Louisiana Louisiana Louisiana (, ) is a state in the Deep South region of the southeastern United States. It is the 31st most extensive and the 25th most populous of the 50 United States. Louisiana is bordered by Arkansas to the north, Mississippi to the east, the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and the state of Texas to the west. A large part of its eastern boundary is demarcated by the Mississippi River. Louisiana is the only U.S. state with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are equivalent to counties. The state's capital is Baton Rouge, and its largest city is
Louisiana Purchase Effective October 1, 1804, the purchased territory was organized into the Territory of Orleans (most of which would become the state of Louisiana) and the District of Louisiana, which was temporarily under control of the governor and judicial system of the Indiana Territory. The following year, the District of Louisiana was renamed the Territory of Louisiana, aka Louisiana Territory (1805–1812). New Orleans was the administrative capital of the Orleans Territory, and St. Louis was the capital of the Louisiana Territory. A dispute soon arose between Spain and the United States regarding the extent of Louisiana. The territory's boundaries had not