Editing Geography

[[File:Acadiana parishes map.png|right|thumb|Acadiana parishes]]
Despite the frequent association of Cajuns with [[swamps|swamplands]] and [[bayous]], ''Acadiana'' 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. The wetlands increase in frequency in and around the [[Atchafalaya Basin|Atchafalaya]] and [[Mississippi Basin|Mississippi]] basins. The area also is cultivated with fields of [[rice]] and [[sugarcane]]. 

''Acadiana'', as defined by the Louisiana legislature, refers to the area that stretches from just west of [[New Orleans, LA|New Orleans]] to the [[Texas]] border along the [[Gulf of Mexico]] coast, and about 100 miles inland to [[Marksville, Louisiana|Marksville]]. This includes the 22 parishes of [[Acadia Parish, Louisiana|Acadia]], [[Ascension Parish, Louisiana|Ascension]], [[Assumption Parish, Louisiana|Assumption]], [[Avoyelles Parish, Louisiana|Avoyelles]], [[Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana|Calcasieu]], [[Cameron Parish, Louisiana|Cameron]], [[Evangeline Parish, Louisiana|Evangeline]], [[Iberia Parish, Louisiana|Iberia]], [[Iberville Parish, Louisiana|Iberville]], [[Jefferson Davis Parish, Louisiana|Jeff Davis]], [[Lafayette Parish, Louisiana|Lafayette]], [[Lafourche Parish, Louisiana|Lafourche]], [[Pointe Coupee Parish, Louisiana|Pointe Coupee]], [[St. Charles Parish, Louisiana|St. Charles]], [[St. James Parish, Louisiana|St. James]], [[St. John the Baptist Parish, Louisiana|St. John The Baptist]], [[St. Landry Parish, Louisiana|St. Landry]], [[St. Martin Parish, Louisiana|St. Martin]], [[St. Mary Parish, Louisiana|St. Mary]], [[Terrebonne Parish, Louisiana|Terrebonne]], [[Vermilion Parish, Louisiana|Vermilion]], and [[West Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana|West Baton Rouge]]. The total land area is 37,746.756 km² (14,574.105 sq mi). At the [[United States Census, 2000|2000 census]] its total population was 1,352,646 residents.

Three of the parishes, St. Charles, St. James, St. John the Baptist, are considered the ''[[River Parishes]]''. Ascension Parish is occasionally included with them. Present-day St. Charles, St. James and St. John the Baptist parishes also made up an area formerly known as the ''[[German Coast]]'' because of settlement by German immigrants of the 18th century. 

===Most populous areas===
The largest metropolitan area in Acadiana is [[Lafayette metropolitan area|Lafayette]], followed by [[Houma-Bayou Cane-Thibodaux Metropolitan Area|Houma-Thibodaux]], and [[Lake Charles metropolitan area|Lake Charles]]. Other large cities and towns within Acadiana are [[Abbeville, Louisiana|Abbeville]], [[Breaux Bridge, Louisiana|Breaux Bridge]], [[Broussard, Louisiana|Broussard]], [[Carencro, Louisiana|Carencro]], [[Crowley, Louisiana|Crowley]], [[Donaldsonville, Louisiana|Donaldsonville]], [[Eunice, Louisiana|Eunice]], [[Franklin, Louisiana|Franklin]], [[Gonzales, Louisiana|Gonzales]], [[Jeanerette, Louisiana|Jeanerette]], [[Jennings, Louisiana|Jennings]], [[Kaplan, Louisiana|Kaplan]], [[Marksville, Louisiana|Marksville]], [[New Roads, Louisiana|New Roads]], [[Morgan City, Louisiana|Morgan City]], [[New Iberia, Louisiana|New Iberia]], [[Opelousas, Louisiana|Opelousas]], [[Patterson, Louisiana|Patterson]], [[Plaquemine, Louisiana|Plaquemine]], [[Port Allen, Louisiana|Port Allen]], [[Rayne, Louisiana|Rayne]], [[Scott, Louisiana|Scott]], [[St. Gabriel, Louisiana|St. Gabriel]], [[St. Martinville, Louisiana|St. Martinville]], [[Sulphur, Louisiana|Sulphur]], [[Ville Platte, Louisiana|Ville Platte]], and [[Youngsville, Louisiana|Youngsville]]. <ref>[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acadiana "Acadiana" en.wikipedia.org]</ref>


==General Topics==
* [[Parishes]]
* [[Cities]]
* [[Maps]]
* [[Bayous]]
* [[Lakes]]

==References==
{{reflist}}