Facts About the State of Alabama
EducationFacts About the State of Alabama
The State of Alabama is situated in the south east of the United States and covers an area of 52,419 square miles and has a resident population of around 4.8 million people, ranking it the 30th state by area and 23rd state by population, in the country.
From the state's mountainous north, which has an average elevation of around 2,000 feet, the mainly afforested terrain of Alabama slopes gently southwards towards it's Gulf of Mexico coast.
The state is bordered by the states of Tennessee to the north, Florida to the south, Georgia to the east and Mississippi to the west.
The state was originally inhabited by native people of the Cherokee, Chicksaw, Choctaw, Creek and Koasati tribes before being colonised by the French in 1702, the British between 1763 - 1780, the Spanish between 1780 - 1810 and finally becoming the 22nd state of the union of the United States on the 14th of December 1819.
The name Alabama comes from the Choctaw language and means 'land of the herb gatherers'.
Location of the State of Alabama.
The state's humid, sub tropical climate has meant that the state's main industry has been agricultural for centuries, with it's main crop being cotton.
The state is also a large supplier of iron and steele and home to several large car manufacturing plants.
It's large areas of mountains, forests, coastline and water acreage from it's many rivers and lakes has also made the state a haven for walking trails and parkland, which include six National Parks and four National Forests.
It's main mountain range is the Appalachian Mountains in the state's north west and it's three main water courses are The Tennessee, The Alabama and The Tombigbee rivers.
The state's highest elevation is at Mount Cheaha at 2,407 feet and it's lowest elevation is at sea level on the Gulf of Mexico.
The state is famous for it's Wetumpka Crater, a five mile wide, meteorite impact crater, situated in Elmore County, which fell to earth 83 million years ago.
The state's most impressive natural wonder is the Natural Bridge Rock, situated in the park of the same name in Winston County. The ediface is a natural, rock archway that spans 127 feet.
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Alabama state seal.
The Alabama State Constitution is the world's longest constitution, containing 310,000 words and 800 amendments.
The Alabama House of Representatives is made up of 105 members and the state Senate is made up of 35 mambers.
The state is politically made up of 67 counties, with the largest being Baldwin County with an overall area of 2,027 square miles, situated in the south of the state.The smallest county is Winston County at just over 0.4 square miles, situated in the north east of the state.
The state capital is the city of Montgomery which was founded in 1819 and became state capital in 1846, which is situated on the south bank of the River Alabama and covers an area of 2,786 square miles and consists of four counties.
The city is home to the Alabama State University, the Maxwell Airforce Base and the baseball team The Montgomery BIscuits who play their matches at the Montgomery Riverwalk Stadium and is the state's only national sporting team.
The state's largest city by population is the city of Birmingham ( approx pop 240,000), the state's largest city by area is the city of Huntsville ( approx area 210 sq miles ) and the state's oldest city is Mobile situated on the Gulf coast which was founded in 1702 by French Colonists..
The state is served by five major interstate highways, the 1 - 65, 1- 20, 1 - 59, 1 - 85 and the 1 - 10.
The state is served by five major airports, two of which are international, those of Birmingham Shuttlesworth ( BHM ) and Huntville International ( HSV ).
The state has three nicknames,The Yellowhammer State - after it's state bird - the Cotton State - after it's main agricultural crop - and the Heart of Dixie - after the regions nickname - . No one really knows where the name Dixie originated from, but some historians believe it may be a corruption of the French word for ten - dix - as the French first occupied ten regions of the south east of the USA during the 1700's. Today Dixie pertains to the eleven states that make up the south east region of the USA.
The state's mascot is the Eastern Tiger Swallowtail butterfly.
The state flower is the camellia.
The state's national anthem is Alabama, written by Julia S. Tutwiler and Edna Gockel Gussen and was chosen to represent the state in 1931.
The state postal abbreviation is - AL.
Alabama state time is situated on the U.S Central Time Zone which is signified internationally by UTC - 6.
Alabama is an Alcoholic Beverage Control state.
State flag of Alabama.
Some Alabama tourism sites you may be interested in -
www.touristinformationdirectory/Alabama/
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