Baton Rouge (/ˌbætən ˈruːʒ/ BAT-ən ROOZH; French: Bâton-Rouge, pronounced [bɑtɔ̃ ʁuʒ] ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It had a population of 227,470 at the 2020 United States census, making it Louisiana's second-most populous city. It is the seat of Louisiana's most populous parish, East Baton Rouge Parish, and the center of Louisiana's second-largest metropolitan area, Greater Baton Rouge, which had 870,569 residents in 2020.
Located on the eastern bank of the Mississippi River, the Baton Rouge area owes its historical importance to its strategic site upon the Istrouma Bluff, the first natural bluff upriver from the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. This allowed the development of a business quarter safe from seasonal flooding. In addition, it built a levee system stretching from the bluff southward to protect the riverfront and low-lying agricultural areas.