Louisiana Almanac
Encyclopedia
Reference work
A reference work is a compendium of information, usually of a specific type, compiled in a book for ease of reference. That is, the information is intended to be quickly found when needed. Reference works are usually referred to for particular pieces of information, rather than read beginning to end...
, published by the Gretna, Louisiana
Gretna, Louisiana
The city of Gretna is the parish seat of Jefferson Parish, in the US state of Louisiana. Gretna is on the west bank of the Mississippi River, just east and across the river from uptown New Orleans. It is part of the New Orleans–Metairie–Kenner Metropolitan Statistical Area...
based Pelican Publishing Company
Pelican Publishing Company
Pelican Publishing Company is a book publisher based in Gretna, a suburb of New Orleans. It was formed in 1926 and in its time has produced 1500 titles, most of which relate to Louisiana and Southern culture, cuisine, and history...
. New editions are produced typically within a two to four year timespan, although, since the first publication in 1949, the book has been updated from durations between one and six years. The 2006-2007 Edition is the seventeenth version of the almanac.
Book synopsis
The Louisiana Almanac is a mesh of statistical data, historical informationHistory
History is the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events. History can also mean the period of time after writing was invented. Scholars who write about history are called historians...
, and often obscure trivia
Trivia
The trivia are the three lower Artes Liberales, i.e. grammar, rhetoric and logic. These were the topics of basic education, foundational to the quadrivia of higher education, and hence the material of basic education, of interest only to undergraduates...
relating to the State of Louisiana. Resources are provided in the following categories: general information, tourism, weather and climate, geography, population, sports, history, government, agriculture, economy, health, and transportation. Although often placed where relevant, maps, charts, and graphs are often printed poorly and can be difficult to interpret.
Chapters
The current edition (2006-2007) is divided into thirty-one chapters (excluding a foreword, index and list of acknowledgments) and totals 757 pages.- General Information (pgs. 7-28): Contains generally basic information included in most almanacs, including calendars, astronomical data, and tables of weights and measures
- Touring and Recreation (pgs. 29-91): Includes tourism-related information, largely devoted to state parks and various popular tourist attractions and historic places throughout Louisiana
- Museums, Exhibition Spaces, and Historic Sites (pgs. 92-105): Entire section is composed of a large chart detailing the locations and contact information of museums and other important sites in Louisiana.
- Fairs, Festivals, and Celebrations (pgs. 106-119): Chapter consists of a list of festivals held within Louisiana, each sorted chronologically by month, with the exception of Mardi GrasMardi GrasThe terms "Mardi Gras" , "Mardi Gras season", and "Carnival season", in English, refer to events of the Carnival celebrations, beginning on or after Epiphany and culminating on the day before Ash Wednesday...
, which is detailed of its own accord
- History of Louisiana (pgs. 120-159): Contains a rather brief history of Louisiana (and the area that would later become Louisiana) beginning from the earliest known Indian settlement and including the state's various flags, the notes to the official state song, and related items.
- Important Dates in Louisiana History (pgs. 160-181): Chronicles significant dates in the history of the area including present-day Louisiana from Hernando de Soto'sHernando de Soto (explorer)Hernando de Soto was a Spanish explorer and conquistador who, while leading the first European expedition deep into the territory of the modern-day United States, was the first European documented to have crossed the Mississippi River....
1541 discovery of the Mississippi RiverMississippi RiverThe Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...
to the impact of Hurricane KatrinaHurricane KatrinaHurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was a powerful Atlantic hurricane. It is the costliest natural disaster, as well as one of the five deadliest hurricanes, in the history of the United States. Among recorded Atlantic hurricanes, it was the sixth strongest overall...
in 2005.
- Louisiana Superlatives (pgs. 182-197): Consists entirely of various (often obscure) "firsts," "bests," and "worsts" in Louisiana history.
- Louisiana Weather and Climate (pgs. 198-217): Has a variety of weather-related information including all of the following: record temperature extremes, annual rainfall totals, historical hurricane landings, a guide to hurricane preparation and other related subtopics.
- Hurricanes Katrina and RitaHurricane RitaHurricane Rita was the fourth-most intense Atlantic hurricane ever recorded and the most intense tropical cyclone ever observed in the Gulf of Mexico. Rita caused $11.3 billion in damage on the U.S. Gulf Coast in September 2005...
(pgs. 218-225):