

Cajuns are the descendants of Acadian exiles from what are now Canada's Maritime Provinces, particularly Nova Scotia. Cajuns ('keʒən les Cadiens are an Ethnic group mainly living in Louisiana, consisting of the descendants of Acadian exiles and peoples of other This article is about the Acadian people and culture The Acadians (Acadiens are the descendants of the seventeenth-century French The Maritime provinces, called the Maritimes in local English (or the Canadian Maritimes by non-Canadians is a region of Eastern Canada Nova Scotia (ˌnəʊvəˈskəʊʃə ( Latin for New Scotland; Alba Nuadh Nouvelle-Écosse is a Canadian province located on Canada 's They prevail among the region's visible cultures, but not everybody who lives in Acadiana is culturally Acadian or speaks Cajun French, nor is everybody who is culturally Acadian or "Cajun" descended from the Acadian refugees. See also [[Cajun]] Cajun French (sometimes called Louisiana Regional French) is one of three varieties or Dialects of the French language

In addition to the Cajuns, Acadiana is home to several Native American tribes and enclaves of black Creoles. Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples from the regions of North America now encompassed by the continental United States African Americans or Black Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have origins in any of the black populations of Africa This article is about an ethnic culture in Louisiana USA For uses of the term "Creole" in other countries and cultures see Creole (disambiguation.

German settlers also found their way to Acadiana as early as 1721, preceding even the Cajuns. The German Coast (French Côte des Allemands) was a region of the early Louisiana settlement located above New Orleans on the Mississippi River Year 1721 ( MDCCXXI) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a ^[8] More recently, political refugees from southeast Asia (Laos, Vietnam, and Cambodia, among others) have brought their families, cultures, and languages to the area, and have contributed significantly to its fishing industry. Laos (ˈlɑːoʊs or /ˈlaʊs/ officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic, is a Landlocked country in Southeast Asia, bordered by Burma Vietnam (ˌviːɛtˈnɑːm Việt Nam) officially The Kingdom of Cambodia ( formerly known as Kampuchea (, transliterated: Preăh Réachéanachâkr Kâmpŭchea) is a country in South East The fishing industry includes any industry or activity concerned with taking culturing processing preserving storing transporting marketing or selling fish or fish products

For more details on this topic, see Cajun. Cajuns ('keʒən les Cadiens are an Ethnic group mainly living in Louisiana, consisting of the descendants of Acadian exiles and peoples of other

Geography

Despite the frequent association of Cajuns with swamplands, Acadiana actually consists mainly of low gentle hills in the north section and dry land prairies, with marshes and bayous in the south closer to the coast, increasing in frequency in and around the Atchafalaya and Mississippi basins. A swamp is a Wetland featuring temporary or permanent inundation of large areas of land by shallow bodies of water Prairie, from the French prairie ("meadow" "grassland" "pasture" refers to an area of land of low topographic relief that historically In Geography, a marsh, or morass, is a type of Wetland which is subject A bayou (pronounced oʊ or uː is a small slow-moving Stream or creek or a lake or pool ( bayou lake) that lies in an abandoned channel of a stream The Atchafalaya Basin, or Atchafalaya Swamp, is the largest Swamp in the United States. The Mississippi River is the second longest River in the United States, with a length of from its source in Lake Itasca in Minnesota to The area also is filled with fields of rice and sugarcane. Rice is a Cereal foodstuff which forms an important part of the diet of many people worldwide and as such it is a staple food for many Sugarcane ( Saccharum) is a genus of 6 to 37 species (depending on taxonomic interpretation of tall perennial grasses (family Poaceae tribe Andropogoneae

