Alexandria is a city in and the parish seat of Rapides Parish, Louisiana, United States. It lies on the south bank of the Red River (Mississippi watershed) in almost the exact geographic center of the state. It is the principal city of the Alexandria, Louisiana metropolitan area (population 147,000) which encompasses all of Rapides and Grant Parish, Louisiana parishes. In mid 2008 the population was 50,236 according to an official estimate by Louisiana Tech's College of Business Population Estimates Program. Its neighboring city is Pineville, Louisiana.

History
The area of Alexandria, located along the Red River (Mississippi watershed),...

Alexandria is a city in and the parish seat of Rapides Parish, Louisiana, United States. It lies on the south bank of the Red River (Mississippi watershed) in almost the exact geographic center of the state. It is the principal city of the Alexandria, Louisiana metropolitan area (population 147,000) which encompasses all of Rapides and Grant Parish, Louisiana parishes. In mid 2008 the population was 50,236 according to an official estimate by Louisiana Tech's College of Business Population Estimates Program. Its neighboring city is Pineville, Louisiana.

History
The area of Alexandria, located along the Red River (Mississippi watershed), was originally home to a community supporting activities of the adjacent Spain outpost of Post du Rapides. The area developed as a vibrant, yet sometimes debaucherous, assemblage of traders and merchants in the agricultural lands bordering the mostly unsettled areas to the north, and providing a link from the south to the Old San Antonio Road and then larger settlement of Natchitoches, Louisiana. Alexander Fulton, a Pennsylvania businessman, received a land grant from Spain in 1785, and the first organized settlement was made at that time. In 1805, Fulton and business partner Thomas Harris Maddox laid out the town plan and named the town after Fulton's infant daughter who died around that time. It was first incorporated as a town in 1818 and received a city charter in 1882. Community< Bot generated title -->]



Geography and climate
Alexandria is located at and has an elevation of.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of. 26.4 sq mi (68.4 km²) of it is land and 0.6 sq mi (1.5 km²) of it (2.15%) is water.



Alexandria is on a level plain in the center of the Louisiana Longleaf Pine forests, in which pine is interspersed with various hardwoods. A number of small bayous, such as Bayou Rapides, Bayou Roberts, and Hynson Bayou, meander throughout the city. In the immediate vicinity of the city, cotton, sugar, alfalfa, and garden vegetables are cultivated. The climate is humid subtropical with some continental influence in the winter. Summers are hot and humid, and winters are mild, with occasional cold snaps. The area receives plentiful rainfall year-round, and snowfalls are rare. Tropical storms and hurricanes do impact Alexandria from time to time, but rarely cause severe damage, unlike areas closer to the coast. In September 2005 Hurricane Rita affected Alexandria and surrounding areas, causing widespread power outages and damaging the roofs of some structures. The most recent hurricane, Gustav, caused widespread flooding, knocked over trees and power lines leading to power outages, and damaged structures. Some low-lying Alexandria neighborhoods experienced substantial flooding from Gustav with several feet of water in houses.