Avery Island is a favorite destination for people throughout Louisiana. Known far and wide as the home of Tabasco hot sauce, the factory tours alone here are well worth a visit. But there are many other secrets and amazing facts hidden in Louisiana’s favorite destination. Here are some fascinating things you probably didn’t know about Avery Island, Louisiana:

1. Avery Island is a dome of rock salt that's 5 kilometers long and 4 kilometers wide.

This dome attracted a huge array of unique flora and fauna from prehistoric times to today.

2. Archeologists have determined that Native Americans lived on Avery Island as far back as 2500 B.C.

Radiocarbon dating has shown thousands of pottery shards from these early peoples as well as evidence that they extracted salt from the the springs here through boiling.

3. Avery Island was first seen by Europeans in 1779.

French explorers named the island Ile Petite Anse, or "Island of the Little Cove". It was also known as Isla Cuarin and Cote de Coiron around this time.

4. Tabasco Sauce is manufactured with the utmost care, and originally all of the peppers in the sauces were grown on Avery Island.

Today, the peppers for the sauce are picked by hand. Pickers are given a small red stick and use it to match the color of the peppers to be selected for harvest.

5. In 1895, E.A. McIlhenny (aka Mr. Ned) began Bird City as a wild bird refuge.

It is now home to tens of thousands of birds, with a particular emphasis on snowy egrets.

6. The surrounding areas to Bird City, known as Jungle Gardens, is home to an amazing variety of flora.

The unique plants in these gardens include Japanese camellias, hydrangeas, papyrus sedges, and bamboo.

7. The Avery-McIlhenny family have always been naturalists and conservationists.

They proclaimed their motto to be "Man and Environment in Balance" in 1971.

8. A sacred Buddha statue that is said to be more than 900 years old can be found in Jungle Gardens.

It was a gift to E. A. McIlhenny from friends in New York in 1936. After McIlhenny received the statue, he created a shrine and Asian-influenced garden to house it, where it still sits today.

9. While Mr. Ned was known for loving nature, he did do one curious thing…

E.A. McIlhenny started a nutria farm in 1936, and although he was not the first person to introduce nutria to Louisiana, he is said to have released thousands of the creatures into the wild, causing damage and shifting the natural environment significantly.

10. McIlhenny is one of only a handful of American companies to receive the royal warrant of appointment from Queen Elizabeth II.

This recognizes the company as a supplier to Queen Elizabeth, one of only 850 such suppliers in the world.

How many of those facts did you know about Avery Island? Did any surprise you? Have you visited this amazing Louisiana landmark lately? Let us know your thoughts!