Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana

Plaquemines Parish (: Paroisse Plaquemine) is the with the most combined land and water area in the  of. The is. , the parish's population was 26,757.

The name is pronounced (transcription in ).

Geography
The parish has a total area of 6,290 (2,429 ). 2,187 km² (845 sq mi) of it is land and 4,102 km² (1,584 sq mi) of it (65.22%) is water.

Major highways

 * [[Image:LA 23.PNG|20px]] - West Bank
 * [[Image:LA 39.PNG|20px]] - East Bank

Adjacent parishes and features

 * (north)
 * (northeast)
 * (west)

Plaquemines Parish is bordered to the south and southeast by the.

History
The name "Plaquemines" comes from a word, piakimin, meaning. It was first used to name an old military post on the banks of the which was surrounded by a large number of persimmon trees. Eventually the name was applied to the entire parish.

One of the remaining historical treasures of Plaquemines Parish is, built in 1822 under the recommendation of General , hero of the. In 1861, Fort Jackson served as an important defense for the city of New Orleans during the because it was at the mouth of the Mississippi River. It was also used as a training base during - 1917-1918.

Because Plaquemines Parish encompasses the first 70 miles of the Mississippi River, it plays host to several oil refineries which make use of the shipping lanes. The of Plaquemines also provides assistance to offshore oil rigs. Plaquemines Parish was also the first place where a container was first used to ship cargo in foreign trade.

In the early 1900s Plaquemines was an exporter of citrus, and used the train and the river to move its large annual harvest. The parish has also been a big commercial fisheries haven, especially for oysters.

From 1919 to 1969, Plaquemines Parish (together with neighbouring ), was effectively the domain of political boss, who established a virtual dictatorship in the area. He was notorious for fixing elections and mandating strict.

During the of 1927, city and state leaders used  to breech a  at, thirteen miles below Canal Street, in order to save the city of  from flooding. However, this action resulted in the flooding of both St. Bernard and Plaquemines parishes, causing widespread destruction.

Hurricane Katrina
One of the worst natural disasters in United States history struck Louisiana on. Hurricane Katrina struck and did severe damage to all of. was not declared in Plaquemines, contrary to many media reports, as no such term exists in Louisiana state law . No place escaped without some damage, while most of the rest of Plaquemines, Orleans and neighbouring St. Bernard Parish were severely hit;, , , , , Phoenix, and suffered tremendous damage. Amidst heavy rains accompanied by hurricane force winds in excess of 120 mph (190 km/h) at initial landfall (with a Category 5 storm surge), the levees failed and broke, and the storm surge that flowed in was more than 20 feet (6.1 m) high. Although a good majority of the populace did heed mandatory evacuation orders, some did not. At least three residents died.

Demographics
As of the of 2000, there were 26,757 people, 9,021 households, and 7,000 families residing in the parish. The was 12/km² (32/sq mi). There were 10,481 housing units at an average density of 5/km² (12/sq mi). The racial makeup of the parish was 69.77%, 23.39% or , 2.07% , 2.62% , 0.01% , 0.73% from , and 1.42% from two or more races. 1.62% of the population were or  of any race.

There were 9,021 households out of which 39.50% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.50% were living together, 14.60% had a female householder with no husband present, and 22.40% were non-families. 18.60% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.10% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.89 and the average family size was 3.30.

In the parish the population was spread out with 29.20% under the age of 18, 9.20% from 18 to 24, 30.50% from 25 to 44, 21.40% from 45 to 64, and 9.80% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 99.40 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.30 males.

The median income for a household in the parish was $38,173, and the median income for a family was $42,610. Males had a median income of $37,245 versus $21,691 for females. The for the parish was $15,937. About 15.40% of families and 18.00% of the population were below the, including 20.70% of those under age 18 and 18.40% of those age 65 or over.

Economy
Plaquemines has a significant seafood industry. The parish exports millions of pounds of shrimp, crab, oysters, and fish annually. Plaquemines also has a vibrant citrus industry.

The seafood and citrus industries have suffered somewhat in the wake of hurricane Katrina in August 2005. About half the shrimping and shellfish fleet were lost. In January 2007, thousands of citrus trees went unpicked.

Trivia

 * The plantation depicted on the label of since the 1930s is Woodland Plantation, an antebellum mansion in West Pointe à la Hache, a small town on the West Bank of Plaquemines. Woodland Plantation, which is registered on the National Register of Historic Places, now operates as a.