Alabama
Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Mississippi to the west; Tennessee to the north; Georgia to the east; Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south.
- ABBREVIATION: AL
- NICKNAME: Yellowhammer State
- POPULATION: 4,833,722 (2013 est.)
- CAPITAL: Montgomery
- STATE BIRD: Yellowhammer
- STATE FLOWER: Camellia
- AREA: 52,419 sq. mi.
- TIME ZONE: Most of state Central, Phenix and Alabama area Eastern
- ENTERED UNION: Dec. 14, 1819
- ALTITUDE: High, 2,413 ft. Mount Cheaha
- CLIMATE: Humid, with long hot summers, short mild winters. Long growing season, heavy rainfall.
Despite the once fertile “Black Belt” of soil that forms a crescent across its middle, Alabama was one of the first of the southern states to develop industry. As erosion and the boll weevil ruined the cotton crops, Alabamans turned to the rich deposits of coal and iron ore in the rugged northern section of the state. By the end of the 19th century, an industrial center had developed around Birmingham.
Still important in agriculture-its scientifically farmed cotton crops still yield over a billion dollars towards the state’s GDP. In addition, The state has invested in aerospace, education, health care, banking, and various heavy industries, including automobile manufacturing, mineral extraction, steel production and fabrication. By 2006, crop and animal production in Alabama was valued at $1.5 billion. Today Alabama ranks high as an industrial leader in the south, making steel, textiles, chemicals and transportation equipment.
Alabama is located in the middle of the Bible Belt, a region of numerous Protestant Christians. It has been identified as one of the most religious states in the US, with about 58% of the population attending church regularly.
FUN FACTS:
- Twice as much earth was moved to build the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway than during the construction of the Panama Canal.
- In 1955 Alabama became the first state to have a state-owned television station.
- The first rocket that put humans on the moon was built by workers in Alabama.
- Dismals Canyon, a few miles south of Russellville, has natural bridges, waterfalls, and one of the few stands of virgin forest east of the Mississippi River. Aaron Burr used the area as a hideout for several months.
- Alabama in 1861 was the first to design and fly the Confederate Flag.
- George Washington Carver, a freed slave who helped revolutionize the economy of the South through his experiments with peanuts, soybeans, cotton, and sweet potatoes, was the director of agricultural research at the Tuskegee Institute.