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“East Bank” and “West Bank”
The Mississippi River divides the United States into east and west, running from north south. In southeast Louisiana, though, confusion about the terms “East Bank” and “West Bank” often arises since, due to the curves of the Mississippi River, what is called the “East Bank” is sometimes located to the geographic west of what is called the “West Bank” and vice versa. The banks also run north and south at some points. In southeast Louisiana, the term “East Bank” is often used refer to any area that lies along the eastern side of the Mississippi River, while the term “West Bank” is often used to refer to areas along the opposite side of the river. These terms are used in those parishes that are dissected into two sides by the Mississippi River, which include St. John the Baptist, St. Charles, Jefferson, Orleans and Plaquemines.

In the New Orleans metropolitan area, the term “East Bank” is a blanket term to refer to all of portions of suburban New Orleans that are situated on the eastern bank of the river, while the term “West Bank” is used to refer to all of portions of suburban New Orleans that are situated on the western bank of the river. The majority of the population of suburban New Orleans resides on the East Bank.

The East Bank of suburban New Orleans includes the East Bank of Jefferson Parish (including the suburbs of Metairie, Kenner, River Ridge, Harahan, Elmwood, and Jefferson) and the East Bank of Orleans Parish (including the majority of the city of New Orleans). Further down the Mississippi River are those suburbs of New Orleans that are located in St. Bernard Parish, which include Arabi, Chalmette, and Meraux (and, also, Violet and Poydras). All of St. Bernard Parish is located east of the river, extending from the eastern bank of the river back into the marshlands.

The West Bank of suburban New Orleans includes the West Bank of Jefferson Parish (including the suburbs of Waggaman, Avondale, Bridge City, Westwego, Marrero, Harvey, Gretna, Terrytown, Estelle, Timberlane, and Woodmere) and the West Bank of Orleans Parish (including the New Orleans communities of Algiers and English Turn). Further down the Mississippi River is the suburb of Belle Chasse, which is located on the West Bank of Plaquemines Parish. Plaquemines Parish covers the final leg of the Mississippi River before it enters the Gulf of Mexico (downriver from Belle Chasse, Plaquemines has numerous rural communities scattered along both banks of the river, but none of these communities have a population higher that 5,000).

[edit] “North Shore”
The term “North Shore” refers to areas that lie on the northern shore of Lake Pontchartrain, which is covered by St. Tammany Parish. The North Shore includes the communities of Mandeville, Covington, Madisonville, Abita Springs, Lacombe, Eden Isle and Slidell. This region is also referred to as the Florida Parishes, dating back to the time when the territory known as Florida extended westward all the way to the Mississippi, including portions of what are now Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana.

[edit] “River Parishes”
The term “River Parishes” refers to those parishes along the Mississippi River between New Orleans and Baton Rouge. The two River Parishes nearest to New Orleans are St. Charles (including the cities of Destrehan, Luling, St. Rose and Hahnville) and St. John the Baptist (including the cities of Laplace and Reserve).