Acadiana, as defined by the Louisiana legislature, refers to the area that stretches from just west of New Orleans to the Texas border along the Gulf of Mexico coast, and about 100 miles inland to Marksville. New Orleans (nʲuːˈɔrliənz nʲuːˈɔrlənz French: La Nouvelle-Orléans) is a major United States port city and the largest city in Louisiana Texas ( is a state geographically located in the South Central United States and is also known as the Lone Star State. The Gulf of Mexico ( Spanish: Golfo de México) is the ninth largest Body of water in the world Marksville is a city in and the Parish seat of Avoyelles Parish, Louisiana, United States. This includes the 22 parishes of Acadia, Ascension, Assumption, Avoyelles, Calcasieu, Cameron, Evangeline, Iberia, Iberville, Jeff Davis, Lafayette, Lafourche, Pointe Coupee, St. Charles, St. James, St. John The Baptist, St. Landry, St. Martin, St. Mary, Terrebonne, Vermilion, and West Baton Rouge. Acadia Parish ( French: Paroisse de l'Acadie) is a Parish located in the U Ascension Parish ( French: Paroisse de l'Ascension) is a Parish located in the U Assumption Parish (( French: Paroisse de l'Assomption) is a Parish located in the U Avoyelles (Paroisse des Avoyelles is a Parish located in the U Calcasieu Parish (Paroisse de Calcasieu is a Parish located in the U Cameron Parish (Paroisse de Cameron is the Parish with the most land area in the U Evangeline Parish ( French: Paroisse d'Évangéline) is a parish located in the U Iberia Parish ( French: Paroisse de l'Ibérie) is a Parish located in the U Iberville Parish ( French: Paroisse d'Iberville) is a Parish located south of Baton Rouge in the U Jefferson Davis Parish (Paroisse de Jefferson Davis is a Parish located in the U Lafayette Parish (Paroisse de Lafayette is a Parish located in the U Lafourche Parish (Paroisse de Lafourche is a Parish located in the south of the U Pointe Coupee Parish, pronounced "Pwent Koo-Pay" and (pronounced "Point Coo-Pea" in English) (Paroisse de la Pointe-Coupée is a Parish St Charles Parish (Paroisse de Saint-Charles is a Parish located in the U St James Parish (Paroisse de Saint-Jacques is a Parish located in the U St John the Baptist Parish (Paroisse de Saint-Jean-Baptiste is a parish located in the U St Landry Parish (Paroisse de Saint-Landry is a Parish located in the U St Martin Parish (Paroisse de Saint-Martin is a Parish located in the U St Mary Parish (Paroisse de Sainte-Marie is a Parish located in the U Terrebonne Parish ( Cajun French: Paroisse Terrebonne) is a parish located in the U Vermilion Parish (Paroisse de Vermilion is a Parish located in the U West Baton Rouge Parish (Paroisse de Baton Rouge Ouest is a Parish located in the U The total land area is 37,746. 756 km² (14,574. 105 sq mi). At the 2000 census its total population was 1,352,646 residents.

Of those 22, eight parishes make up the Cajun Heartland, which is the central portion of Cajun Country initially settled by the majority of relocated Acadians. This article is about the Acadian people and culture The Acadians (Acadiens are the descendants of the seventeenth-century French These parishes include Acadia, Evangeline, Iberia, Lafayette, St. Landry, St. Martin, St. Mary and Vermilion. The total land area of the Heartland is 14,554. 693 km² (5,619. 598 sq mi). Its census population was 601,654 residents.

Three of the parishes, St. Charles, St. James, St. John The Baptist, are considered the River Parishes, along with occasionally included Ascension Parish. The River Parishes are those parishes in Louisiana between New Orleans and Baton Rouge that span both banks of the Mississippi River, and are Present-day St. Charles, St. James and St. John the Baptist parishes also made up an area called the German Coast of Louisiana. The German Coast (French Côte des Allemands) was a region of the early Louisiana settlement located above New Orleans on the Mississippi River

