New Orleans (pronounced N'awlins or New Orlens by locals, the only time that a hard E is correct is while singing "Way Down Yonder In New Orleens") is the birthplace of Jazz, a major US port city, important in river transshipment, naval logistics, and the illegal drug trade.
New Orleans is located at the mouth of the Mississipi River, just south of where the river splits off into Lake Pontchartrain, which forms the northern city limit and a unique ecosystem because of the salt water boundary. The Pontchartrain Causeway is the longest bridge in the world.
New Orleans is unique in the United States for many reasons. It shares more in common with european cities and Montreal than most other American cities, and both historically and liguistically has more in common with other port cities like New York than other cities in the South (the local Y'at accent shares similarities with Brooklynese). The architecture of the Vieux Carre, or French Quarter, mainly comes from the 18th century Spanish period, is reminiscent of many european cities, and changes are tightly controlled. The Garden District contains many stately mansions built in the early 19th century, after the city was purchased by the US. There are two distinct local cuisines, cajun and haute creole. Culturally and economically, since the decline of the local oil industry in the 1970's, the city and the attitude of local residents have more in common with a banana republic or a small caribbean nation than most US cities. Tourism is the major industry, and Mardi Gras is the major holiday.
