Description: The latest geometric revision to the Parish Boundaries was made 8/2/2012.All revisions are described below under "Credits".Louisiana Parish Boundaries approved by Resolution of the GIS Council on January 19, 2000. This is a region dataset depicting the polygon boundaries of the 64 parishes comprising the state of Louisiana. Parish boundaries extend 3 miles out into the Gulf of Mexico from the coastline. This dataset was derived from many data sources and conveys the best currently (2005) available representation of the parishes of Louisiana and as a consequence, the best currently available representation of the territorial bounds of the state.
Copyright Text: Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development provided the source data for production of this data set.
This feature class was developed using original linework that was manually digitized using USGS Quadrangle Maps along with legal parish boundary descriptions. Anomalies will be noted between these data compiled by LADOTD and boundaries that are depicted in other reference data sets (e.g. USGS DRGs). The depiction of boundaries in this data set has been heavily researched and is believed to be a better representation of the actual boundary than USGS sources. After careful examination conducted by the Louisiana GIS Council, it was resolved to use these boundaries as the most accurate data available on January 19, 2000.
Revisions:
(1) Extensions of Parish Boundaries in Lake Maurepas and Lake Pontchartrain in accordance with Legislative Acts 740 of 1979, Regular Session and 229 of 1980, Regular Session that made some correction to Act 740 were completed October, 2001.
(2) Took the source data for the parishes and projected them into the UTM NAD 1983 Zone 15N in October 2008.
(3) Added DOTD_District and DMV_CODE fields to the parishes feature class so that we can use the District number and the DMV code as necessary in April 2009.
(4) Parish Boundaries between St. James, Ascension and Assumption Parishes have been modified in two locations so the boundaries are in accordance with the report filed by Gervais Lombard, Research Engineer on March 3, 1943. The third location is based on Ordinance 04-01 passed by the St. James Parish Council.
The FIRST location on the east bank of the Mississippi River was adjusted to "Commence above at a point in the thread of the channel of the Mississippi River opposite the prolongation of the Section Line between Sections 5 and 8 of Township 11 South, Range 3 East as shown on the 7 1/2' Donaldsonville quadrangle, and extends thence eastwardly on a direct line along said section line, prolonged, and along the section line itself (which latter is the lower line of the Houmas Claim) until the northern end of the St. James-St. John the Baptist boundary line, cast of the River, is intersected near the northeast corner of the northeast corner of the northwest 1/4 of Section 18 of Township 10 South, Range 6 East as shown on the Petite Amite River quadrangle;...".
The SECOND location on the west bank of the Mississippi River was adjusted to "...the middle of Section 37; thence north, passing through the middles of Sections 37 and 34 of Township 12 South, and extending directly onward to a point approximately 200 feet north of the township line dividing Township 11 North from Township 12 North, at which said point the Ascension-St. James boundary line is intersected in Section 32...".
The THIRD location was modified based on Ordinance 04-01 of the St. James Parish Council approved February 4, 2004. The map attached to the ordinance provides the necessary information to plot the adjusted parish boundary between Ascension and St. James Parishes, described as a line plotted north easterly from the intersecting point of the parishes of Ascension, Assumption and St. James to the west side of Section 40 of Township 11 South, Range15 East, northwesterly along the west side of Section 40 to Lower Bayou Verret, following Lower Bayou Verret to the prolongation of the northern section line of Section 38 of Township 11 South, Range 15 East, and along the section line itself to the thread of the channel of the Mississppi River.
(5) Parish Boundary between Lafayette and Vermilion Parishes have been modified in two locations so the boundary is in accordance with ordinances passed August 2003. Lafayette Parish Ordinance 0-307-2003 and Vermilion Parish Ordinance 2003-0-21. These changes were plotted and completed August 2, 2012. These ordinances established the parish boundary in two locations. The first is a straight line between Batou Parc Perdu and Darby Coulee passing through Township 11 South, Range 4 East, Sections 22, 24, 25, 26, 27 and 52 and Township 11 South, Range 5 East, Sections 31, 32, & 33. The second is a straight line between Granges Coulee and Indian Bayou passing through Township 10 South, Range 3 East, Sections 29, 30, 32, 33 & 34 and Township 11 South, Range 3 East, Sections 2, 3 & 44.
(6) Added the Population for each parish from the 2010 U.S. Census on August 2, 2012.