Most populous areas

The largest metropolitan area in Acadiana is Lafayette (the hub of Acadiana, from which it derives its nickname, "Hub City"), followed by Houma-Thibodaux, and then Lake Charles. The Lafayette Metropolitan Statistical Area is a metropolitan area in the south central Acadiana region of Louisiana The Houma-Bayou Cane-Thibodaux Metropolitan Statistical Area is a metropolitan area in the Acadiana region of southern The Lake Charles Metropolitan Statistical Area is a metropolitan area in the Acadiana region of southwest Louisiana that covers two parishes - Calcasieu All three of these metropolitan areas are among the six largest metropolitan areas in Louisiana. Other large cities and towns within Acadiana are Abbeville, Breaux Bridge, Broussard, Carencro, Crowley, Donaldsonville, Eunice, Franklin, Gonzales, Jeanerette, Jennings, Kaplan, Marksville, New Roads, Morgan City, New Iberia, Opelousas, Patterson, Plaquemine, Port Allen, Rayne, Scott, St. Gabriel, St. Martinville, Sulphur, Ville Platte, and Youngsville. Abbeville is a city in and the Parish seat of Vermilion Parish, Louisiana, United States, 150 miles (241 km west of New Orleans Breaux Bridge is a city in St Martin Parish, Louisiana, United States. Broussard is a city in Lafayette and St Martin parishes in the U Carencro is a small city in Lafayette Parish, Louisiana, United States. Crowley is a city in and the Parish seat of Acadia Parish, Louisiana, United States. Donaldsonville is a city in and the Parish seat of Ascension Parish, Louisiana, United States, along the west bank of the Mississippi Eunice is a city in Acadia and St Landry Parishes in the US state of Louisiana. Franklin is a city in and the Parish seat of St Mary Parish, Louisiana, United States. Gonzales is a city in Ascension Parish, Louisiana, United States. Jeanerette is a city in Iberia Parish, Louisiana, United States. Jennings is a small City in and the Parish seat of Jefferson Davis Parish, Louisiana, United States, near Lake Charles Kaplan is a small City in Vermilion Parish, Louisiana, United States. Marksville is a city in and the Parish seat of Avoyelles Parish, Louisiana, United States. New Roads (Ville des Nouvelles-Rues is a city in and the Parish seat of Pointe Coupee Parish, Louisiana, United States. Morgan City (previously known as Brashear is a City in St Martin and St New Iberia ( French: La Nouvelle-Ibérie, Spanish: Nueva Iberia) is a city in and the Parish seat of Iberia Parish, Opelousas is a city in and the Parish seat of St Landry Parish, Louisiana, United States. Patterson is a small City in St Mary Parish, Louisiana, United States. Plaquemine is a city in and the Parish seat of Iberville Parish, Louisiana, United States. Port Allen is a city in and the Parish seat of West Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana, United States. Rayne is a city in Acadia Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 8552 at the 2000 census. Scott is a city in Lafayette Parish, Louisiana, United States. St Gabriel is a city in Iberville Parish, Louisiana, United States. St Martinville is a city in and the Parish seat of St Martin Parish, Louisiana, United States. Sulphur (Soufre is a city in Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana, United States. Ville Platte is a city in and the Parish seat of Evangeline Parish, Louisiana, United States. Youngsville is a city in Lafayette Parish, Louisiana, United States.

Transportation

The traditional industries of the area: tourism, agriculture, and petroleum initially drove the need for transportation development. Tourism is Travel for Recreational or Leisure purposes The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people who "travel Agriculture refers to the production of goods through the growing of plants and fungi and the raising of domesticated Animals The study of agriculture Petroleum ( L petroleum, from Greek πετρέλαιον, lit In recent years, hurricane evacuation plans for the area's growing towns and cities have hastened the planning and construction of better roadways. A tropical cyclone is a storm system characterized by a low pressure center and numerous Thunderstorms that produce strong winds and Flooding The abundance of swamps and marshes previously made Acadiana difficult to access, a major reason for the near isolation of the early Cajun people, until oil was found in the area in the early 1900s. Petroleum ( L petroleum, from Greek πετρέλαιον, lit

Land

High capacity, modern highways are the lifeline of the region. US Highways 90, 190, and 167 (now partially replaced by I-49) were the main connectors through south Louisiana until the 1950s. Interstates 10, 210, 55, and 49 now play the major role in transportation. The Dwight D Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways, commonly called the Interstate Highway System (or simply the Interstate System) US and state highways also cross the region.

