Baton Rouge, Louisiana in the context of "Mississippi River Delta"

The Gulf Coast of the United States, also known as the Gulf South or the South Coast, is the coastline along the Southern United States where they meet the Gulf of Mexico. The coastal states that have a shoreline on the Gulf of Mexico are Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida, and these are known as the Gulf States.

The economy of the Gulf Coast area is dominated by industries related to energy, petrochemicals, fishing, aerospace, agriculture, and tourism. The large cities of the region are (from west to east) Brownsville, Corpus Christi, Houston, Galveston, Beaumont, Lake Charles, Lafayette, Baton Rouge, New Orleans, Gulfport, Biloxi, Mobile, Pensacola, Panama City, St. Petersburg, and Tampa. All are the centers or major cities of their respective metropolitan areas and many contain large ports.

Louisiana (French: Louisiane [lwizjan]; Spanish: Luisiana [lwiˈsjana]; Louisiana Creole: Lwizyàn) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25th in population, with roughly 4.6 million residents. Reflecting its French heritage, Louisiana is the only U.S. state with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are equivalent to counties, making it one of only two U.S. states not subdivided into counties (the other being Alaska and its boroughs). Baton Rouge is the state's capital, and New Orleans, a French Louisiana region, is its most populous city with a population of about 363,000 people. Louisiana has a coastline with the Gulf of Mexico to the south; a large part of its eastern boundary is demarcated by the Mississippi River and the mouth of the Mississippi or delta defines much of its lower topography.

Much of Louisiana's lands were formed from sediment washed down the Mississippi River, leaving enormous deltas and vast areas of coastal marsh and swamp. These contain a rich southern biota, including birds such as ibises and egrets, many species of tree frogs—such as the state-recognized American green tree frog—and fish such as sturgeon and paddlefish. More elevated areas, particularly in the north, contain a wide variety of ecosystems such as tallgrass prairie, longleaf pine forest and wet savannas; these support an exceptionally large number of plant species, including many species of terrestrial orchids and carnivorous plants. Over half the state is forested.

Law in the state of Louisiana is based on a more diverse set of sources than the laws of the other 49 states of the United States. Private law has a civil law character, based on French and Spanish codes and ultimately Roman law, with some common law influences. Louisiana is the only state whose private legal system is based on civil law, rather than the traditional American common law. Louisiana's criminal law, however, does largely rest on common law. Louisiana's administrative law is generally similar to the administrative law of the federal government and other states. Louisiana's procedural law is generally in line with that of other U.S. states, which in turn is generally based on the U.S. Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.

The Louisiana State Capitol (French: Capitole de l'État de Louisiane) is the seat of government for the U.S. state of Louisiana and is located in downtown Baton Rouge. The capitol houses the chambers for the Louisiana State Legislature, made up of the House of Representatives and the Senate, as well as the office of the Governor of Louisiana. At 450 feet (137 m) tall and with 34 stories, it is the tallest skyscraper in Baton Rouge, the seventh tallest building in Louisiana, and the tallest capitol in the United States. It is located on a 27-acre (110,000 m) tract, which includes the Capitol Gardens. The Louisiana State Capitol is often thought of as "Huey Long's monument" due to the influence of the former Governor and U.S. Senator in getting the Capitol built. The building's construction was completed in 1931. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978 and was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1982.

West Feliciana Parish (French: Paroisse de Feliciana Ouest; Spanish: Parroquia de Feliciana Occidental) is a civil parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. At the 2020 census, the population was 15,310. The parish seat is St. Francisville. The parish was established in 1824.

In 1824 Feliciana Parish was divided into East Feliciana Parish and West Feliciana Parish, in recognition of the increases in population throughout the parish. West Feliciana Parish is part of the Baton Rouge metropolitan statistical area.

Interstate 10 (I-10) is the southernmost transcontinental highway in the Interstate Highway System of the United States. It is the fourth-longest Interstate in the country at 2,460.34 miles (3,959.53 km), following I-90, I-80, and I-40. It was part of the originally planned Interstate Highway network that was laid out in 1956, and its last section was completed in 1990.

I-10 stretches from the Pacific Ocean at State Route 1 (SR 1, Pacific Coast Highway) in Santa Monica, California, to I-95 in Jacksonville, Florida. Other major cities connected by I-10 include (from west to east) Los Angeles, Phoenix, Tucson, Las Cruces, El Paso, San Antonio, Houston, Baton Rouge, New Orleans, Gulfport, Mobile, Pensacola, and Tallahassee. Over one-third of its total length is within the state of Texas, where the freeway spans the state at its widest breadth.