Rail transport through the area is limited by the difficult terrain and the sheer number of bridges required to build over every little stream and bayou. A robust railroad system was being built at the time of the American Civil War, but much of it was destroyed during the conflict. Causes of the war See also Origins of the American Civil War, Timeline of events leading to the American Civil War The coexistence of a slave-owning South By the end of the war, river transport via paddlewheeler had taken over as the preferred mode of travel. A paddle steamer is a ship or boat driven by a Steam engine that uses one or more Paddle wheels to develop thrust for propulsion. The major railway in operation through the region is the Southern Pacific Railroad, now part of the Union Pacific Railroad.

Water

Waterways are vital to the commercial and recreational activities of the region. Seaports, rivers, lakes, bayous, canals, and spillways dot the landscape, and served as the primary source of shipping and travel through the early 1930s. ||-||-|-||-||-||-||-||-||-|} A port is a facility for receiving Ships and transferring cargo "Riverine" redirects here For the use of that term in Maritime geography, see there A lake (from Latin lacus) is a Terrain feature (or Physical feature) a body of Liquid on the surface of a world that is localized to the A bayou (pronounced oʊ or uː is a small slow-moving Stream or creek or a lake or pool ( bayou lake) that lies in an abandoned channel of a stream Canals are artificial channels for water There are two types of canals water conveyance canals which are used for the conveyance and delivery of water and Waterways A spillway is a structure used to provide for the controlled release of flows from a Dam or Levee into a downstream area typically being the river that was dammed The Mississippi River is important to the eastern section, the Atchafalaya River to the middle, with Calcasieu River flowing through Lake Charles, and the Sabine river enabling shipping traffic to the western portion. The Mississippi River is the second longest River in the United States, with a length of from its source in Lake Itasca in Minnesota to The Atchafalaya River is a Distributary of the Mississippi and Red rivers approximately 170 miles (270 km long in south central Louisiana The Calcasieu River (KAL-kuh-shoo is a river on the Gulf Coast of southwestern Louisiana, U For other lakes of this name see Lake Charles (disambiguation Lake Charles is a brackish lake located on the Calcasieu River Fresh and saltwater lakes, along with almost the entire Louisiana portion of the Intracoastal Waterway, enable the flow of people and materials. The Intracoastal Waterway is a 4800-km (3000-mile Waterway along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts of the United States.

Air

The area's larger airports in Houma, Lafayette, and Lake Charles provide regional leisure travel. Most air travel in the area, not counting the extreme amount of flyover traffic from hubs like New Orleans and Houston, is local in nature and provided by small planes and helicopters. Many hours of flight time is logged by helicopter pilots servicing the oilfields in the Gulf of Mexico. The Gulf of Mexico ( Spanish: Golfo de México) is the ninth largest Body of water in the world Small planes are used for short trips and agricultural needs. There are small regional airports seving communities throughout the area.

Natural disasters

Tree blown down during Hurricane Lili

The eastern Acadiana region was among those affected by Hurricane Katrina on August 29, 2005 (although not severely like areas from Greater New Orleans eastward). Hurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was the costliest hurricane, as well as one of the five deadliest in the history of the United States Events 708 - Copper coins are minted in Japan for the first time (Traditional Japanese date: August 10, 708) Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. New Orleans&ndashMetairie&ndashKenner is a metropolitan area designated by the US Census encompassing seven parishes in the state of Louisiana, centering on The western Acadiana region and eastern Texas were most affected by Hurricane Rita on September 26, 2005. Hurricane Rita was the fourth-most intense Atlantic hurricane ever recorded and the most intense Tropical cyclone ever observed in the Gulf of Mexico Events 46 BC - Julius Caesar dedicates a Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar.

On October 3, 2002, central Acadiana region suffered a direct hit from category one Hurricane Lili. Hurricane Lili was the deadliest and costliest hurricane of the 2002 Atlantic hurricane season. The hurricane caused most of Lafayette to lose power. Lafayette is a City in and the Parish seat of Lafayette Parish, Louisiana, United States, on the Vermilion River. In addition, some high-rise buildings in downtown had windows broken and many homes had roof damage.

See also

• French Louisiana
• List of Louisiana parishes by French-speaking population
• Intrastate regions
• Acadian Village
• Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve
• Southwest Louisiana

Sources

Footnotes

External links

• Complete Listing of all cities and communities in Acadiana
• UL Lafayette Center for Louisiana Studies